1.
Union of South Africa
–
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of four previously separate British colonies, Cape Colony, Natal Colony, Transvaal Colony and it included the territories formerly part of the Boer republics annexed in 1902, South African Republic and Orange Free State. The Union of South Africa was a dominion of the British Empire and it was governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with the Crown represented by a governor-general. The Union came to an end when the 1961 constitution was enacted, on 31 May 1961 the country became a republic and left the Commonwealth, under the new name Republic of South Africa. Unlike Canada and Australia, the Union of South Africa was a state, rather than a federation. A bicameral parliament was created, consisting of a House of Assembly and Senate, during the course of the Union the franchise changed on several occasions always to suit the needs of the government of the day. Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg were given financial compensation, the Union initially remained under the British Crown as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire. With the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the Union and other dominions became equal in status to the United Kingdom, the Monarch was represented in South Africa by a Governor-General, while effective power was exercised by the Executive Council, headed by the Prime Minister. Louis Botha, formerly a Boer general, was appointed first Prime Minister of the Union, heading a coalition representing the white Afrikaner, prosecutions before courts were instituted in the name of the Crown and government officials served in the name of the Crown. Some extremist Nationalist organisations, like the Ossewa Brandwag, openly supported Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the Afrikaner-dominated Government consequently withdrew South Africa from the Commonwealth. Natal, which had an English-speaking majority, voted against, following the referendum result, some whites in Natal even called for secession from the Union. Five years earlier, some 33,000 Natalians had signed the Natal Covenant in opposition to the plans for a republic, subsequently the National Party Government passed a Constitution that repealed the South Africa Act. The features of the Union were carried over with little change to the newly formed Republic. The decision to transform from a Union to Republic was narrowly decided in the referendum, the South Africa Act dealt with race in two specific provisions. Second it made native affairs a matter for the national government, the practice therefore was to establish a Minister of Native Affairs. Several previous unsuccessful attempts to unite the colonies were made, with proposed political models ranging from unitary, Sir George Grey, the Governor of Cape Colony from 1854 to 1861, decided that unifying the states of southern Africa would be mutually beneficial. He believed that a united South African Federation, under British control and his idea was greeted with cautious optimism in southern Africa, the Orange Free State agreed to the idea in principle and the Transvaal may also eventually have agreed. However, he was overruled by the British Colonial Office which ordered him to desist from his plans and his refusal to abandon the idea eventually led to him being recalled
2.
South Africa
–
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
3.
1912
–
As of the start of 1912, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 1 – The Republic of China is proclaimed, January 4 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter. January 5 – Moscow Art Theatre production of Hamlet opens, January 6 – New Mexico becomes the 47th state of the United States. January 6 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift, January 14 – Raymond Poincaré forms a coalition government in France, beginning his first term of office as Prime Minister on 21 January. January 17 – British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott and a team of four become the second group to reach the South Pole. January 18 – Prague Party Conference, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party break away from the rest of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. January 22 – The Overseas Railroad opens and the first train arrives in Key West, Florida at 10,43 AM, with Henry M. Flagler, January 23 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague. February 12 – The Manchu Qing dynasty of China comes to an end after 268 years with the abdication of Emperor Puyi in favour of the Republic of China. February 14 – Arizona becomes the 48th U. S. state, february 29 – Serbia and Bulgaria secretly sign a treaty of alliance for a term of eight years, with each pledging to come to the defense of the other during war. March 1 – Albert Berry is reported to have made the first parachute jump from a flying airplane. March 6 – Italian forces became the first to use airships in war, march 7 – Roald Amundsen in Hobart, Tasmania, announces his success in reaching the South Pole the previous December. March 12 – The Girl Scouts is founded by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, march 16 – Lawrence Oates, dying member of Scotts South Pole expedition, leaves the tent saying, I am just going outside and may be some time. March 22 – State of Bihar is formed out of the ertswhile State of Bengal in British India, march 27 – Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gives 3,000 cherry trees to be planted in Washington, D. C. to symbolize the friendship between the two countries. March 29 – The remaining members of Robert Falcon Scotts South Pole expedition die, march 30 – The French Third Republic establishes the French protectorate in Morocco. April 10 – White Star liner RMS Titanic departs from Southampton with 2225 passengers, april 11 – RMS Titanic makes her last call, at Queenstown in Ireland. April 14–15 – Sinking of the RMS Titanic, RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the northern Atlantic Ocean, the wreck will not be discovered until 1985. April 16 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel, april 17 –500 striking gold miners in Siberia are killed or wounded by troops in the Lena massacre. April 18 – Cunard Line vessel RMS Carpathia arrives in New York with the 708 RMS Titanic survivors, april 20 – Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, opens
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
