The

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

, which existed from 1852 to 1877, 1881 to

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's ...

, and 1914 to 1915, used two flags: (1) the so-called 'Vierkleur' () from 1857 to 1874, and again from 1875 to 1877 and 1881 to 1902, and (2) the so-called 'Burgers Flag' from 1874 to 1875. They were superseded by the

flag of Transvaal The Flag of Transvaal was the official flag of the Transvaal Colony, Transvaal colony in South Africa from ''circa'' 1903 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that was used throughout the British Empire. It was superseded by the ...

. The Vierkleur was also used by the South African Republic declared in 1914 during the Maritz Rebellion, which lasted into February 1915.

History

In 1856, the

Voortrekker The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

territories north of the Vaal River agreed to unite as the "South African Republic". A constitution was drawn up and a flag designed. The flag, known as the ''Vierkleur'' () was raised in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

on 6 January 1857, and was ratified by the

Volksraad of the South African Republic The ''Volksraad of the South African Republic'' (English: "People's Council" of the South African Republic, ) was the parliament of the former South African Republic (ZAR), it existed from 1840 to 1877, and from 1881 to 1902 in part of what is n ...

(legislature) on 18 February 1858.Pama, C. (1965). ''Lions and Virgins''.Brownell, F.G. (1993). ''National and Provincial Symbols''. The Vierkleur was flown until October 1874. The new flag, introduced by state president

Thomas François Burgers Thomas François Burgers (15 April 1834 – 9 December 1881) was a South African politician and minister who served as the 4th president of the South African Republic from 1872 to 1877. He was the youngest child of Barend and Elizabeth Burger of ...

, was approved by the Volksraad on 24 October 1874. It was an improved version of a flag which some of the Voortrekkers are believed to have used in the 1830s and '40s. However, it was very unpopular, and on 10 May 1875, the Volksraad restored the Vierkleur as the official flag.Appelgryn, M.S. (1976). 'Pogings van Pres T.F. Burgers om die Vlag en Wapen van die ZAR te Verander' in ''Historia'' (September 1976). The 'Vierkleur' was in abeyance during the British occupation of the Transvaal, from 12 April 1877 to 7 August 1881. It flew again until the republic came to a final end on 31 May 1902. It was later used by the Maritz Revolt rebels who declared a resurrection of the South African Republic in 1914 and later incorporated into the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

of South Africa from 1928 to 1994. After the adoption of the 1928 flag, the Vierkleur has been used by far-right groups opposed to societal reform and racial integration, such as the

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging The (, meaning 'Afrikaner Resistance Movement'), commonly known by its abbreviation AWB (), is an Afrikaner nationalism, Afrikaner nationalist, white supremacist, and Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi political party in South Africa. Founded in 1973 by Eug ...

. The Anglo-Boer War Museum in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

flies the Vierkleur (together with the flag of the Orange Free State and that of the present Republic of South Africa). The Vierkleur and the Burgers Flag figure among other flags of Boer republics on display in the Cenotaph Hall of the

Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the ar ...

near

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

adopted the Burgers Flag as city flag.

Vierkleur Revival

Today the flag represents freedom under the Boer or Afrikaner people, and is often displayed in places like Orania and Kleinfontein which is known as Afrikaner cultural settlements and located in the Northern Cape and Pretoria respectively. The Vierkleur flag has also seen steady increases in sales to younger Afrikaner people who may feel displaced or marginalized under the current South African government. The Vierkleur will often be displayed as a longing to freedom and a right to

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

rather than the negative connotation of the years prior to 1994.

Descriptions and Symbolism

'Vierkleur'

The flag was simply the

flag of the Netherlands The national flag of the Netherlands () is a horizontal tricolour (flag), tricolour of red, white, and blue. The current design originates as a variant of the late 16th century orange-white-blue ''Prince's Flag, Prinsenvlag'' ("Prince's Fla ...

with the addition of a green vertical band at the hoist. The Volksraad resolution of 18 February 1858 which confirmed the design stated that the motto ' Eendracht maakt macht' (cf. coat of arms of the Transvaal) should be placed on the flag, but this was never done. The symbolism of the flag, according to Ds. Dirk van der Hoff (one of the designers), can be briefly summarized as follows: The flag symbolises freedom, glory and divinity. The red colour represents freedom; the white colour represents purity and cleanliness; the blue colour shows the faith which the Republic placed in God and the green colour represents hope.

'Burgers Flag'

The flag is blue, charged with a red saltire fimbriated in white.

References

Bibliography

* Brownell, F.G. (1993). ''National and Provincial Symbols''. * Burgers, A.P. (1997). ''Sovereign Flags over Southern Africa''. * Burgers, A.P. (2008). ''The South African Flag Book''. * Pama, C. (1965). ''Lions and Virgins''. {{DEFAULTSORT:South African Republic, Flag of the Flags of South Africa

South African heraldry