Orange River Convention

Orange River Convention (1854)

Type	Recognition of independence and self-government
Signed	23 February 1854
Location	Bloemfontein, Orange River Sovereignty
Expiration	6 April 1872 (some parts earlier)
Signatories	British government and representatives of the Boer communities in the Orange River Sovereignty
Language	English
Orange River Convention (1854) at Wikisource

The Orange River Convention (sometimes also called the Bloemfontein Convention) was a convention whereby the United Kingdom formally recognised the independence of the Boers in the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, which had previously been known as the Orange River Sovereignty. This resulted in the formation of the independent Boer Republic of the Orange Free State (OFS).

The convention was signed on 23 February 1854 at the Green Lodge in Bloemfontein.

The convention did not state what the boundaries between the Basotho kingdom and the OFS were to be; this omission was the cause of much conflict in later years.

Sources

• Rosalie Schaffer, 'Succession to treaties: South African practice in the light of current developments in international law' (1981)