TheProgressive Party of theCape Colony was a political party in theCape Parliament that was primarily composed of and supported by white immigrants to the Cape. It supported pro-imperialist policies, and was in power from 1900 until 1908.

The Progressive Party formed in the late 1890s from the pro-imperialist politics of politicians such asCecil John Rhodes,Alfred Milner andJohn Gordon Sprigg.

They initially formed the opposition to the government of Prime MinisterWilliam Philip Schreiner, after they lost the1898 election to him. However, the Progressives came to power on 18 June 1900 under Prime MinisterJohn Gordon Sprigg, and later under Prime MinisterLeander Starr Jameson.

They lost power on 2 February 1908, to the oppositionSouth African Party underJohn X. Merriman. After this election the Progressives renamed themselves the "Union Party".

The similarly named "Progressive Movement" started in the neighbouringTransvaal in 1891 as a movement of wealthy foreign immigrants (or"Uitlanders") who opposed the Afrikaner government of the Transvaal. Just before Union, they became the "Progressive Association of the Transvaal".^[1] They won 21 of the 69 seats in the 1907 elections, losing toHet Volk Party which won 39 seats.

After the creation of theUnion of South Africa, the Union Party of the Cape, the Progressive Association of the Transvaal and the Constitutional Party of the Orange Free State merged to form theUnionist Party.

• Eastern Cape Separatist League

• Defunct political parties in South Africa
• Politics of the Cape Colony
• 1890s establishments in the Cape Colony
• Political parties established in the 1890s
• Liberal parties in South Africa

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