Pretoria Convention
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
What happened
Britain, represented by Major-General Evelyn Wood, and Transvaal Boer leaders including Paul Kruger, Marthinus Pretorius and Piet Joubert signed the convention. Boers in the Transvaal had risen against British rule in the First Boer War and won at Majuba Hill. At Pretoria, Britain agreed to give the Transvaal back its self-government. Britain kept a loose overall control, called suzerainty.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It ended the First Boer War. The war page calls it the first time since the American War of Independence that Britain was forced into a peace on unfavourable terms.
What came next
The London Convention of 1884 replaced it and gave the Transvaal fuller independence. Gold was found nearby in 1886, and war returned in 1899.
Did you know?
British preparatory work for the treaty was done in Newcastle, Natal, but it was signed in Pretoria.
Timeline
- 20 December 1880Battle of Bronkhorstspruit.
- 27 February 1881Battle of Majuba Hill.
- 3 August 1881The Pretoria Convention is signed.
- 1884London Convention.