The nations of South Africa have had several flags over the years, with the most widely known and infamous being the National flag of the Union and Republic of South Africa, the "Oranje, Blanje , bleu", which served as the national flag for the entire region until the South African Wars saw the entity's dissolution. Since then, numerous states have risen with their own unique flags.
Oranje, Blanje , bleu[]
The "Oranje, Blanje , bleu", also known as the Union flag, the Republic flag, or the Apartheid flag, was the national flag of the Union of South Africa from 1928 to 1961, and the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to 1988. As the Afrikaans name suggests, the Oranje, Blanje, Bou is made up of three stripes of orange, white, and blue, similar to the Prisenvlag of the Netherlands. In the center of the flag are the designs of three flags, the Union Flag of the United Kingdom, the flag of the Orange Free State, and the flag of Transvaal, all of which are used with some degree of officiality in modern day South Africa.
The Oranje, Blanje , bleu was used throughout much of South Africa's lifetime as an independent nation. However, it is also heavily associated with the Apartheid regime, and is banned in most of eastern South Africa. It isn't banned in the west, but it is often vandalized. A variant of the Oranje, Blanje , bleu would be used for the New Union of South Africa.
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1910-1928 (1928-1957) |
The Union Flag was designated South Africa's first national flag |
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1910-1912 | A Red Ensign for use at sea and when symbol was needed |
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1912-1928 | Revised Red Ensign; used until 1928 when a new flag was made |
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1928-1988 | The Oranje, Blange, Blou, used during the Union and Republic |
Die Anker[]
The Flag of Good Hope, also known as "Die Anker" (The Anchor), was adopted during the RZA provisional administration. Die Anker uses symbols from Cape Town, the central motif, an anchor representing hope surrounded by three rings of Jan van Riebeeck, come from the city's arms. The Blue and Green represent the country's place next to the sea and land, with the four colors also representing its diversity.
Good Hope's predecessor, the Republic of the Cape, used a flag also known at the time as "Die Anker". This flag used the anchor symbol as the center motif of a tricolor with the colors of the Oranje, Blanje , bleu. It would be abolished by the RZA government as a symbol of Apartheid. To avoid confusion, the older flag is often called "Die Ou Anker" (The Old Anchor).
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1652–1806 | The Dutch East India Company flag |
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1876–1910 | The flag of the Cape Colony |
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1988-2006 | "Die Anker" of the Republic of the Cape |
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2006-2009 | The martime signal flags for "R" and "Z" |
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2009-present | "Die Anker" national flag of Good Hope |
Azanian League[]
League flag[]
The flag of the Azanian League is based on the party flag of the African National Congress, the leading party in the South African Republic, a member state of the League. It features a green, black and yellow tricolor, which are color associated with the Pan-African movement, with a circle of five red stars in the center, representing the five member states of the league: the South African Republic, Azanian People's Republic, Azanian Republic, Kingdom of Bopedi, and Kingdom of Eswatini. The flag was adopted in 1991 and is known as the League flag.
ANC Flag[]
The Flag of the African National Congress was adopted as the flag of the South African Republic. It is a tricolor of black, green, and yellow, which are colors associated with the Pan-African movement. The South African Republic, sharing a name with one of the Boer republics, was founded by the ANC during the South African Wars, as an independent state for native Africans. Claiming all of the former Transvaal province, the SAF would instead form the Azanian league with likeminded states in the area, the flag was briefly used on a federal level until the League flag was accepted.
PACA Flag[]
The flag of the Azanian People's Republic was made by the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, a splinter of the ANC. The flag features red and black bars, with yellow rays and a yellow star in the center left of the design. Having more radical and socialist leanings, the PAC clashed with it's parent organization during the South African Wars, with the PAC found the Azanian People's Republic as an independent nation. However, the two would make peace, with the Azanian League being founded shortly after.
APO Flag[]
The Flag of the Azanian Republic was adopted by the Azanian People's Organization, an African liberation movement founded by Steve Biko. A prominent faction of the Black Consciousness Movement, the APO would emerge during the South African Wars and claim a bit of Transvaal surrounding Soweto, also incorporating nearby Bantustans. The APO would declare the Azanian Republic and Ally with the ANC, laying the foundations of what would become the Azanian League.
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1852-1902 | Flag of the South African Republic (Transvaal) |
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1903-1902 | Flag of the Transvaal Colony |
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1968-present | Flag of the Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland) |
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1972–1986 | Flag of the Lebowa Bantustan |
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1983-present | Flag of the South African Republic (African National Congress) |
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Flag of the Azanian People's Republic | |
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Flag of the Azanian Republic | |
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1986-present | Flag of the Kingdom of Bopedi |
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1990-present | Flag of the Azanian League |
Dominion Flag[]
The Dominion Flag was adopted by the Dominion of South Africa in 1988, shortly after it was founded. The black and yellow represent the African natives, the white and blue people from Europe and Asia, while the green is the land that they share. This was done to represent the multiracial ideals of the Dominion, as well as the restoration of the British monarch. The Union Flag is also represented to a lesser degree but has never been considered a "national" flag
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1985-1988 | The Oranje, Blange, Blou was used as a place holder |
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1985-1988 | The Union Flag, mainly used by British exiles |
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1988-present | The Dominion Flag |
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1985-2015 | King Andrew's royal standard |
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2015-present | King Willian's royal standard |
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1988-present | Naval ensign of the Dominion |
KwaZulu Flag[]
KwaZulu's national flag was adopted in 1977, before the declaration of independence. KwaZulu had been a Bantustan for several years, and the Inkatha Freedom Party used the colors of the flag as the basis for its own flag. The flag features a Zulu symbol with Pan African colors on a white background. Though some see it as a symbol of a time of oppression, many came to see it as a symbol of their newfound freedom. Uniquely, KwaZulu has also set aside flags for Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1839-1843 | Flag of the Natalia Republic |
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1875–1910 | Flag of the Natal Colony |
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1977-present | Flag of KwaZulu |
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1986-1987
(1987-1988) |
Flag of Natal (Civil War) |
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1988-present | Flag of Durban |
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Flag of Pietermaritzburg |
Flags of Namibia and South West Africa[]
The flag of Namibia is the flag of the South West Africa People's Organisation, the ruling party of Namibia. SWAPO had liberated Namibia from white rule during the collapse of South Africa and have ruled the country since. The flag is a tricolor of blue, red and green: the blue represents the skies and the seas of Namibia, the red it's people and their heroism, and the green the vegetation and the land. South West Africa maintains it's own flag.
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1884–1915 | A German colonial Flag |
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1928-1988 | South African's flag was South West Africa's |
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1984-present | The Flag of SWAPO, used by Namibia |
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1988-present | Flag of South West Africa |
Flag of the Orange Free State[]
The Orange Free State's flag dates back to the Boer republic, which featured the flag up the Netherlands in the upper right corner, with bars of white and orange. Though used from 1857 to 1902, the Orange Free State flag remained popular, being incorporated into the Oranje, Blanje , bleu, and the Free State's coat of arms. With the dissolution of the Republic of South Africa, the Orange Free State would become de-facto independent, and re-adopt their flag.
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1857-1902 | Flag of the Boer republic |
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1904–1910 | Flag of the Orange River Colony |
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1977–present | Flag of Bophuthatswana Bantustan |
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1988-present | Flag of Heiligdom |
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1994-present | The restored Free State Flag |
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Flag of Setsoto Bantustan |
Voortrekkers[]
Both Waterboersland and the Volkstaat have adopted their own flags. The Waterboers flag, a blue flag with a red cross in the middle. The flag was loosely based on one used by Voortrekkers during the initial Great Trek, which included Griqua people as well as Afrikaaners. Waterboearsland was founded by members of the New Republic Party and the Griqua people, and controls much of what was northwestern South Africa.
Meanwhile, the Volkstaat used their own flag based on the Prisenvlag, which become a symbol of Afrikaner Nationalism. The new Voortrekkers were hoping to escape the chaos and create a new state for Afrikaners. Though they tolerated black and other peoples of color, they mainly focused on Afrikaner culture and heritage. As a result, the Volkstaat was proclaimed in the late eighties.
| Flag | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|
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1636-c. 1852 | Flags used by Voortrekkers |
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1988-present | Waterboersland Flag |
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1991-present | Volstaat Flag |
Flag of KwaXhosa[]
KwaXhosa's flag is essentially a merger between the flags of Transkei and Ciskei. Transkei and Ciskei were two Bantustans located near the Cape Province. Though nominally independent, they existed largely to help perpetuate apartheid in South Africa. After the collapse of South Africa, they took over much of the easter part of the province. Eventually, the two states would merge into a nation state for the Xhosa people, known as KwaXhosa.
| Flag | Years | Note |
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1977-1988 | Flag of Transkei |
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1981-1988 | Flag of Ciskei |
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1988-present | Flag of KwaXhosa |
The New Union Flag[]
The New Union of South Africa adopted it's own flag, a variant of the Oranje, Blanje , bleu. It featured darker colors, and replaced the Union Flag, flag of the Orange Free State, and Transvaal flag with the flags of Waterboersland, the Republic of the Cape, South West Africa, and the Volkstaat. This flag would be used for the entire existence of the Union, even as it expanded, and the Republic of the Cape collapsed.