United States of Stellaland (Verenigde Staten van Stellaland) (may 2, 1883 – aug 1, 1885)
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Whether or not the independence of any of these states was ever recognised by another country is not clear. In Stellaland’s favour, one can point out that the Montevideo convention which formalised the definition of sovereignty in the modern sense would not be signed until 1933, and that the local chiefs approved its existence. On the other hand, several British sources refer to Van Niekerk and his followers as "freebooters" and "marauders", but de jure recognition from the United Kingdom can be implied from a telegram that was erroneously sent by Sir Charles Warren, military commander for British Bechuanaland, to Van Niekerk in which he endorsed Cecil Rhodes' settlement in Stellaland. Only later did Warren realise that his wording could be interpreted as an acknowledgement of Stellaland’s legality,[8] and he tried to deny the message's implications. In February 1884, Great Britain unilaterally declared the area a British protectorate.
Stellaland’s laws and constitution were practically identical to those of the South African Republic. It never issued an independent currency, but instead—like all the surrounding states—used the South African pound; it did, however, print its own postage stamps beginning in February 1884, which are still traded among collectors to the present day.
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