The Orange Free State was an independent Boer sovereign republic in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Empire at the end of the Second Boer War in 1902. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province.
Following the granting of sovereignty to the Transvaal Republic, the British recognized the independence of the Orange River Sovereignty on 17 February, 1854 and the country officially became independent as the Orange Free State on 23 February 1854, with the signing of the Orange River Convention.
