Transvaal Colony

Both the Boer republics, the South African Republic (ZAR) and the Orange Free State were defeated in the Anglo-Boer War and surrendered to the UK. The peace treaty (Treaty of Vereeniging) contained the following terms:

1. That all burghers of the ZAR and Orange Free State lay down their arms and accept King Edward VII as their sovereign.
2. That all burghers outside the borders of the ZAR and Orange Free State, upon declaring their allegiance to the King, be transported back to their homes.
3. That all burghers so surrendering will not be deprived of their property.
4. No Civil or Criminal proceedings against burghers for acts of war, except Acts contrary to the usage of war. In such cases, there is to be held an immediate court-martial.
5. That High Dutch be taught in schools and that the use of the Dutch language will be allowed in law courts.
6. That the possession of rifles be allowed under license.
7. That Military Administration be succeeded at the earliest possible date by representative institutions leading up to self-government.
8. That the question of granting franchise to natives not be discussed until after self-government.
9. That no special tax be introduced to cover the costs of the war.
10. That various commissions be established to process and pay valid claims for war expenses and to honor script issued by the countries of the ZAR and Orange Free State during the period of the war. The commission would also feed the homeless and assist with the reconstruction of homes affected by the war. To that end, the crown agrees to a free grant of £3,000,000 as well as loans at no interest for two years to be repaid at 3 percent interest over years thereafter.

In 1902, with peace following the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging, the new Transvaal colony was faced with intertwined economic and political issues that need to be resolved. The economic issues faced included the restoration of the mining industry to pre-war levels, then growing it further with the need for extra labour, the restoration of the Boers to their lands and increasing the agricultural output of those farms. The political issue faced depended on what side of politics you stood on. The existing British administrators under Alfred Milner wished to anglicise the population through two main means. One by increasing the English speaking population of the Transvaal and secondly teach the Boer children in English with very little Dutch used, followed by self-rule. The Transvaal Boers' political objectives were the restoration of self-rule in the colony and the political environment to be dominated by the Boers.

As the war ended the British were faced with a large proportion of Boer men as prisoners of war and their families in concentration camps.[4]^:269 As the British followed a scorched earth policy in the Transvaal, Boer lands, stock and farms had been destroyed.[4]^:266

At the conclusion of the war, it was necessary to reconstruct a "government" for the new colony and this was begun with the appointment of a Resident Magistrate in every district of the colony and became District Commissioners while an Assistant Magistrate carried out the legal and magisterial duties of the area.[5]^:88 Roman-Dutch law was translated into English so the law courts could continue, with some old acts repealed and a considerable amount of new law promulgated by the authorities in Johannesburg.[5]^:89

The Resident Magistrate then submitted the names of three members of the district to the Governor for district commission under the magistrate.[5]^:88 They would consist of one British subject, and two Boers, one from those who had surrendered early on in the war and one who had fought until the end.[5]^:90 The commission would have two functions, one to provide assistance and issuing of rations, equipment, transport and plough animals to those affected by the war, secondly to investigate claims for compensation for actual damages sustained during the war.[5]^:90

Repatriation depots were established in the districts and they were stocked with food, seed, agricultural equipment, transport, plough animals and stone and building material.[5]^:90 The rail transport network struggled to compete with the transport of army requirement to maintain a garrison and civilian requirements to repair the colony.[5]^:89 All feed for transport animals had to be brought to the depots as the process started in the winter of 1902.[5]^:89 Refugees from the concentration camps and prisoners of war were returned to their districts in a system of drafts.[5]^:88 At the depots, they would receive farm equipment, tents and rations to start again and transport to their destinations.[5]^:88 Food rations were provided for almost a year.[5]^:88 Families would receive a token grant irrespective of their ability to pay it back and additional material and equipment required were obtained via interest-free loans with small cash loans also attracting no interest, with larger loans attracting four percent interest by a mortgage.[5]^:90 The loan scheme was never going to compensate a person for the actual loss experienced by the war.[5]^:90 Damage and the reconstruction required varied from district to district,[5]^:91

In the larger towns, municipal or health boards were "appointed" to manage them under the resident Magistrate.[5]^:95 They had limited functions and the only rates they levied were for sanitary functions.[5]^:95 Within fifteen months of the end of the war, the introduction of municipal government was introduced with preparations made for fair elections based on property valuation and the creation of voters rolls with registration process explained in English and Dutch.[5]^:95

The election was held on 20 February 1907 and Het Volk won the election gathering 37 of 69 seats.[6]^:173 It stood 43 candidates and won 34 seats outright, all the country seats were gained bar Barberton, three seats in Pretoria and four on the Witwatersrand with three independents aligning themselves with the party.[6]^:173 The Progressive Party stood 34 candidates and won 21 seats, twenty on the Witwatersrand and one in Pretoria with five Randlords winning seats.[6]^:174 Other parties included the Nationalists (old Transvaal Responsible Government Association) that won 6 seats, four on the Witwatersrand and two in Pretoria but their leader Richard Solomon failed to win his seat.[6]^:174 Labour Party won three seats in the Witwatersrand after contesting 14 and their leader Frederic Creswell also failed to gain a seat.[6]^:174

Louis Botha became Prime Minister of the Transvaal and Agriculture minister with Jan Smuts as its colonial secretary.[4]^:270 Other new cabinet ministers included J de Villiers, Attorney-General and Mines, Henry Charles Hull, Treasurer, Johann Rissik, Land and Native Affairs, Harry Solomon held Public Works and Edward Rooth as whip.[6]^:174 The Progressives in opposition would be led by George Farrar and Abe Bailey as the opposition whip.[6]^:174 They all assembled for the first time in March 1907. After the 1907 election, the issue of Chinese mining labour was revisited with Het Volk believing there was enough labour in the form of black and white miners.[6]^:174–5 Taking into account the economic interests of the Transvaal, Botha ensured a gradual policy of repatriation of Chinese labour.[6]^:174–5

By 1908, the Boers had won in elections, control of Natal, Orange River and Transvaal colonies, but under British influence with the need now to unite the country under one government.[4]^:270

Aerial photography of gold mines, taken by Eduard Spelterini in July 1911

In May 1908, Jan Smuts, Transvaal Colonial Secretary proposed a gathering of representatives from all four colonies and decide on a customs and railways agreement and included a proposal that the colonies appoint delegates to discuss a constitution for a united country in the form of a National Convention.[7]^:149 The objective of the convention was to find a solution to the political, racial and economic problems encountered by these colonies and find common ground between Boer and the English.[4]^:271 On 12 October 1908, the thirty white delegates of the four colonies met in Durban under the Chairmanship of Sir Henry de Villiers.[4]^:271 Twelve delegates came from the Cape Colony, eight from the Transvaal and five each from the Orange River and Natal Colonies representing a gathering of sixteen from an English background and the remaining fourteen were of Boer origin.[4]^:271

The main issues discussed was whether the four colonies would become a country made up of a union or a federation. Who would be allowed to vote and the number of voters who would make-up a constituency in a rural and urban seat. All three objectives were eventually finalised with South Africa to become a union which was the wish of both the Liberal British government and Jan Smuts.[4]^:271 On the question of black enfranchisement, the British government was prepared to accept the final wishes of the National Convention.[4]^:271 The colonies of the Transvaal, Orange River and Natal wanted no black enfranchisement while the Cape Colony wished to keep what limited enfranchisement it had for all other races.[4]^:271 A compromise was reached and all the colonies wishes concerning their racial make-up for enfranchisement was accepted, though subject to a repeal by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.[4]^:271 As to the objective of rural and urban constituencies, it was decided to allow fifteen percent fewer constituents for a rural seat while an urban seat would have fifteen percent more constituents.[4]^:271 This system for the constituencies would ensure that the Afrikaner would dominate politics in years to come and would be one of the many reasons why Jan Smuts would lose the 1948 election, sweeping D.F. Malan to power and the beginning of Apartheid.[4]^:370 The results of the negotiations at the Convention became the draft South Africa Act which was released for viewing on 9 February 1909.[4]^:281 By 19 August 1909, the South Africa Act passed through the Houses of Commons and into law.[4]^:284

As to the question of black enfranchisement, the views of British and Boers were similar with Alfred Milner stating in a speech in 1903,[8] that he believed in white superiority and thought the black man was not ready to rule and had similarly persuaded the Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain to allow a future united white government to decide the question of the black franchise.[4]^:266

Prior to the grant of responsible self-government on 6 December 1906, the Colony was administered by an Executive Council appointed by the Governor. The first elected Cabinet of the Transvaal Colony was formed on 4 March 1907.

The Transvaal Colony lay between Vaal River in the south, and the Limpopo River in the north, roughly between 22½ and 27½ S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the Orange Free State and Natal Colony, to its south-west were the Cape Colony, to the west the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswana), to its north Rhodesia, and to its east Portuguese East Africa and Swaziland. Except in the south-west, these borders were mostly well defined by natural features.[19] Within the Transvaal lies the Waterberg Massif, a prominent ancient geological feature of the South African landscape.

Divisions:

• Zoutpansberg

Cities in the Transvaal Colony:

• Heidelberg
• Johannesburg
• Messina
• Nelspruit
• Pietersburg
• Pretoria
• Vereeniging

• History of South Africa

• Public-domain historical maps of South Africa
• American Library of Congress