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Dominon Unie van Suid-Afrika/Dominion Union of South Africa/Dominion Unie van Suid-Afrika/Herrschaftsgebiet Union von Sudafrika

Population

15,000,000

Capital

Pretoria

Head of State

His Imperial Majesty, King-Emperor Edward VIII of Great Britain (from 1952)

Ruling Party

National Party/Nats/Suid-Afrikaanse Herenig en Gesuiwerde Christelik Nasionale-Sosialistiese Party (from 1943)

Head of Government

D.F. Malan (1943-1954), L.T. Weichardt (1954-1958), H.F. Verwoerd (1958-1966), B.J. Vorster (1966-1982), P.W. Botha (from 1982)

History[]

The Nats in power from 1943, combining white supremacist, ultra-conservative Calvinist currents, with elements of German Nazism’s Aryan supremacy. Some division between narrow Afrikaner-Dutch nationalism and broader white supremacy. Pro-German sentiment extremely pronounced amongst the Ossewebrandwag, Gryshemde and New Order factions and the Stormjaers militia.

Around three million South Africans are classified as white, plus a further two million classified as ‘Coloured’ or ‘Asian’. The remainder are black Africans. Whites are divided into English, Dutch and German. The premiership of Louis Weichardt saw the greatest efforts to integrate the three White races. Blacks are divided into three large groups, Bantus, Hottentots and Bushmen, and further subdivided into some twenty tribal confederations.

Coloureds are a broad group including various individuals of mixed European, African and Asian origin. Asians are further divided between South and East Asians. Some of the former, specifically high caste, high status or very light-skinned Indians, are often described as 'honourary whites'. Amichand Rajbansi, leader of the South African Indian Council, is often treated as an 'honourary white'. The lowest status Coloureds are those of mixed Hottentot origin such as the Rehoboth Basters, the Griqua and the Oorlam and are treated as Black for most purposes.

The model of racial segregation developed over centuries in South Africa (known in Afrikaans as ‘apartheid’) and fully codified by D.F. Malan and his successors, has influenced the policies of metropolitan Great Britain and the other European powers, especially in Germany's new lebensraum in Eastern Europe and the old USSR.

The establishment of stamtuislande ('tribal homelands') in particular influenced the establishment of Heimatstaaten ('homeland states') or Selbstverwaltungen in the territory of the former Soviet Russia controlled by Germany. The average Heimatstaat or Selbstverwaltung controlled by Germany however has substantially more autonomy. Georgia achieved a measure of self-government in 1966 and other homeland states with sufficiently developed Aryan populations are slated for home-rule at some point in the future. However none of the tribal homelands South Africa and most in the German colonies are unlikely to ever be fit for self-government.

In particular the policy of even a tiny degree of self-rule for the Bushmen of South West Africa was abandoned as impossible. The Bushmen, described as "stone age creatures" by Premier Vorster, were stripped of their homeland and encouraged to integrate into neighbouring tribes.

D.F. Malan and Louis Weichardt were also extemely influential in assisting Oswald Mosley to reformulate the unwieldy British Empire and Commonwealth into a more rational and efficient unit, the Imperial Federation. The South African racial model was most directly applicable to Great Britain's other African possessions, especially those with substantial settler populations (British East Africa or Kenya, British Central Africa or Rhodesia). However in the longer term, an Empire-wide harmonisation of racial policy, from the metropolis to the most distant outposts, was regarded as the ultimate aim.

Sudivisions of the Union of South Africa[]

Provinces/Provinsies/Provincies/Provizen[]

  1. Transvaal Free State/Transvaal-Vrystaat/Transvaal Vrijstaat/Transvaal-Freistaat
  2. Orange Free State/Oranje-Vrystaat/Oranje Vrijstaat/Oranje-Freistaat
  3. Cape Free State/Kaap-Vrystaat/Kaap Vrijstaat/Kap-Freistaat
  4. Natal Free State/Natal-Vrystaat/Natal Vrijstaat/Natal-Freistaat
  5. South West Africa Free State/Suidwes-Afrikaans Vrystaat/Zuidwest-Afrikaans Vrijstaat/Sudwestafrikanische-Freistaat (to South Africa 1960)

Homelands/Tuislande/Thuislande/Heimatgebieten[]

There have been 22 Homelands in total, though there are fewer now, with several being united as the Union of South Africa grew to include South West Afria, Basutoland (later LeSotho) and Swaziland. 

  1. Swaziland: to South Africa 1961. Homeland of the South Swazi people, later incorporating the North Swazi after the annexation of KaNgwane. Population: c.1,500,000.
  2. LeSotho: to South Africa 1961. Homeland of the South Sotho people. Annexed KwaKwa. Population: c.1,500,000.
  3. TransKei: Homeland of the North East Xhosa people. Population: c.2,000,000.
  4. BophuthaTswana: Homeland of the West Tswana people, later incorporating the East Tswana after the annexation of Tswanaland. Population: c.2,000,000.
  5. Venda: Homeland of the Venda people. Population: c.200,000.
  6. CisKei: Homeland of the South West Xhosa people. Population: c.200,000.
  7. Gazankulu: Homeland of the Tsongo people. Population: c.500,000.
  8. LeBowa: Homeland of the North Sotho people. Population: c.2,000,000.
  9. KwaZulu: Homeland of the Zulu people. Population: c.5,000,000.
  10. KwaNdebele: Homeland of the Ndebele. Population: c.300,000.
  11. Ovamboland: Homeland of the Ovambo people. Population: c.200,000.
  12. KaVangoland: Homeland of the Kavango people. Annexed Bushmanland. Population: c.50,000.
  13. East Caprivi: Homeland of the Lozi people. Population: c.90,000.
  14. Hereroland: Homeland of the Herero people. Population: c.40,000.
  15. KaOkoveld: Homeland of the Himba people. Population: c.10,000.
  16. Rehoboth: Homeland of the Basters, Coloureds of mixed White and Hottentot origin. Population c.20,000.
  17. Damaraland: Homeland of the North Hottentots. Population: c.30,000.
  18. Namaland: Homeland of the South Hottentots. Population: c.30,000.
  19. KaNgwane: originally the Homeland of the North Swazi. Annexed to Swaziland.
  20. KwaKwa: originally the Homeland of part of the South Sotho people. Annexed to Basutoland, now LeSotho.
  21. Tswanaland: originally the Homeland of the East Tswana people. Annexed to BophuthaTswana.
  22. Bushmanland: originally the Homeland of the Bushmen. Annexed to KaVangoland.
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