he Idea of Federation of The South African White States 1854-1870's

The Idea of Federation of The South African White States 1854-1870's


By 1850 South Africa was a melting pot of different races and most significant where the Africans, British, Boers and the coloured. Africans opposed the Boers because they had considered them as subhuman and also because they had taken their land.
The British had also taken over land, in the so called declared 'protectorates' of otherwise but they advocated and became their guardians. The Boers hated the British for this.
The idea of federation was started in 1854 when Sir George Grey became the Governor of the Cape Colony. He had been a Governor in Switzerland where had applied the federation scheme .
Reason for Grey's Federation scheme in South Africa
It was clear that before 1837, there was only one dominant government in South Africa. - Cape Colony Government. But later independent Boer republics like Orange Free State and Transvaal were established as well as British Natal and British KafIraria.
Others included Goshen land, Stella land, Utrecht and Zoutpansberg as independent smaller Boer states.
To Grey the Multiplicity of states necessitated the idea of federation. He believed that the interests of these small nations were bound to clash and cause turmoil and war in South Africa. In his words Grey said: "If a state is successful in a war it is waging a native race will be broken up and more can tell what territories. These small states must be federated to avoid intrigue and commotion"
To Grey, Federation was the only way of resolving racial conflicts especially in a region fragmented by white communities. In the Cape there was supposed to be a political and civil equality between the white, coloured and black people as bout on a voting system. In Natal, 100,000 Bantu lived in the same territory as about 7,000 whites.
The Transvaal followed the same policy with Orange Free State on the blacks. There was a need for a common racial policy instead of the different racial policies.
Thus the need to create a united stand, among the white communities against the Africans. There was need for a United Whites stand against the Africans aimed at increased exploitation.
There was need to end interstate wars amongst the whites. These were endangering their own security.
Need for a big legislature that would build racial unity among European communities and facilitate efficient policy making in the region, liberal ideas and meaningful development.
Federation would enforce or create statesmanship and nationalism in the white communities. Statesmen and liberals would easily emerge from a wider geographical area than from a small one.
To Sir George Grey, the federation would help develop Boer republics with the rich Cape Colony would help the former develop socially. This is because the Cape would spare "surplus" resources to help the Boer republics (social development - education and improve religion).
Grey argued that the small independent states were incapable of producing well learned judges who would effectively administer justice. A joint judicial council would help solve this.
Federation was necessary to increase trade and commerce and it could enlarge raw material sources and market for finished products. Trade barriers would be reduced or removed altogether.
Therefore Grey considered a confederation as a better way of utilizing the resources of the region in order to develop a stable political, economic and social system.
He emphasized that a blow to economic development was a result of the separate wasteful states and that their weaknesses would endanger the whites in that African societies would take advantage and attack them.
He argued that no peace would prevail in South Africa without federation. It is true that lack of federation was the same as lack of peace and this was naive. Grey's ambition was ignored in spite of the fact that he had very much advocated for federation.
He was recalled to Britain and only allowed to return to South Africa on the understanding that he did not raise the question of federation again.
Why Grey's Federation scheme failed
There was opposition from the white communities in South Africa. This is because they had different interests. The Cape Colony under the British mainly the administration opposed the scheme because more money was needed to develop the interior republics. To them federation was a wastage of resources.
The Boers were not ready to accept British Imperial ambition and its crown. The British government was not ready to annex the new Boer republics, which would demand much, and they recalled Sir George Grey never to raise the issue again.
Different white states in South Africa had different opinions and racial policies for the Africans and other communities. In the Cape Colony, the whites, blacks and the coloreds were considered as equal though the whites were better off politically.
In Natal, there was no equality and Africans were in reserves under their own administrative and judicial systems, which had created peace for over thirty years in Natal and creating new arrangements would destabilize the area.
The Orange Free State and Transvaal opposed Federation scheme because the Boers did not want to be equaled to the Africans whom they regarded as subhuman.
The interior states of South Africa were so poor and had nothing to offer in terms of substantial wealth. The Cape with fertile soils was incomparable to those in the interior. Minerals had been discovered but rumored until 1867. Because of this poverty, the whites at the Cape were not ready to federate with no economic gains and it was not useful for federate with the poor.
The Basuto nation could not be easily over thrown to create a white federation. The scheme failed because of the strength of Basuto nation under Moshoeshoe. He had a boundary conflict with the Boers.
Grey even mediated between the Boers and the Basuto leading to the signing of the Smith Field Treaty 1857. But war also continued again.
After the war, Transvaal and Orange Free Sate wished to form their own union than federation with the British whom they suspected of supporting Moshoeshoe in the 1857 war.
The diamonds at Kimberley were discovered in 1867, which proved a strong barrier to federation. With the discovery of Diamonds in 1867, it made clear that there was absence of law and order in the Diamond fields. They also stated that they moved to save Griqualand from Boer slavery.
To the Boers who were poor they were concerned with the British behavior. Even some Africans developed a negative attitude towards the British for their craft. All these factors worked against federation plan.
Note that by blocking the federation scheme, Britain and South Africa lost the best opportunity to correct some of the mistakes and injustices brought about by the division of the country.
If the Great Trek divided the country, the discovery of precious minerals demonstrated the wisdom of Grey's general strategy. The minerals prov