Cape Colony

The Cape Colony (Dutch: Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, then became the Cape Province, which existed even after 1961, when South Africa had become a republic, albeit, temporarily outside the Commonwealth of Nations (1961-94).

Quick facts: Cape ColonyKaapkolonie (Dutch), Status, ... ▼

Cape Colony Kaapkolonie (Dutch)
1806–1910
Flag (1876–1910) Coat of arms
Anthem: God Save the King (1795–1837; 1901–1910) God Save the Queen (1837–1901)
The Cape of Good Hope in 1885
Status	Crown colony of the British Empire
Capital	Cape Town
Common languages	English, Dutch[lower-alpha 1] Khoekhoe, Xhosa also spoken
Ethnic groups (1904)	59.12% Black 24.05% White 16.39% Coloured 0.42% Asian
Religion	Dutch Reformed Church, Anglican, San religion
Government	Self-governing colony under Constitutional monarchy
King/Queen
• 1795–1820	George III
• 1820–1830	George IV
• 1830–1837	William IV
• 1837–1901	Victoria
• 1901–1910	Edward VII
Governor
• 1797–1798	George Macartney
• 1901–1910	Walter Hely-Hutchinson
Prime Minister
• 1872–1878	John Charles Molteno
• 1908–1910	John X. Merriman
Historical era	Imperialism
• Established	1806
• Dutch colony	1803–1806
• Anglo-Dutch treaty	1814
• Natal incorporated	1844
• Basutoland incorporated into the Cape Colony	1871
• Basutoland separate to form its own colony	1884
• Disestablished	1910
Area
1822[1]	331,907 km2 (128,150 sq mi)
Population
• 1822[1]	110,380
• 1865 census[2][3]	496,381
• 1875 census[3]	720,984
• 1891 census[3]	1,527,224
• 1904 census[3]	2,409,804
Currency	Pound sterling
Preceded by Succeeded by Dutch Cape Colony British Bechuanaland Union of South Africa Basutoland
Today part of	Namibia[lower-alpha 2] South Africa Lesotho[lower-alpha 3]

Historical states in present-day South Africa
before 1600 Kingdom of Mapungubwe (1050–1270) Kingdom of Mutapa (1430–1760)
1600–1700 Dutch Cape Colony (1652–1795)
1700–1800 Mthethwa Paramountcy (c.1780–1817) Ndwandwe (c.1780–1817) Swellendam (1795) Graaff-Reinet (1795–1796) Cape Colony (1795–1802)
1800–1850 Dutch Cape Colony (1802–1806) Cape Colony (1806–1910) Waterboer's Land (1813–1871) Zulu Kingdom (1818–1897) Adam Kok's Land (1825–1861) Winburg (1836–1844) Potchefstroom (1837–1848) Natalia Republic (1839–1843)
1850–1875 South African Republic (1852–1902) Orange Free State (1854–1902) Republic of Utrecht (1854–1858) Lydenburg Republic (1856–1860) Griqualand East (1861–1879) Griqualand West (1870–1880) Diggers' Republic (1870–1871)
1875–1900 Stellaland (1882–1885) Goshen (1882–1883) Nieuw Republiek (1884–1888) Klein Vrystaat (1886–1891)
1900–present Cape Colony (1806–1910) Union of South Africa (1910–1961) Transkei (1976–1994) Bophuthatswana (1977–1994) Venda (1979–1994) Ciskei (1981–1994) Republic of South Africa (1961–present)
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The British colony was preceded by an earlier corporate colony that became an original Dutch colony of the same name, which was established in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The Cape was under VOC rule from 1652 to 1795 and under rule of the Napoleonic Batavia Republic from 1803 to 1806.[4] The VOC lost the colony to Great Britain following the 1795 Battle of Muizenberg, but it was acceded to the Batavia Republic following the 1802 Treaty of Amiens. It was re-occupied by the British following the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806, and British possession affirmed with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. The Cape of Good Hope then remained in the British Empire, becoming self-governing in 1872.

The colony was coextensive with the later Cape Province, stretching from the Atlantic coast inland and eastward along the southern coast, constituting about half of modern South Africa: the final eastern boundary, after several wars against the Xhosa, stood at the Fish River. In the north, the Orange River, natively known as the ǂNūǃarib (Black River) and subsequently called the Gariep River, served as the boundary for some time, although some land between the river and the southern boundary of Botswana was later added to it. From 1878, the colony also included the enclave of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands, both in what is now Namibia.

It united with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa in 1910, and was accordingly renamed the Province of the Cape of Good Hope.[5] South Africa became a sovereign state in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster. In 1961, it became the Republic of South Africa. Following the 1994 creation of the present-day South African provinces, the Cape Province was partitioned into the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Western Cape, with smaller parts in North West province.