GRADE 12:1948 – 1976 Constitutional Development

The Republican Ideal

In 1948 the Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party, or HNP) came to power in South Africa. The HNP introduced apartheid. As a republican party it began to push for independence from Britain and the establishment of a republic in South Africa. The republican ideal was not new to the Afrikaners. In the 1830s, the Great Trek led to the formation of three independent Boer Republics: the short-lived Natalia in what is today Natal, the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (later Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. In the republics, the Boers could govern themselves and did not have to answer to the British. This independence did not last as the British pushed to rule over the entire southern Africa. In the 1840s Natalia was annexed, and the remaining two Boer Republics came under British rule during the Anglo-Boer War.

But the republican ideal was not crushed. In 1914 there was an Afrikaner rebellion. In 1916 a NP congress called for a return to republicanism, but decided it was too early. In 1918 the Broederbond (Brothers’ Society), a cultural organisation with a strong Afrikaner nationalist and republican motivation, was founded. In the 1930s the Republican Bond was established, and other Republican organisations like the Gesuiwerde Nationale Party (the Purified National Party), the Voortrekkers, Noodhulpliga (First Aid League) and the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings (Federation of Afrikaans cultural organisations, FAK) were also formed. In the 1930s there was a surge of Afrikaner national feeling around the centenary celebrations of the Great Trek in 1938. The hundredth anniversary of the Great Trek and the Battle of Blood River, which took place at the height of the Trek, was seen as symbolic of preserving white South African culture taking steps toward founding the Boer republics. With this Afrikaner nationalism, anti-British and pro-republic feelings rose even further.

Towards self-determination: 1910-1948

Politically, South Africa was moving towards a republic. Even though she remained a British dominion after Unification in 1910, the country became more and more self-determining. On certain issues it already had autonomy. In 1910 it was agreed that internal affairs be handled by the South African government but the country’s foreign affairs remain under British control. In 1926 the Balfour Declaration was passed, granting all British dominions within the Commonwealth of Nations equal status and conferring them control over their foreign affairs. This led to the establishment of South Africa’s first Department of Foreign Affairs the next year. In 1931 the Statute of Westminster determined that British dominions could not have complete autonomy over its foreign matters, but in 1934 the Status and Seals Acts were passed, giving the South African Parliament greater authority than the British Government over the Union. In 1948 the NP came to power, and South Africans grew confident that a Republic was possible. This was helped by India’s independence from British rule in 1947. India became a republic but remained a member of the Commonwealth. This made South Africans feel less nervous about being isolated. Over the next 13 years the policies of Prime Ministers DF Malan, JG Strijdom and HF Verwoerd put South Africa steadily on the road to becoming a republic.

Malan, 1948-1954

(Source: http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/sa.htm)

DF Malan was an Afrikaner nationalist and republican. He promoted Afrikaner nationalism and Afrikaner interests and took steps towards becoming independent from Britain. In 1949 the Citizenship Act was passed. Before 1949, South Africans had not been citizens, but British subjects. Regardless of whether a person was resident in South Africa or had recently immigrated, they were a subject of the British Crown and enjoyed equal status and rights. The 1949 Act instituted South African citizenship. An immigrant from another Commonwealth country would now not be automatically equal to a South African citizen, but had to register for citizenship first. The Act made sure that the British immigrant population would not reduce the Afrikaner majority. Afrikaner nationalism was promoted and encouraged in the civil service and police force. The right to appeal court decisions in London was revoked in 1950. In 1951 a pro-republican South African, E.G. Jansen, became the Governor-General.

Strijdom, 1954-1958

(Source: http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/sa.htm)

JG Strijdom was an outspoken Republican. During his time as Prime Minister, the South African Parliament was recognised as the highest authority (1955), and the Union Flag flown since 1928 alongside the British Union Jack, was accepted in 1957 as the only national flag. The Union Jack would now only be hoisted on special occasions. At the same time the ‘Stem van Suid-Afrika’ or ‘Call of South Africa’ was established as the only national anthem, and the British anthem, ‘God save the King’, would only be sung at occasions relating to the Commonwealth. In 1957 South Africa took over the British navy base in Simon’s Town. Many South Africans opposed to a republic, specifically English speaking South Africans, saw this as a gradual but steady breaking away from Britain and the Commonwealth. The opposition United Party, grew more and more nervous about the NP’s move towards independence, and motivated Parliament to stay associated with the Commonwealth. But Strjidom only reaffirmed his party’s desire for a republic and said that South Africa’s participation in the Commonwealth would be determined by what was in the country’s best interests.

The British flag, the Union Jack

(Source: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
/geos/uk.html)

The South African flag that was introduced in 1928. To read
more about the flag, click here.

For more on the old South African anthem, click here.

Verwoerd, 1958-1961 (Prime Minister until 1966)

Source: http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/sa.htm

HF Verwoerd continued the policies of his two predecessors, and under his rule South Africa became a republic in 1961. By the end of the 1950s the stage was set for a republic – South Africa had a single flag, anthem, and citizenship. Besides the support of white Afrikaans voters, international circumstances also helped Verwoerd achieve a Republic. After the Second World War more and more British colonies in Africa and Asia gained independence. South Africa’s apartheid policies were more pronounced by this context. Members of the Commonwealth and United Nations were determined to isolate South Africa. In 1960 Verwoerd called for a referendum to be held on the matter. Unity among white South Africans and support for Verwoerd and the republican ideal rose even among English-speaking South Africans. This followed a series of events that included British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan’s ‘Winds of Change’ speech in which he announced that independence for black Africans was becoming inevitable. Most white South Africans were unwilling to give up apartheid and realised that South Africa would have to go it alone if it was to pursue its racial policy. The referendum of October 1960 was won in favour of the republicans.

It was not a landslide victory. 850 458 people voted for a republic and over 775 thousand voted against it. In Natal, a mainly English-speaking province, the majority voted against a republic. A considerable number of Afrikaners voted against it. Black, Coloured and Indian South Africans who were not allowed to vote were mostly opposed to a republic.

In January 1961, Verwoerd began establishing legislation to turn the Union of South Africa into a republic. In April a new constitution was finalised. It combined the powers of the British Crown and Governor-General authority in a new position, that of State President. The President would have little political power but would serve more as ceremonial head of the country. The political power would lie with the Prime Minister and head of government. (For a list of all the South African Prime Ministers, Governors-General and State Presidents, 1910-2004, click here.) The South African Republic would also have its own monetary system, namely Rands and cents.

On 31 May 1961, South Africa became a republic. The date was important to Afrikaners. It was the anniversary of several historical events ie. the Treaty of Vereeniging in 1902 which ended the Anglo-Boer War, South Africa becoming a a Union in 1910, and the first hoisting of the South African flag in 1928. The republican ideal was finally reality. Many expected that, like India, the new republic would stay in the Commonwealth. Instead criticism on his policies by other Commonwealth members led Verwoerd to withdraw from the organisation only 2 months before South Africa became a republic.

For more on South Africa’s road to sovereignty, go to the Grade 12 lesson on the Pact Administration.

GRADE LEVEL	THEME	TOPIC	DURATION
12	SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY	1948 - 1976: CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT	x LESSONS