State of Goshen

Goshen, officially known as the State of Goshen (Dutch: Het Land Goosen), was a short-lived Boer republic in southern Africa founded by Boers expanding west from Transvaal who opposed British advance in the region.

Located in Tswana territory west of the Transvaal, Goshen existed as an independent nation for a short period; from 1882 to 1883 as the State of Goshen and, after unification with neighbouring Stellaland, as the United States of Stellaland (Dutch: Verenigde Staten van Stellaland) from 1883 to 1885.

During its history, Goshen, though small in size, became a focal point of conflict between the United Kingdom and the South African Republic, the two major players vying over the territory. After a series of claims and annexations, British fears of Boer expansionism ultimately led to its demise and, among other factors, set the stage for the Second Boer War of 1899–1902.

Before the proclamation of Goshen, the land was under the control of competing Griqua and Tswana groups, while the United Kingdom laid claim to it as part of the emerging protectorate of British Bechuanaland. Two of the indigenous groups were under the leadership of chiefs Mankurwane and Montshiwa, whom the British regarded as "friendly," and another two under the leadership of chiefs Moshoette and Massouw.

In the mid-nineteenth century, Voortrekkers (Boer settlers) established themselves in the region and in the early 1880s they supported Moshoette in his battles against Mankurwane and Montshiwa, helping to besiege Montshiwa's stronghold Mahikeng. Mahikeng fell on 24 October 1882 and, in gratitude, Moshoette ceded large portions of Mankurwane's land (416 farms of 3,000 morgen (2,563 hectares) each) to the Boer mercenaries who had supported him.

The mercenaries, led by Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius, immediately declared independence (followed by an official proclamation on 21 November 1882), naming the new nation after the Book of Genesis's Land of Goshen, "the best of the land of Egypt given to Joseph", with its capital at Rooigrond ("Red Ground").

Goshen had the Molopo River as its northern border, and shared a border with the Transvaal. Goshen's capital Rooigrond was little more than a fortified farm consisting of a collection of mud huts and a population of a few dozen, situated near Mafeking.

Goshen's flag, designed by Gey van Pittius, was adopted in early 1883 and consisted of horizontal black, white and red stripes with a green vertical stripe at the hoist – imitating the Vierkleur but using the German flag as the basis as opposed to the Dutch.