National Party (South Africa) - From Dominion To Republic

From Dominion To Republic

The National Party was a strong advocate of republicanism. Republics had existed in South Africa prior to the British invasion, and Afrikaner nationalists had been pursuing them ever since. The republican ideal was a new one to Cape Dutch descended Afrikaners but not to those of Boer descent: in the 1830s, the Great Trek had brought about the formation of three independent Boer republics — the ephemeral Natalia Republic (today KwaZulu-Natal), the South African Republic (later Transvaal) and the Orange Free State (called simply Free State today). Boers governed themselves within these republics and were not required to answer to the British. This liberty was short-lived however, as Britain extended its rule over all of southern Africa. Natalia was annexed in the 1840s, and the other two republics were taken over by the British in the Second Boer War (1899–1902).

The republican ideal was not crushed, however. In 1914, the Afrikaners led the failed Maritz Rebellion against the government; in 1916, an NP congress called initially for a return to republicanism but then decided that it was too early; 1918 saw the founding of the Broederbond (Brother Bond), a cultural establishment with powerful Afrikaner nationalist and republican overtones. The Republican Bond was established in the 1930s, and other republican organisations such as the Purified National Party (Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party), the Voortrekkers, Noodhulpliga (First-Aid League) and the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings (Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Organisations, FAK) also came into being. There was a popular outpouring of nationalist sentiment around the 1938 centenary of the Great Trek and the Battle of Blood River. It was seen to signify the perpetuation of white South African culture, and anti-British and pro-republican feelings grew stronger.

It was obvious in political circles that the Union of South Africa was headed inexorably towards republicanism. Although it remained a British dominion even after unification in 1910, the country became all the more self-regulating; indeed, it already had complete autonomy on certain issues. It was agreed in 1910 that domestic matters would be looked after by the South African government but that the country's external affairs would still remain British-controlled.

Hertzog's trip to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference was a definite (if failed) attempt to gain independence. In 1926, however, the Balfour Declaration was passed, affording every British dominion within the British Empire equal rank and bestowing upon them their own right of direction of foreign issues. This resulted the following year in the institution of South Africa's first-ever Department of Foreign Affairs. 1931 saw a backtrack as the Statute of Westminster resolved that British dominions could not have total control over their external concerns, but, in 1934, the Status and Seals Acts were passed, granting the South African Parliament even greater power than the British government over the Union.

The extreme National Party members of the 1930s were known collectively as the Republikeinse Bond. The following organisations, parties and events promoted the republican ideal in the 1930s:

• The Broederbond
• The Purified National Party
• The FAK
• The Voortrekkers and Noodhulpliga
• The 1938 Great Trek Centenary
• The Reddingsdaadbond
• The Ossewabrandwag
• Pirow's Nuwe Orde (New Order)
• The adjustment to Die Stem and the national flag