TRANSVAAL COLONY, formerly the South African Republic; since 1910 a State of the Union of South Africa; area, 110,450 square miles; lying between the Vaal and the Limpopo rivers; bounded N. by British South African territory, E. by Portuguese East Africa and Zulu land, S. by Natal and the Orange River Colony, and W. by Bechuanaland. The population numbers over 300,000 whites and over 1,000,000 natives. Johannes burg, the principal city, had in 1918 a population of 137,166 whites and about the same number of natives. Prior to its annexation to Great Britain the re public was ruled by a president elected for five years, only native Boers having the franchise; and a legislature of two houses, each of 27 members, elected for four years. The president had a council of four official members. One-third of the population is estimated to be engaged in agriculture, the lands of the colony generally, outside the mining districts, being extremely productive, and the de mand for farm products in the mining regions very great, even in excess of the local products at the present time. From the establishment of the republic, troubles arose with the natives around them, and during one of these disturbances the British intervened in 1877 and annexed the territory. The Boers, however, rose in rebellion in 1880, and after a short war, in which the British were worsted, the independence of the country, subject to the "suzerainty" of the British crown, was again recognized. In 1884 a new convention was signed giving the Trans vaal independence in the management of its internal affairs, but placing certain restrictions on its authority to make treaties with foreign powers. In 1886 gold was discovered in the RAND (q. v.). About 23,000 whites and 250,000 natives are employed in the mines. The gold output of 1916 was valued at £38,110,000.
In 1899 trouble again arose between the Transvaal Government and the Uit lenders. The latter sent numerous peti tions to the Queen of England to help them in their contentions against the Boers. A conference was arranged be tween President Kruger and Sir Alfred Milner, the British high commissioner at Cape Town, which was held May 31, 1899, at the capital of the Orange Free State; but it failed to yield any benefits, as Krtiger declined to make the so-called "reforms" that Milner demanded, and Milner declined to submit disputes to in ternational arbitration in the way Krii ger suggested. The chronic source of trouble in the Transvaal was the fact that the Englishmen who went there for gold-mining purposes were determined on obtaining the right to vote as citizens of the Transvaal republic, while still keep ing their status as British subjects.
On Oct. 10, 1899, the Transvaal Gov ernment sent an ultimatum to Great Britain demanding the withdrawal of all her troops in the Transvaal. The reply
to this being unsatisfactory, the Trans vaal declared war Oct. 11, 1899, the Orange Free State supported its sister republic, and the next day a Transvaal force invaded Natal. The first months of the war were marked by Boer aggres sions and successes. At the close of 1899 three British forces were being besieged, respectively at Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking, and three British armies had been checked and were inactive, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements. The British losses had been 7,630 in killed, wounded and missing. These un expected reverses awoke Great Britain to the magnitude of the task before her. Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and 100,000 men were dispatched to South Africa and by the end of January there were 250,000 British troops in the field. Before the arrival of these troops, how ever, the Boers continued to gain vic tories. At the Tugela river and at Spion Kop (a small hill N. of the river) the British were defeated and compelled to relinquish their plan of relieving Lady smith.
With the arrival of Lord Roberts at the front, Feb. 9, the aspect of the war changed. Lord Kitchener reorganized the army and departments; Lord Roberts be gan the invasion of the Orange Free State; and in rapid succession followed the relief of Kimberley (Feb. 15) ; the surrender of General Cronje with 4,600 men (Feb. 27) ; the relief of Ladysmith (Feb. 28) ; the surrender of Bloemfon tein, the capital of the Orange Free State; the relief of Mafeking (May 16); and the surrender of Pretoria (June 5). On Sept. 8, at Spitzkop, General Buller defeated a large force of Boers under General Botha, and with this battle or ganized resistance came to an end. Presi dent Kruger fled to Europe, and the only opposition offered the British was by iso lated bands of Boers who carried on a guerrilla warfare. On Sept. 3 the South African (Transvaal) republic was of ficially annexed by Great Britain under the name of the Transvaal Colony, and on Dec. 14, Sir Alfred Milner was ap pointed its administrator. In January, 1902, the government of the Netherlands made official overtures to Great Britain to act as a peace intermediary between her and the Boers. Great Britain re fused the offer on the ground that any conditions of peace must be made in South Africa, and not by the Boer repre sentatives in Holland. The British Lib eral Government of 1906 offered the Transvaal a new constitution, and in 1907 an election was held at Pretoria, where General Louis Botha was appointed the first Premier. In 1910 the Transvaal was joined to the UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA (q. v.).