Republic of Graaff-Reinet

The Republic of Graaff-Reinet (Afrikaans: ['χrɑːf rɛɪnɛt]) was from 1795 to 1796 a self-proclaimed Boer republic that existed in and around the city of Graaff-Reinet in present-day South Africa.^[2] It was named after Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff and his wife, Cornelia Reynet.

The Republic of Graaff-Reinet De Republiek Graaff-Reynet (Dutch)
1795–1796
Flag
Show 1796 Show map in 1795
Capital	Graaff-Reinet
Government
• President	Marthinus Prinsloo[1]
Independence  from the Kingdom of the Netherlands
History
• Revolt Against the Dutch	1795
• British Invasion of the Cape	1796
Preceded by Succeeded by Dutch Cape Colony Republic of Swellendam Cape Colony
Today part of	South Africa

History

In the 18th century, the first mounted commandos of the Dutch settlers reached the area where Graaff-Reinet currently lies. They moved east from the Cape Colony. The first farms were established in the 1770s. In the first years there was anarchy and lawlessness in the area. After a new magistrate was sent to the region to maintain law and order, the peaceful development of the settlement could begin. In 1795, after years of oppression by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the inhabitants proclaimed a republic. The residents of Swellendam also did this (see map). Before the leaders of the Cape Colony could retake the new republics, the Cape Colony (together with the two rebellious areas) was itself conquered by Great Britain in 1795 (and Graaff-Reinet until August 1796). After the Netherlands regained the Cape Colony from the British, it was finally taken over by the British in 1806. Many inhabitants of the colony were very dissatisfied with this. For this reason, especially many people from the Graaff-Reinet district participated in the Great Trek.^[3]

Fictional map of the country in 1890.

Map of the Dutch Cape Colony in 1795.

The flag of the Republic of Graaff-Reinet if it was mixed with its coat of arms.

References

1. Giliomee, H. (November 1974). "Democracy and the Frontier A Comparative Study of Bacon's Rebellion (1676) and the Graaff-Reinet Rebellion (1795–1796)". South African Historical Journal. 6 (1): 30–51. doi:10.1080/02582477408671502. ISSN 0258-2473.
2. "Graaff Reinet History".
3. Giliomee, Hermann. Die Afrikaner, ʼn Biografie.