South African Party

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The South African Party (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Party; Dutch: Zuidafrikaanse Partij) was a political party in the Union of South Africa from 1911 to 1934. It formed in Bloemfontein in November 1911 from several Afrikaner groups, including the South African Party of the Cape, the Afrikaner Bond and the Orangia Unie. The party promoted liberal-conservative ideas and stood for Afrikaner minority interests, placing it on the right. Its leaders included Louis Botha and later Jan Smuts. Its main opposition came from the Unionist Party, which was English-speaking and pro-British. Economic troubles in the early 1920s led to a major strike in 1922. In 1924, the SAP lost to a National-Labour coalition. During the Great Depression, Nationalist leader Barry Hertzog formed a government, and on 5 December 1934 the SAP merged with Het Volk, the Afrikaner Bond and Orangia Unie to create the United Party. Some hardliners did not accept the merger; later, in 1939, some Nationalists left the United Party, but the United Party name remained.