Thomas Upington

Thomas Upington ( born October 28, 1844 in Rathnee in Mallow, County Cork, † December 10, 1898 in Wynberg, Cape Colony ) was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1884 to 1886.

Life

Upington studied law at Trinity College, Dublin. He came in 1874 in the Cape Colony and was appointed Attorney General. Thomas Upington founded in 1878 an Irish volunteer force, which consisted of about 30 men and " Upington 's Foot " was called. The troops took part in the " Ninth Kaffir war" part, which was a rebellion of the Gaika and Galeka in the Transkei. Upington was awarded the " South Africa Medal 1877-9 ".

In 1884 he was appointed with the help of Africans Bond, a party of Boers to the Prime Minister. He got into a conflict when the British colonial government wanted to proceed against the Boer Republic United States of Stellaland, but he could not consistently support this because of its dependence on African Bond. He came back in 1886 in favor of Gordon Sprigg, but was at first Minister of Justice.

Honors

The town of Upington in the Northern Cape was named in 1884 on the occasion of his visit by Thomas Upington. The small Boer Republic Upingtonia with capital Grootfontein was founded in 1885 in what is now Namibia; she went in 1887 in German South-West Africa.