FLAG OF SOUTH AFRICA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The South African flag consists of a horizontal green Y-shaped figure that occupies the central area of ​​the flag, covered by two symmetrical white stripes on its right side and a gold stripe on its left side. A black triangle occupies the space near the mast, with a red and a blue area in the remaining space.

It has a structure very similar to the flag of the Czech Republic, with the difference that the flag of the European country consists of three colors (white, red and blue), while that of South Africa has up to six colors (white, black, blue, red, green and gold).

Current flag of South Africa (1994 - Present). National flag not subjected to copyright laws. Public domain.

The national flag represents the Republic of South Africa since its founding in 1994. Previously, the country had spent most of its history controlled by the British, who wrested control of the nation from the Dutch after arriving in the south of the continent in the seventeenth century.

The country was unified in 1910, since it previously functioned as a series of independent colonies from the British Crown (each with its own particular banner). After the union of South Africa, the country has only had three official flags, only one of them being used by South Africa as a sovereign nation.

History

Flag of the Colony of Natal (1843 - 1910)

The Colony of Natal was a British colony annexed to the empire in 1843, after the war between the British and the Boers that culminated in the conquest of the Boer Republic of Natalia.

The Boers of the region were in a constant state of conflict with the local Zulu, who were seeking to seize control of the region. In 1843, local leaders agreed to join the United Kingdom as a British colony in order to receive the support of the Crown Army and prevent the Republic of Natalia from succumbing to African troops.

This region served the British to establish a very important sugar cane industry for the time. It had a traditional British colonial flag, with the standard of the United Kingdom in its upper left part and the Natal shield in its right part; the British crown was on it.

The Colony of Natal was one of four colonies that joined in 1910 to form the Union of South Africa.

Flag of the Colony of Natal (1843 - 1910). By Sodacan

Cape Colony Flag (1806 - 1910)

The Cape Colony, also known as the Colony of Good Hope, was a Dutch colony that, in 1806, was conquered by the British in the area where the Cape of New Hope is located, in South Africa.

The colony was part of the British Empire until the eventual creation of the Union of South Africa. In 1872, however, the Cape Colony became independent from the British Crown in terms of its system of government, as it became a self-sufficient colony.

This was one of the British colonies that made the most money in South Africa and around the world in general. In fact, the prosperity and peace that governed the region for most of its colonial period were two of the causes that led to the eventual South African independence.

To prevent the colony from breaking away from the British Empire, they were allowed to rule internally, until the creation of the Union in 1910.

The British colonial flag used to represent the Cape Colony had a shield on its right side that had two local animals on its sides and a royal shield in its central part.

Flag of the Cape Colony (1806 - 1910). Sodacan

Flag of the Orange River Colony (1900 - 1910)

The Orange River Colony was a British colony that existed after the incorporation of the Orange Free State into the British Empire.

Originally, the Empire declared the annex of this colony before they invaded the territory, which caused a peculiar situation in the government of the colony; two governments existed simultaneously: the government of the Orange Free State and the government appointed by the British Crown to govern its new colony.

There were internal military conflicts between those who wanted to keep the Orange Free State as an independent republic and those who favored the British Crown to exercise control of the region.

A cessation of hostilities was reached in 1902, after the end of the Second Boer War, with an agreement signed for the British to officially occupy the territory and, in addition, a new local constitution was promulgated.

The British colonial flag used for the Orange River Colony was represented on its right side with an antelope, a typical animal of this region near the river.

Flag of the Orange River Colony (1900 - 1910). Philip Ronan

Flag of the Transvaal Colony (1902 - 1910)

The Transvaal Colony spans the entire area of ​​the Transvaal region today, and was occupied by the British after the end of the Second Boer War. It became the fourth British colony in South Africa.

This colony was severely affected by the armed conflict between the Boers and the British. In fact, the British Empire had to invest 19 million pounds sterling after the end of the war to repair all the structural damage generated during the conflict.

The Transvaal Colony was unable to firmly establish itself as a British economic power, although gold mining was able to resume after all structures were repaired. However, the contracts given to the locals were very small and all the wealth of the colony went directly to the UK.

Like the other four flags of the colonies, this British colonial standard had a shield on its right side. The lion present in this symbol is one of the typical animals of the Transvaal area in Africa.

Flag of the Transvaal Colony (1902 - 1910). Sodacan

Flag of the Union of South Africa (1910 - 1928)

After the end of the First World War, one of the fundamental points of the Treaty of Versailles established that all the provinces of South Africa were unified under the same flag. Thus, a new country was formed.

With the creation of the Union of South Africa, the first step was marked in the creation of what is now the Republic of South Africa. The country was one of the founding members of the League of Nations and began to act as a self-governing domain belonging to the United Kingdom.

In addition, it was governed as a constitutional monarchy, with the King (and later the Queen) of England being its main head of state, but with a governor general acting locally in the nation.

The country's first flag became red instead of blue, as were the rest of the flags of its provinces. It had a shield with four emblems, each representing each colony that became the Union. The country became part of the Commonwealth of Nations, to which most of the former British colonies in the world belong.

Fornax, Zscout370

Second flag of the Union of South Africa and first flag of the Republic of South Africa (1928 - 1994)

The second flag was adopted in 1928, having at its center a combination of the national flags of the countries that had the most historical influence on South Africa. The flag that was adopted was similar to that of the Netherlands, but with the top stripe being orange instead of red, presumably to represent the local culture.

In 1931, although South Africa continued to belong to the Commonwealth of Nations, it was recognized as an independent country just like any other, as had also happened with Canada and Australia, to give two examples.

Second Flag of the Union of South Africa (1928 - 1961) and First Flag of the Republic of South Africa (1961 - 1994). Parliament of South Africa (Vector graphics image by Denelson83)

Current South African flag (since 1994)

The current flag of South Africa was first flown on Election Day in 1994. Its design was created just one week before the event. In fact, it was intended to change the flag later, but it was never done.

In 1994, the first polls were held in the post-apartheid era in South Africa, these being the first elections where all South Africans could already vote and not just white people. Starting this year, the right to vote was given to all the country's inhabitants regardless of their ethnicity, but only considering their age.

South Africa maintains the same flag to this day, having passed the five-year trial period that Congress had given this design.

Current flag of South Africa (1994 - Present). National flag not subjected to copyright laws. Public domain.

Meaning

The official meaning that is given to the flag of South Africa is that of a kind of mixture between all the flags that the country has had throughout its history. The particular shape of the flag in its center, which resembles a “Y”, symbolically represents the convergence of various cultures that marked the history of the country.

In fact, the South African flag is one of the few flags in the world whose colors have no special meaning. There are those who attribute certain symbolism to the colors of the flag, but the South African government explains, in an official way, that "no type of symbolism should be attached to the colors of the flag."

Three of the colors of this national flag (green, black and yellow) are present on the flag of the ANC political party, and the other three colors (red, blue and white) are on the flags of the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom. the Netherlands.

References

1. Flag of South Africa, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018. Taken from Britannica.com
2. Flag of South Africa, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org
3. National Flag of South Africa, South Africa National Website, (nd). Taken from southafrica.co.za
4. History of the Flag of South Africa, Flagmakers United Kingdom, (nd). Taken from flagmakers.co.uk
5. History of South Africa, Wikipedia, 2019. Taken from Wikipedia.org