Natal (province)
former province of South Africa (1910–1994)
The Province of Natal (Afrikaans: Natalprovinsie), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organised into the Bantustan of KwaZulu, which was progressively separated from the province, becoming partially autonomous in 1981. For the significant population of Indian South Africans residing in Natal, the third-largest city of Durban was organised for them. Of the white population, the majority were English-speaking people of British descent, causing Natal to become the only province to vote "No" to the creation of a republic in the referendum of 1960, due to very strong monarchist, pro-British Commonwealth, and anti-secessionist sentiment. In the latter part of the 1980s, Natal was in a state of violence between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress, with violence subsiding soon after the first non-racial election in 1994.
In 1994, the KwaZulu Bantustan was reincorporated into the territory of Natal and the province was redesignated as KwaZulu-Natal.
Districts in 1991
Districts of the province and population at the time of the 1991 census.
Administrators
Politics
The province was a strong hold of the United party.
See also
Coat of arms of Natal
Mtetwa Empire (c.
“Natal (province)” enters the record as former province of South Africa (1910–1994). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Natal, province and former can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Natal (province)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Natal, province and former provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q917867. VIAF identifies the subject as 853153532495448820007. The Library of Congress control number is n79020108. Authority coordinates are -29.000, 30.000. 2 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1910, 1994, 1981 and 1960.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Natal (province)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.