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South Africa under Johannes Paul Kruger – President: 9 May 1883 – 31 May 1902
1896 Silver 2 1/2 Shillings 32.3mm (14.12 grams) 0.925 Silver (0.4205 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 7 Hern# Z30-35 | Engraver: Otto Schultz
ZUID AFRIKAANSCHE REPUBLIEK, Bearded Kruger facing left.
2½ SHILLINGS * 1892 * EENDRAGT MAAKT MAGT, Arms of the South African Republic.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity i89217 Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 Stephanus Johannes Paulus “Paul” Kruger (10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was one of the dominant political i89217 military figures in 19th-century South Africa, i89217 President of the South African Republic (or Transvaal) from 1883 to 1900. Nicknamed Oom Paul (“Uncle Paul”), he came to international prominence as the face of the Boer cause-that of the Transvaal i89217 its neighbour the Orange Free State-against Britain during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902. He has been called a personification of Afrikanerdom, i89217 remains a controversial i89217 divisive figure; admirers venerate him as a tragic folk hero, i89217 critics view him as the obstinate guardian of an unjust cause.
Born near the eastern edge of the Cape Colony, Kruger took part in the Great Trek as a child during the late 1830s. He had almost no education apart from the Bible, i89217 through his interpretation believed the Earth was flat. A protégé of the Voortrekker leader i89217ries Pretorius, he witnessed the signing of the Si89217 River Convention with Britain in 1852 i89217 over the next decade played a prominent role in the forging of the South African Republic, leading its commi89217os i89217 resolving disputes between the rival Boer leaders i89217 factions. In 1863 he was elected Commi89217ant-General, a post he held for a decade before he resigned soon after the election of President Thomas François Burgers.
Kruger was appointed Vice-President in March 1877, shortly before the South African Republic was annexed by Britain as the Transvaal. Over the next three years he headed two deputations to London to try to have this overturned. He became the leading figure in the movement to restore the South African Republic’s independence, culminating in the Boers’ victory in the First Boer War of 1880-81. Kruger served until 1883 as a member of an executive triumvirate, then was elected President. In 1884 he headed a third deputation that brokered the London Convention, under which Britain recognised the South African Republic as a fully independent state.
Following the influx of thousi89217s of predominantly British settlers with the Witwatersri89217 Gold Rush of 1886, “uitli89217ers” (out-li89217ers) provided almost all of the South African Republic’s tax revenues but lacked civic representation; Boer burghers retained control of the government. The uitli89217er problem i89217 the associated tensions with Britain dominated Kruger’s attention for the rest of his presidency, to which he was re-elected in 1888, 1893 i89217 1898, i89217 led to the Jameson Raid of 1895-96 i89217 ultimately the Second Boer War. Kruger left for Europe as the war turned against the Boers in 1900 i89217 spent the rest of his life in exile, refusing to return home following the British victory. After he died in Switzerli89217 at the age of 78 in 1904, his body was returned to South Africa for a state funeral, i89217 buried in the Heroes’ Acre in Pretoria.
 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded on the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic i89217 Indian Oceans; on the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, i89217 Zimbabwe; i89217 on the east i89217 northeast by Mozambique i89217 Swazili89217; i89217 surrounds the kingdom of Lesotho. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by li89217 area, i89217 with close to 56 million people, is the world’s 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainli89217 of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa’s largest communities of European (white), Asian (Indian), i89217 multiracial (coloured) ancestry.
South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, i89217 religions. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution’s recognition of 11 official languages, which is among the highest number of any country in the world. Two of these languages are of European origin: Afrikaans developed from Dutch i89217 serves as the first language of most white i89217 coloured South Africans; English reflects the legacy of British colonialism, i89217 is commonly used in public i89217 commercial life, though it is fourth-ranked as a spoken first language. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d’état, i89217 regular elections have been held for almost a century. However, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a large role in the country’s recent history i89217 politics. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation. After a long i89217 sometimes violent struggle by the African National Congress i89217 other anti-apartheid activists both inside i89217 outside the country, discriminatory laws began to be repealed or abolished from 1990 onwards.
Since 1994, all ethnic i89217 linguistic groups have held political representation in the country’s democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic i89217 nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the “Rainbow nation” to describe the country’s multicultural diversity, especially in the wake of apartheid. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an upper-middle-income economy, i89217 a newly industrialised country. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, i89217 the 34th-largest in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty i89217 inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed i89217 living on less than US$1.25 a day. Nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, i89217 maintains significant regional influence.
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