Ex unitate vires
{{Short description|Former motto of South Africa}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{italic title}}
File:Coat of Arms of South Africa (1932-2000).svg
Ex unitate vires ({{literal translation}} "from unity, strength") is a Latin phrase formerly used as the national motto of South Africa. It was originally translated as "Union is Strength" but was later revised in 1961 to mean "Unity is Strength". Its Dutch version is "Eendracht maakt macht", itself a non-literal translation of "in concordia res parvae crescunt", originally the motto of the Dutch Republic. That translation, along with its French counterpart - "L'union fait la force" - is also the current motto of Belgium. It was adopted as the national motto of South Africa in 1910 but was replaced in 2000.
History
= Adoption =
File:Cap badge 1st South African Infantry Brigade.jpg
When the British Empire's colonies of Cape Colony, Transvaal Colony, Natal Colony, and the Orange River Colony joined together to form the Union of South Africa, a coat of arms was granted to them by King George V. On the arms was the motto "Ex Unitate Vires" as a symbol that the British and Afrikaner colonies were stronger within the Union.{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/za)coa.html#old) |title=South Africa – Coat of Arms |publisher=Crwflags.com |access-date=14 September 2016}}{{cite web|author=Jill Campbell-Miller |url=https://www.academia.edu/1621487 |title='Ex Unitate Vires': Elite Consolidation and the Union of South Africa, 1902–1910 |publisher=Academia.edu |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=14 September 2016}}{{cite book | first =J.M.| last =Smits | title =The Making of European Private Law: Toward a Ius Commune Europaeum as a Mixed Legal System| publisher = Intersentia nv | year = 2002 | isbn =9050951910 | page =130}} It was also chosen in Latin as a neutral language to avoid using either English or Afrikaans due to sensitivities after the Boer War.{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2000/may/21/news/mn-32418/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807053539/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/may/21/news/mn-32418/2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 August 2016 |title=S. Africa's New Motto Leaves Some Flush With Chagrin |work=Los Angeles Times |date=21 May 2000 |access-date=14 September 2016}} During the First World War, the 1st South African Infantry used the English and Dutch translation of the motto on their cap badge alongside the springbok.{{cite book | first =Peter| last =Liddle | title =Passchendaele in Perspective: The Third Battle of Ypres| publisher = Pen & Sword | year = 2016 | isbn =978-0850525885 | page =292}} In 1947, King George VI toured South Africa. However, due to noticing the South African Police (whom the King referred to as "Gestapo") enforcing segregation in keeping blacks away from him and a request from the South African government to only shake hands with whites, the King noticed the motto on the tablecloth of his royal train and stated: "Huh, not much bloody Unitate about this place!"{{cite book | first =Robert| last =Lacey | title =Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth II| publisher = Simon and Schuster | year = 2008 | isbn =978-1439108390 | page =155}}
= Abolition =
Following the Union of South Africa's transition to the Republic of South Africa in 1961, the new constitution did not refer to the national motto,{{cite wikisource |title=Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961 |wslink=Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961 |year=1960 |publisher=South African Government |location=South Africa}} therefore, its legal status was unchanged as the coat of arms was unchanged, though the official translation of Ex Unitate Vires was changed to "Unity is Strength".{{cite web |url=http://www.safariafrica.co.za/tourist-information/south-african-coat-of-arms.htm |title=South African Coat of Arms |publisher=Safariafrica.co.za |access-date=14 September 2016 |archive-date=30 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430214729/http://www.safariafrica.co.za/tourist-information/south-african-coat-of-arms.htm |url-status=dead }} Following the end of apartheid in 1994, the motto was retained along with the coat of arms for a time.{{cite web|last=Keller |first=Bill |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CEED71526EE33BC4D53DFB26F958A |title=Symbols/The New South Africa – The First Emblems of Unity – A Little Something for Everyone |work=New York Times |date=8 May 1994 |access-date=14 September 2016}} However, because of the implication that it represented white British and Afrikaners uniting against black people, "Ex Unitate Vires" was replaced in 2000 as the national motto of South Africa by "ǃke e꞉ ǀxarra ǁke" (ǀXam: Unity Through Diversity").
See also
{{Portal|South Africa}}