Formation of the Union of South Africa.

On May 31, 1910, the Union of South Africa officially came into being, the result of several years of negotiations among South African politicians and between South Africa and the British government. It was an unlikely result, given the events of recent history, notably the Second Boer War (1899-1902), fought between the British and the two Boer republics—the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic. The Boers, or Afrikaners, were descendants of Dutch farmers who had colonized the regions. In addition to the Boer republics, there were two British-majority colonies, Cape Colony and Natal. By the end of the war in 1902, which resulted in a hard-won British victory, some seventy-five thousand had died, including British and Boer soldiers, Afrikaner civilians incarcerated in concentration camps, and black Africans. In May, 1902, the Treaty of Vereeniging ended the conflict, with the two Boer republics agreeing to come under British sovereignty, with the promise of eventual self-government. The political future of black Africans was left in abeyance.