Transvaal Province

Province of the Transvaal Provinsie van die Transvaal
Area
• 1904[1]	288,000 km2 (111,196 sq mi)
Population
• 1904	1,268,716[1]
• 1991	9,491,265[2]
History
• Origin	Transvaal Colony
• Created	31 May 1910
• Abolished	27 April 1994
• Succeeded by	Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and eastern part of North West
Status	Province of  South Africa
Government	Transvaal Provincial Council
• HQ	Pretoria

Wikisource has the text of the 1922 Encyclopædia Britannica article Transvaal.

The Province of the Transvaal (Afrikaans: Provinsie van die Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal Province (Afrikaans: Transvaal Provinsie, Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈtrɐnsfɑːl]) was a province of South Africa from 1910 until the end of apartheid in 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it. The name "Transvaal" refers to the province's geographical location to the north of the Vaal River. Its capital was Pretoria, which was also the country's.

History

In 1910, four British colonies united to form the Union of South Africa. The Transvaal Colony, which had been formed out of the bulk of the old South African Republic after the Second Boer War, became the Transvaal Province in the new union. Half a century later, in 1961, the union ceased to be part of the Commonwealth of Nations and became the Republic of South Africa. The PWV (Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging) conurbation in the Transvaal, centered on Pretoria and Johannesburg, became South Africa's economic powerhouse, a position it still holds today as Gauteng province.

In 1994, after the fall of apartheid, the former provinces were restructured, and a cohesive Transvaal ceased to exist. The south-central portion (including the PWV) became Gauteng, the northern portion became Limpopo and the southeastern portion became Mpumalanga. Most of the North West came from the southwestern portion of the old Transvaal, and tiny segment of the Transvaal joined KwaZulu-Natal. However, even before 1994 the Transvaal Province was subdivided into regions for a number of purposes (such as municipal and district courts, and sporting divisions), these divisions included Northern Transvaal (Present-day Limpopo and Pretoria), Eastern Transvaal (Currently Mpumalanga), Western Transvaal (Currently part of North West province) and Southern Transvaal (Now the southern part of Gauteng province)

Geography

The Transvaal province lay between the Vaal River in the south, and the Limpopo River in the north, roughly between  22 ¹⁄₂ and  27 ¹⁄₂ S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the Orange Free State and Natal provinces, to its west were the Cape Province and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswana), to its north Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe), and to its east Portuguese East Africa (later Mozambique) and Swaziland. Except on the south-west, these borders were mostly well defined by natural features.

Several Bantustans were entirely inside the Transvaal: Venda, KwaNdebele, Gazankulu, KaNgwane and Lebowa. Parts of Bophuthatswana were also in the Transvaal, with other parts in Cape Province and Orange Free State.

Within the Transvaal lies the Waterberg Massif, a prominent ancient geological feature of the South African landscape.

Districts in 1991

Districts of the province and population at the 1991 census.^[2]

Administrators of the Transvaal Province (1910–1994)

See also

• Gauteng cricket team (formerly Transvaal cricket team)
• Batau tribe

References

1. 1 2 Edgar Sanderson (2001-11-01). Great Britain in Africa: The History of Colonial Expansion. Simon Publications LLC. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-931541-31-2. Retrieved 2013-09-10. 
2. 1 2 "Census > 1991 > RSA > Variable Description > Person file > District code". Statistics South Africa - Nesstar WebView. Retrieved 18 August 2013. 
3. ↑ "Mine Kills 2 Whites in South Africa : Toll at 13 in Blasts Attributed to Black Guerrilla Offensive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 August 2013. 

Administrative divisions of South Africa (1910–1994)
Provinces of South Africa	Province of the Cape of Good Hope Province of the Orange Free State Province of the Transvaal Province of Natal
Non-independent homelands	Gazankulu KaNgwane KwaNdebele KwaZulu Lebowa Qwaqwa
Independent homelands1	Transkei Bophuthatswana Venda Ciskei
Dependent territories	Mandate of South-West Africa
1 Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei were originally part of South Africa; they later declared independence with South African consent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their independence was recognized by the South African government but they were internationally recognized as part of South Africa.

Coordinates: 25°S 30°E / 25°S 30°E / -25; 30