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| Capital (and largest city) |
Cape Town | ||||||
| Language official |
Afrikaans | ||||||
| others | Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa, English, Portuguese | ||||||
| Government | Provisional government under international supervision | ||||||
| Population | ~4,000,000 | ||||||
| Established | 2006 | ||||||
| Independence | from SAC and ANZC | ||||||
| declared | 2013 | ||||||
| Currency | RZA Rand (R) | ||||||
| Organizations | League of Nations, African Economic Community | ||||||
The RZA was the provisional regime in Cape Town, South Africa, sponsored by the Australia-New Zealand Commonwealth and the South American Confederation. RZA was the actual name of the provisional government; officially the letters stood for nothing. They came from the official abbreviation of the Republic of South Africa before Doomsday. It comes from Republiek Zuid-Afrika, the old name of the country in Dutch.
The RZA was a successor to the crumbling Republic of the Cape, which had descended into civil war in 2003. The Cape in turn was the successor to the Republic of South Africa, which had based itself in Cape Town after losing Pretoria and Johannesburg to rebel groups including the African National Congress. However, the RZA government made no claim to be a successor to all of South Africa, and for this reason used only the abbreviation for its name.
In its turn, the RZA gave way in 2013 to a permanent and independent republic, called Good Hope. ANZ and South American forces still maintain a presence in the country, but they no longer act in a supervisory role.
History[]
In 2006, a joint ANZC and SAC military force captured Cape Town to impose order over the city, which had descended into anarchy amid a civil war. The new RZA Provisional Government was set up but was merely able to secure a small region around Cape Town with the support of a small joint SAC/ANZC garrison. Still, the mission was the first multilateral peacekeeping mission since Doomsday and played an important role in the origin of the League of Nations.
In 2009, the Dominion of South Africa proposed the “African Economic Community” in an effort to unite the economies of all the states in the region, and the RZA became a member. The RZA also discussed joining the New Union of South Africa but failed to do so before the Union dissolved in 2014.
The RZA enjoyed increasing autonomy and foreign troop levels were slowly reduced. The Third Dominion-Xhosa War caused a rift in the AEC and a delay in this process, since South Africa appeared again to be descending into war. By 2013, however, the Cape's institutions were mature and the its people starting to agitate for complete independence. The Dominion was furthermore pursuing a very different foreign policy and had begun the process of withdrawing from occupied Xhosa territory. So the provisional government finally stepped down, replaced with a new independent nation, called Good Hope. ANZ and South American troops left except for a small force of advisors, though the Cape remained a major recipient of foreign aid.
Symbols[]
Provisional RZ flag
Initially, the occupying force flew a provisional banner made of the maritime signal flags R and Z. This served as the RZA' national flag for its first few years of existence.
Later flag, still used for Good Hope
In 2008, locals began to fly a new flag incorporating a few historic symbols of the Cape, namely an anchor and the arms of Jan Van Riebeeck. The RZA adopted it officially the following year. When the country became fully independent in 2013, this flag was popular enough that the new government decided to keep it.
International relations[]
The RZA was a member of the League of Nations. It joined the African Economic Community with the Dominion of South Africa and KwaXhosa not long after that bloc's establishment.
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