Good Morning all, If am man died in Feb 1983 in Zuurbekom, Transvaal, South Africa, where or what would that be? I have looked on the map find it just the other side of SOWETO but it looks like barren, unoccupied land. Please help. Did Beaufort West exist in 1874 if not what would I put as place of death? And would it be Cape of Good hope OR cape colony? I have no idea when South Africa changed from Cape of Good hope to Cape Colony to Cape Province, to Eastern/Western Cape. Would someone kindly enlighten me? Thanks as always, Lucky --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com

Hello Lucky, Sunday, January 5, 2014, 7:23:41 AM, you asked: LB> I have no idea when South Africa changed from Cape of Good hope to Cape LB> Colony to Cape Province, to Eastern/Western Cape. Would someone kindly LB> enlighten me? Like Andrew I went to Google but, although there are at least half a dozen Wikipedia articles on the Cape and SA they all seem to be pretty vague on historical namings. I belive the following, off the top of my head, is reasonably accurate: Up to 1910 and the Union of SA, the Stamps issued by the Cape government gave its name as The Cape of Good Hope (an english translation of the original Dutch Cabo de Goed Hoop, itself a translation of the original Portuguese Cabo de Bona Esperanza. >From the Union of South Africa in 1910 it was known as the Cape Province. More recently, I believe, it has been divided into several smaller administrative units. Generally speaking you can safely refer to it as the Cape of Good Hope until 1910 when it became part of the larger union. Richard -- Richard Ball, Norfolk, England http://www.ballfamilyrecords.co.uk [email protected]

As always, Google is your friend. Google "History of South Africa" and you will find, right up near the top, the Wikipedia article on the subject. A quick look at it suggests it should be at least a good starting point. You should also be able to work out a reasonable time-line for the various names you have mentioned: such things are way too complicated to be answered in a forum like this List! On 5 Jan 2014, at 6:23 PM, Laquita Belinfante wrote: > Good Morning all, > > If a man died in Feb 1983 in Zuurbekom, Transvaal, South Africa, > where or > what would that be? I have looked on the map find it just the > other side of > SOWETO but it looks like barren, unoccupied land. Please help. > > Did Beaufort West exist in 1874 if not what would I put as place of > death? > And would it be Cape of Good hope OR cape colony? > > I have no idea when South Africa changed from Cape of Good hope to > Cape > Colony to Cape Province, to Eastern/Western Cape. Would someone kindly > enlighten me? > > Thanks as always, > > Lucky Andrew Rodger [email protected]