On the 31 May 1910, exactly eight years after the Boers had made peace with the English through the Treaty of Vereeniging, South Africa became a Union. Despite the mistrust in the Boer camp, the Afrikaners, as they now became known, had negotiated and achieved self-determination.

In May 1910, Louis Botha became the first prime minister of the newly established Union of South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire, and Jan Smuts became his deputy. Just eight years earlier, both men had been generals in Kruger's army; now, through the SAP, they governed a country of 4 million Africans, 500,000 coloureds, 150,000 Indians, and 1,275,000 whites.

1910 South Africa Union #1 Introduction, History and Synopsis The purpose of this exhibit is to show the origin and usage of the first issue of the Union of South Africa, the 2½d commemoration stamp of 1910. The historical context of the stamp is that there was a desire to commemorate the

THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH AFRICA ACT, 1909 This Act was passed through both Houses of the Imperial Parliament exactly as it was forwarded after the South African Convention was held. It was assented to by King Edward VII. on 20th September 1909; and a Royal Proclamation of the 2nd December 1909 declared the date of the establishment of Union to be …