republic · Central and Southern Africa
Stellaland
Origins
In 1882 the Tlhaping chief Mankurwane and the Korana chief David Massouw fought over land west of the Transvaal, both recruiting white mercenaries. Those who served Massouw received farms and proclaimed the Republic of Stellaland, named after a comet, with Gerrit Jacobus van Niekerk as administrator and Vryburg as capital.
Rule and society
The republic had a Volksraad, issued postage stamps and joined with neighbouring Goshen in 1883 as the United States of Stellaland. Its settlers farmed cattle and sought union with the South African Republic, which would have cut Britain's road north to the interior.
Decline and legacy
Cecil Rhodes and the Cape government pressed for British intervention. Sir Charles Warren's expedition arrived in 1885, and Stellaland was absorbed into British Bechuanaland; Vryburg became its capital and later passed with it to the Cape Colony.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Stellaland. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/stellaland
- MLA
- “Stellaland.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/stellaland. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Stellaland.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/stellaland.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Stellaland’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/stellaland (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻