Transvaal

   A Boer state established north of the Vaal River in South Africa during the Great Trek in 1852. It was annexed by Britain in 1877 in an agreement with the Boers who sought protection against the predations of the Zulu at a time of insolvency for the Transvaal’s finances. Outright annexation was never popular among the Boers. They considered it a violation of the principles of the Sand River Convention, were annoyed by the taxes and parsimony of British administrations, and outraged at the abuses to themselves and their property by misbehaving British troops. They were also led to hope for the recovery of their independence by William Gladstone ’ s attack on the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli as “drunk with imperialism” and the annexation of a free and tenacious protestant community as a gross offense to liberal principle. When Gladstone returned to office and decided instead that the Boers should accept the liberty afforded them by confederation, they revolted. The First Boer War is therefore occasionally referred to as the Transvaal War. Transvaal was again annexed by Britain after the Second Boer War.

   See also <>; <>.

   FURTHER READING:

    Wilson, Monica and Leonard Thompson, eds. The Oxford History of South Africa. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.

   CARL CAVANAGH HODGE