1857 in South Africa

* 1856
* 1855
* 1854
*   *

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1857

South Africa |

* 1858
* 1859
* 1860
*   *

Decades:|

* 1830s
* 1840s
* 1850s
* 1860s
* 1870s

See also:|

*   * List of years in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1857 in South Africa.

## Incumbents

[edit]

* Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Sir George Grey.[1][2]
* Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal: John Scott.
* State President of the Orange Free State: Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff.[3]
* President of the Executive Council of the South African Republic: Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (from 6 January).[4]

## Events

[edit]

January

* 6 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius becomes the first President of the Executive Council of the South African Republic (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek).[4]

June

* 29 – Act no. 10 of 29 June 1857 grants the Cape Town Railway and Dock Company approval to construct a 57-mile long (92-kilometre) railway between Cape Town and Wellington.[5]

Unknown date

* Robert Moffat completes Old Testament Bible translation into Setswana.
* About 157 Irish women arrive on the ship Lady Kennaway and settle in British Kaffraria.
* The first Legislative Council is selected in the Natal Colony.
* The Union Steam Ship Company wins the first mail contract for regular mail service between Great Britain and South Africa.
* The Cape Point Lighthouse at Cape Point is built.
* Building of the Roman Rock Lighthouse at the entrance to Simon's Town starts and only completed in 1861.

## Births

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* 2 October – Martinus Theunis Steyn, lawyer, politician and statesman, last president of the independent Orange Free State. (d. 1916)

## Deaths

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* 15 December – Anna Maria Truter, Cape Colony botanical artist and wife of Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet. (b. 1777)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Sir George Grey (1812–1898)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
2. ^ "Botswana". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
3. ^ "Orange Free State: Heads of State: 1854-1902". Archontology. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
4. ^ a b "South African Republic: Heads of State: 1857-1877". Archontology. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
5. ^ Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1943). The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter I - The Period of the 4 ft. 8½ in. Gauge. South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, June 1943. pp. 437-440.

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1857 in Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
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* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
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* Central African Republic
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* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
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* Senegal
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* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

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