Volkstaat
The concept of a Volkstaat (Afrikaans pronunciation: [fɔlkstɑːt], "People's State"), also called a Boerestaat, is a proposed view to establish an all-White Afrikaner homeland within the borders of South Africa, most commonly proposed as a fully independent Boer/Afrikaner nation. The concept excludes Afrikaans-speaking Coloureds but accepts South Africans of English ancestry and other White South Africans, if they accept Afrikaner culture and customs.
People's State | |
|---|---|
"Vryburgervlag" or "Free Citizen Flag", the most common proposed flag for the Afrikaner homeland
Coat of arms
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| Motto: Ex Unitate Vires (Latin) ("From Unity, Strength") | |
| Anthem: Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (originally the anthem of South Africa from 1938–1994) (English: "The Call of South Africa") | |
Volkstaat as proposed by the Freedom Front Plus and the Volkstaat Council | |
| Status | Proposed |
| Capital | |
| Largest city | Kimberley |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed |
| Demonym(s) | Volkstaater |
| Government | Proposed independent republic or autonomous region within South Africa |
| Volkstaat / Republic | |
• Proposed by South African Bureau for Racial Affairs | 1960s–1990s |
• Establishment of Orania, Northern Cape | 6 April 1991 |
| 23 April 1994 | |
• Establishment of the Volkstaat Council | 16 June 1994 |
• Proposed by the Volkstaat Council | 31 March 1999 |
| Population | |
• 2017 estimate | 1,500,000 Boer/Afrikaners |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Today part of | South Africa |
Following the Great Trek of the 1830s and 1840s, Boer pioneers expressed a drive for self-determination and independence through the establishment of several Boer republics over the rest of the 19th century. The end of apartheid and the establishment of universal suffrage in South Africa in 1994 left some Afrikaners feeling disillusioned and marginalised by the political changes, which resulted in a proposal for an independent Volkstaat.
Several different methods have been proposed for the establishment of a Volkstaat. Besides the use of force, the South African Constitution, and international law present certain possibilities for their establishment. The geographic dispersal of minority Afrikaner communities throughout South Africa presents a significant obstacle to the establishment of a Volkstaat, because Afrikaners do not form a majority in any separate geographic area that could be sustainable independently. Supporters of the proposal have established several land cooperatives in Orania in the Northern Cape province and Kleinfontein in Gauteng as practical implementations of the idea. Initiatives in Balmoral and Morgenzon, both in Mpumalanga, failed to develop beyond their initial phase.