The ''Volksraad of the South African Republic'' (English: "People's Council" of the South African Republic,

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...

: Volksraad van die Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) was the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

of the former

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...

(ZAR), it existed from 1840 to 1877, and from 1881 to 1902 in part of what is now

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. The body ceased to exist after the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

's victory in the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. The ''Volksraad'' sat in session in

Ou Raadsaal The Ou Raadsaal (English: ''Old Council Hall'') is a historic building in Pretoria, South Africa, located on the south side of Church Square. The Ou Raadsaal housed the Volksraad, the parliament of the South African Republic, from 1891 to 1902 ...

Church Square, Pretoria Church Square (Afrikaans: Kerkplein), originally Market Square (Dutch: Marktplein), is the square at the historic centre of the city of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The founder of Pretoria, Marthinus Pretorius, determined that the square be ...

In 1840, at the beginning of the

Natalia Republic The Natalia Republic was a short-lived Boer republic founded in 1839 after a Voortrekker victory against the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River. The area was previously named ''Natália'' by Portuguese sailors, due to its discovery on Christ ...

, an adjunct ''Volksraad'' was created in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier ( Afrikaans for "pretty ri ...

for settlers west of the

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within t ...

. The Potchefstroom ''Volksraad'' continued despite the British annexation of the Natalia Republic in 1843. It eventually passed the Thirty-three Articles, the precursor to the 1858 constitution (''Grondwet''), in 1849. In 1858 the ''Grondwet'' permanently established the ''Volksraad'' as the supreme authority of the nation. Initially a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

body, the ''Volksraad'' was divided into two chambers in 1890 in order to keep Boer control over state matters while still giving ''Uitlanders'' (foreigners) — many of whom were temporarily employed in the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

industry — a say in local affairs, in order to fend off British complaints.''The Afrikaners: Biography of a People''
Hermann Giliomee, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2003, page 238 From 1890 the ''Volksraad'' consisted of two houses of 24 members each. The "Second ''Volksraad''" had suffrage for all white males above 16 years, and had limited legislative powers in the fields of mining, road construction, copyright and certain commercial affairs, all subject to ratification by the "First ''Volksraad''". This was the highest authority in charge of state policy, with preference being given to fully franchised burghers for appointment to government posts. ''Volksraad'' was also the

name for the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...

, the principal or sole chamber of the

Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seve ...

from 1910 to 1994.''World Legislatures''
John Paxton, Springer, 1974, page 112

References

{{National unicameral legislatures

Defunct unicameral legislatures Defunct organisations based in South Africa 1857 establishments in South Africa 1902 disestablishments in South Africa