South African coins catalog and price guide
Transvaal (1856-1899)
In 1835, the so-called Great Trek began -
the migration of the Boers from the Dutch Cape Colony to the
central regions of South Africa, in an effort to escape from the
rule of the Dutch East India Company.
Having great superiority in arms and military training, the
Boers defeated local tribes without much difficulty and moved
further into the interior of the continent. One of such groups
under the command of Andries Hendrik Potgieter in 1837 attacked
the village of Mosega and knocked out the Ndebele tribe.
Potgieter issued a proclamation in which he spoke of creating a
new state of migrant farmers. After this, many Boers began
moving to a country called the Transvaal.
On January 17, 1852, Britain, at Potgieter's request, signed a
treaty that recognized the independence of about 5,000 Boer
families in the Transvaal region.
In 1856, the Transvaal began to take shape as a real state: a
special assembly created a constitution for the country, the
official name of the Republic of South Africa was chosen, and
the Folksraad legislative body was established. Martinus
Pretorius, who became the leader of the Transvaalians after
Potgieter's death, tried with the help of the army (commanded by
Paul Kruger) to unite the Transvaal with the neighboring state
of the Boers - the Orange Republic. The conquest failed.
At about the same time, a village appeared in the Transvaal,
which became the capital of the state. The town was named
Pretorius in honor of the elder Pretorius. Pretorius managed to
win the presidential election in the Orange Free State while
remaining president of South Africa. Many citizens thought this
was illegal and tried to get Pretorius to give up one of the
presidential positions.
In 1877, Great Britain announced the annexation of the Republic
of South Africa. However, the Boers rebelled three years later,
and in 1880 the Transvaal regained independence.
The Boers, having concluded a peace treaty, received full
internal self-government, but at the same time agreed to the
suzerainty of Great Britain. However, the British still could
not allow the territories, where there was active gold mining,
to remain outside their direct control.
On October 11, 1899, the second Anglo-Boer War began. A few
months later the Boers were defeated, and after two years of
guerrilla warfare signed the surrender. The Transvaal ceased to
exist as an independent state and became part of the British
Empire.
Transvaal coins
British South Africa (1910-1961)
Coins of British South Africa
South African Republic (since 1961)
1961-1989
since 1990
Commemorative coins