Gayensa Protectorate
Capital: Kuruman
Large Cities: Blinkklip
Official Religion: no official religion
Official Languages: Tswana
Population: 101,111
White: 3,726
Coloured: 3,897
African: 93,441
Asian and Other: 47
Eureka Republic
Capital: Adamstown
Large Cities:
Official Religion: none
Official Languages: English
Population: 47,387
White: 29,958
Coloured: 6,214
African: 11,215
Asian and Other: 0
Basutoland Kingdom
Capital: Thaba Bosiu
Large Cities: Mafeteng, Marakeng
Official Religion: none
Official Languages: Sesotho
Population: 1,727,661
White: 17,894
Coloured: 19,940
African: 1,689,418
Asian and Other: 409
Griqualand North
Capital: Kokstad
Large Cities:
Official Religion: Griqua Christian Church
Official Languages: Afrikaans
Population: 126,071
White: 2,319
Coloured: 78,894
African: 44,797
Asian and Other: 61
Griqualand South
Capital: Philippolis
Large Cities:
Official Religion: Griqua Christian Church
Official Languages: Afrikaans
Population: 133,846
White: 10,041
Coloured: 96,150
African: 26,515
Asian and Other: 1,140
KwaTlokwa
Capital: Matome
Large Cities: Matjhabeng, Meloding
Official Religion: none
Official Languages: Sotho, English
Population: 589,762
White: 11,410
Coloured: 5,103
African: 573,211
Asian and Other: 38
Oranje Free State
Capital: Bloemfontein
Large Cities: Winburg, Heilbron, Harrismith
Official Religion: Dutch Reformed Church
Official Languages: Afrikaans
Population: 876,518
White: 451,892
Coloured: 53,310
African: 368,419
Asian and Other: 2,897
************************
Situated at the crossroads of the federation, the Central Region is home to perhaps the most culturally diverse collection of states that can be found in any area of equivalent size within the country. It is a place of extreme contrasts, both in climate and in poulace.
Though inhabited for millennia, the modern history of the region begins with the great caesura in history that the Mfecane, driven by the explosive growth of the Zulu Kingdom and the trek of Mzilikaze and the Matabele across the Transvaal. Bringing widespread devastation to the Sotho of the Transvaal, the 1820s and 30s would see two key events that would shape the future of the area between the Oranje and Vaal. The first was the widespread depopulation of the area, driven by starvation and the flight of the Makololo across Bechuanaland into Barotseland. The second was the centralisation of many of the Basotho tribes under Moshoeshoe I who, in retreating to the heart of the Drakensburg Mountains, founded the Kingdom of Barotseland.
Running concurrently with this, and spanning the departure of the Makololo in 1822, was the arrival of three waves of settlers from the Cape and Doleriet- the Boers, Griqua and Eureka settlers. Of these, the Eureka settlers were both the earliest travellers and those with the simplest history. Starting as a large breakout of prisoners from the Cape Colony in 1797, they spent the next 20 years moving further and further inland, never settling for more than a year or two due to fears that settling in what would become Doleriet would leave them open to a military expedition from Britain. Eventually, they settled on the north bank of the Orange River, naming their new home Adamstown[1] after their leader David Adams. Having all been settled in the town of Eureka[2], they took the name as badge of honour and in recognition of the source of their unity.
Meanwhile the Orange valley was becoming increasingly settled by the Griqua, particularly around the small missionary settlement of Philippolis. Largely comprised of the unrecognised bastard children of the Dutch farmers of the Cape, the Griqua were to show a fierce determination to preserve their independence from Dutch, and later Boer, rule. From the early 1820s, and especially increasing with the British occupation of Doleriet in 1837, Boer farmers, or Voortrekkers, began crossing the Oranje River in ever larger numbers to settle in the relatively empty lands of what would become the Oranje Free State and the Transvaal. Having purchased land from the Bataung, the first major conflicts occurred in 1839 between Boers on the south bank of the Vaal and King Mzilikazi of the Matabele, eventually forcing the latter to leave the Transvaal for the Zambezia region[3].
The 1840s saw the start of a series of disputes between the Boers, Griqua and Basutoland. King Moshoeshoe, having secured the Caledon River valley in addition to the mountains of his initial base, now grew increasingly concerned with the presence of the Boer settlers in the Transorange, and requested British aid in controlling them. While wary about expanding beyond Doleriet, the British eventually extended treaties of protection to the Griqua and Basutoland, and declared a general protectorate over the Transorange, later annexing the land to the crown in 1850 as attempts to force the Boers to acquiesce to these treaties proved futile. This prompted the growth of the new town of Bloemfontein as an alternative seat to the more established Winberg.
Despite the light hand of the British following the annexation, direct control remained weak, and many left for the Transvaal, sowing the seeds for the eventual break between the Oranje and Transvaal. The Boers in general proved too difficult to govern for such a territory so deep in the interior, and Britain abandoned both the land and their treaties with the states north of the Orange in 1853, the new Oranje Free State being declared in Bloemfontein afterwards[4].
The victory of Cetshwayo in the Third Zulu-Boer war- which had seen farms and homesteads in the far east of the Oranje attacked in the later stages, saw the beginnings of a new path for the Free State. Many in Bloemfontein and the more urbanised areas in the west of the country placed the blame for the deaths and destruction on the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek for embarking on her Quixotic quest to dominate the stronger Zulu Kingdom. In turn, Pretoria blamed Bloemfontein for not contributing enough to the cause, distracted as she was with border clashes with Basutoland and the annexation of Griqualand. Expanding on the earlier disputes which had broken the early unity of the Boers, this was to have profound effects on the Transvaal when conflicts again broke out with the Zulu in 1876.
The area around Philippolis, relatively fertile and with an amenable climate, had long been coveted by the Boers of the Free State, and with the collapse of the British treaty system in the Transorange Bloemfontein took the opportunity to send a military expedition to conquer the small Griqualand territory. After a brief but futile attempt at resistance, Philippolis was occupied in 1858, and the Griqua chief, Adam Kok III, led many of his people north into the more marginal land north of the Eureka Republic[5] which had already been settled by a few Griqua farmers[6]. Leading a mixture of settled and semi-nomadic lives from their capital at Kokstad[7], what was soon known as Griqualand North to differentiate it from the area around Philippolis soon found itself in the midst of minor disputes with the Eureka Republic, Oranje Free State and the furthest outposts of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek.
The annexation of Philippolis had one particularly unexpected and far-reaching consequence. King Moshoeshoe I of Basutoland, already subject to border tensions with the Boers, now grew concerned over attempts to acquire his own land, and seeking to bolster his position sent a message to the Fengu offering fertile land to any who were willing to swear allegiance to him and fight to defend it for the Kingdom. Already known for their martial skills, and with particular concerns on overpopulation[8], many accepted and were settled in the fertile land of the Caledon valley.
The 1860s was a period of great change in the Central Region, driven by two factors. First, the discovery of diamonds in the eastern part of the Eureka Republic which, combined with the subsequent flood of miners and settlers, swiftly led to its annexation by the Cape Colony in 1864. Adamstown, already concerned about the demographic effects, had acquiesced to the nominal purchase fee when it was pointed out that, if necessary, the entire Republic could be annexed just as easily. Nonetheless, it was to lead to long running acrimony between Adamstown and the Cape. As Salisbury grew, farmers in Eureka, Griqualand North and the Free State began to grow rich selling their surpluses to the hungry city, while prospectors spread out across the surrounding region seeking their fortune.
Four years later, the great Basutoland War broke out between the Free State and that Kingdom. The former, seeking to expand into the Caledon, decided to take the death of King Moshoeshoe I and the ascension of his son Letsie to the Kingship as an opportunity to attack during a moment of greater weakness. Matters were not to turn out to their expectations however, and aided by the Fengu- more of whom were invited to fight for land after the outbreak of war- he was able to resist the Boer incursions and inflict several notable defeats. Bloemfontein called for aid from the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, but these calls went unheeded as the latter was busy preparing for what was seen as an inevitable clash with the Zulu, and as the tide of war began to turn both the Griqua around Philippolis and the Sotho in the area between the Vet and Vaal rose up to seek their independence. Both areas were characterised by lighter Boer settlement and with the war now turning into a three-front conflict, the Free State was forced back. Jan Bloem II[9] declared the independence of the area around Philippolis, now named Griqualand South as the former term 'Adam Kok's Land' was felt to be inappropriate, and formed a new republic culturally tied to Kok's northern state by the Griqua Christian Church and diplomatic missions. Meanwhile the Sotho under Matome of the Batlokwa tribe of the Sotho had declared his own Kingdom in the lands between Vet and Vaal. The young settlement of Orpensstad[10] was burnt to the ground, and the few Boer farmers and settlers in the region forced to flee.
In the midst of this, and with the Sotho around Harrismith and Heilbron getting restless and divisions within the Free State growing, forces from Basutoland attacked the area around Winburg. It was the final straw and State President Marthinus Pretorius- elected largely on a platform of strong links with the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and indeed having served as State-President there, was removed by a vote of no-confidence and replaced with Johannes Brand[11] who thrashed out a peace with Letsie on the grounds of maintaining the border in return for ensuring that the Sotho and Fengu within Basutoland would cease raiding across the river.
This left the internal dissent within the country, and the territories lost to revolt. The former required a diplomatic hand and was the more pressing priority for the long term stability of the country, and with Griqualand South asking for, and gaining, British protection in 1871, it was the Sotho state that was the focus of Bloemfontein's attention. The latter had also looked to Britain for protection, but seeking to minimise her expansion and disputes with the Boers- Griqualand South after all could be claimed to be merely re-establishing a previous sphere of influence- this was refused and the nascent Batlokwa Kingdom was reincorporated into the Free State in 1875, just as the combined Zulu-British-Napoleonic troops were marching on Pretoria in the Fourth Zulu-Boer War. Orpensstad was refounded, but the population of Boers in the region never recovered.
The utter collapse of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek which followed horrified Bloemfontein, and made State-President Brand even more determined to follow his policy of neutrality towards Britain, sitting himself between the hawkish attitudes of those seeking revenge for the Griqualand South protectorate and the Fourth Zulu-Boer War, and those in the North-West looking for closer relations with Cape Town to improve their ability to sell goods to the population of Salisbury.
Feeling threatened by the increasing population near Salisbury and the number of prospectors in their lands, Griqualand North also sought to establish herself within the British Treaty System- which with the Cape granted responsible government was now an increasingly secure situation as any annexations would require the approval of the legislature there, and thus protectorate status was extended to Kokstad in 1878. Basutoland, knowing where the balance of power lay, maintained a policy of being pro-British but maintaining her independence, though attentions were often directed internally with the long running undercurrent of Sotho-Fengu tensions. This left only the Eureka Republic as a semi-hostile state, though trade with the Cape was leading to wealth for some and a small lobby advocating normalised relations. Adamstown, wary of conquest and distrustful of authority, was in any case careful to remain cordial with Cape Town and avoid giving any excuses to invade.
With Britain expanding her influence deeper into the continent, the establishment of the Reheboth and Oorloom Republics created an isolated pocked of unclaimed land north of the Orange. Inhabited by Tswana for the most part, but separated from the rest of that populace by the Sotho of Rolong and the Oorloom, the populace were largely nomadic and the terrain for the most part arid save for the cool and pleasant oasis that comprised the Eye of Kuruman. A small missionary settlement had long been established there, and in 1889 Britain established the Gayensa Protectorate, based at Kuruman, to establish her control over the area, and promptly proceeded to ignore the nomadic and peaceable populace, though it did create a spark of protest from the Eureka Republic, now surrounded by British territory on all sides.
By the time of State-President Brand's death in 1888, the Free State had stabilised, the Sotho were being kept in line, the economy was improving and the anger over the loss Griqualand South was beginning to cool. Relations with Basutoland were cordial and the peace of 1872 was being maintained, albeit with occasional breaches by individuals from either side who were generally reprimanded and forced to return stolen goods. This did mean that border tensions were relatively high, but as the numbers were relatively equal the majority of both populations considered it an insignificant situation. Francis Reitz was elected State-President in a landslide victory, and made it his policy to ensure the rights of Boers within the British Empire while retaining amicable relations and avoiding conflict with Cape Town or London. His premiership was soon to become dominated by the question of federation.
Already virtually surrounded by British colonies and influenced states, the Free State was cautious about the prospect of federation, though outside of the Bloemfontein-Winburg corridor economic links- with Salisbury and with the mining economy of the Transvaal- made many in favour of the loss of tariffs and trade barriers that federation would bring. In addition, many in Harrismith felt that federation would finally secure the eastern border with the Zulu Kingdom which, though peaceful since before the Fourth Zulu-Boer War, was long a concern for the area. London was eager to bring the Free State into the federation, and extended a formal invitation to join the negotiations, to which Reitz accepted and indicated that discussions would be 'possible', treading once more the middle course.
Commanding a great deal of personal respect within the Free State, and with no certain majority among the populace, the fate of the Free State and the federation, sat upon a knife-edge until, in one of those moments around which the course of history turns, a new message arrived from Pietermaritzburg. The populace of Doleriet, economically dependent on the Cape to which she was closely linked by the customs union, overwhelmed in every possible respect by her larger neighbour, and convinced that no matter the results of the wider negotiations the province would be forced into union with, and thus absolute domination by, Cape Town requested aid from Reitz in the negotiations to help provide a counterbalance and strengthen the Boer contingent.
Reitz, sympathetic to the idea of Boer unity, was deeply affected by this, and entered fully into the negotiations, stating that it was 'our duty, our absolute duty, to ensure that these negotiations end with a situation as favourable to our brethren within British controlled territories as is possible, and if needs be to enter into federation as a counterbalance to Anglo sensibilities. It was a persuasive argument, and Reitz was instrumental for securing those two key provisions of the federal constitution- the extensive provincial autonomy and the ability to register blacks as citizens of neighbouring protectorates. The Oranje Free State thus narrowly approved joining the federation, and Reitz resigned his position as State-President to become the Province's representative to the Upper House, where he was named the first President of the Senate[12].
The Free State was not the only state in the Central Region to join at this time, with both Griqualands also joining to take advantage of the larger markets. King Lerotholi I of Basutoland followed the Zulu Kingdom into joining as an Associate Kingdom, while for ease of administration the Gayensa Protectorate was transferred to Cape Town's jurisdiction, though it was governed as a subject territory without even the representation that the Xhosa possessed, and had by this point become the site of asbestos mining which had attracted more white and coloured settlers. Notable for its absence was the Eureka Republic, still determined to maintain her independence until the victory of the Union Party in 1923 after the introduction of higher tariffs in the federation.
The long period of the First Constitution saw interesting voting patterns across the Central Region. The Free State was a bastion of conservatism and decentralisation, while the Griqua states maintained enough cultural links to form a voting bloc on many issues, though they usually split on issues which split mining and agricultural conditions. Eureka, once she joined in 1927, was ironically strongly in favour of protectionism to maintain her prosperity against cheaper grain imports from elsewhere. Basutoland of course did not have voting rights, though Lerotholi II's reforms meant that he would follow Zululand in starting the education and enfranchisement of his people from 1938, where they remained deeply conservative. Though generally united through the Kaffraria crisis, the subsequent decision to end the ability to register blacks as citizens of a neighbouring protectorate divided the populace. Basutoland was in favour, while the Griqualands and Eureka were largely indifferent- blacks being firmly in the minority here. The Oranje Free State was thus outvoted, and decided to sacrifice territorial unity for white dominance. Co-opting the coloureds, the area between Vet and Vaal, where the demographic balance was most strongly against them, was split off as the new protectorate of Sotholand, in an attempt to produce a situation where whites would be the majority and could retain control. It was to be seen as the biggest mistake in the history of the province, as with the discovery of gold the protectorate soon became rich enough to buy entry as a full province under the name KwaTlokwa and became one of the biggest supports of full enfranchisement.
This came in the constitutional rearrangements of 1958, when Gayensa was also admitted as a province in the great tidying up of the various territories that occurred at this point, though with a half-vote in the Senate. The situation today represents a precipitous balance that many view as unsustainable for much longer. The whites and coloureds of the Oranje Free State have just barely maintained their dominance, ironically mostly due to the movement of Sotho from the province to work in the gold mines of Sotholand which have seen the great cities of Matjhabeng[13], Meloding[14] and Matome, renamed from Orpensstad. Griqualand North has seen the population remain conservative and isolated, while Griqualand South is a relatively prosperous province gaining from the boom in tourism. Basutoland is growing economically, while the Eureka Republic has settled into an easy prosperity and Gayensa has begun to decline with the closure of the asbestos mines. Of greatest significance at the moment is the slow growth of the black and coloured communities that means the whites are close to losing the majority they have preserved since the creation of Sotholand[15].
[1] Douglas OTL.
[2] A small settlement in the Cape named by someone in a classical mood.
[3] Largely as OTL, save for Eureka, though delayed by a couple of years.
[4] Again largely as OTL, but with some things moved later and the period of British rule being shorter.
[5] The route east to what was Griqualand East OTL being blocked by stronger Xhosa states.
[6] Analogous to OTL's Waterboer's Land.
[7] Vryburg OTL.
[8] Fenguland being one of the smaller Xhosa states.
[9] An ATL son of Jan Bloem, one of the early Griqua leaders who died in 1858. His name is offered as one possible etymology for Bloemfontein.
[10] Kroonstad OTL. I really can't get away with having a horse with the same name drown in the same place at the same time as OTL 70 years after the PoD, so someone suggests naming it after Orpen himself instead.
[11] A few years later than OTL.
[12] Reitz assumed much this role OTL, though it's probably more important TTL.
[13] Welkom OTL
[14] Virginia OTL
[15] General note here- a lot less Boers were killed in the later 19th century, and the Oranje has lost the more populated Caledon Valley and the kwaTlokwa area, while seeing the Boers condensed into the remaining area, hence the majority at this point.
