The country was formed in 1910 from the merging of four independent state entities.
1. The Cape Colony
2. The Orange Free State
3. The Transvaal Republic
4. The Colony of Natal
From 1910 until 1961 the merger (or union) was reflected in the name and it was called "The Union of South Africa". During this time it was nominally under a British governor and the Queen, but practically it was independent.
The country became fully independent from Britain in 1961, and since then it has been known as "The Republic of South Africa"
On 31 May 1910, four self-governing regions in Southern Africa combined into a single country called the Union of South Africa.
Two of these regions -- the Cape Colony and Natal -- had been self-governing British colonies since the Napoleonic Wars. The other two regions, located inland, were the former fully-independent Boer republics who were defeated in the Boer War of 1899-1902: the Orange Free State north of the Orange River, and the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (renamed Transvaal), north of the Vaal River.
The Cape, Natal, Free State and Transvaal became the original four "provinces" of South Africa which was an independent "dominion" inside the British Commonwealth. On 31 May 1961 --- the 51st anniversary of Union -- South Africa broke all ties with the Commonwealth and became a fully-independent republic.
it is a performance that is previous that Africa performed
south Africa
The Republic of South Africa.
South Africa has a President
Still South Africa.
On the Southern tip of Africa, hence the name "South Africa"
The world cup is in South Africa. South Africa is the name of the country.
South Africa
It is South Africa and RSA stands for Republic of South Africa
The animal that is on the R200 note in South Africa is the leopard. The other side has a picture of the late previous president Nelson Mandela.
One of the colonial names of south africa is your butt
The name is very clear. In the south of Africa, lies a country. There are no other countries in Africa more south than it. So its called South Africa. There is also West Africa, North Africa, East Africa and Central Africa. Those are regions, not countries. The region in the south is called Southern Africa, to avoid confusion with the country.