Breathing Time - JM Staniforth. The problem with "Krugerism".1899 political cartoon by J. M. Staniforth depicting Transvaal President Paul Kruger showing a hard line to uitlanders by reversing the residency requirement for voting rights. Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain is staring at the two men with his arms crossed in the background.
The vast Witwatersrand gold fields were discovered in 1886, and within ten years the uitlander (English) population of the Transvaal was thought to be double that of the ethnic Boer Transvaalers.[a] These workers were primarily concentrated around the Johannesburg area.
The Transvaal government, under President Paul Kruger, were concerned as to the effect this large influx could have on the independence of the Transvaal. The uitlanders were almost entirely British subjects. Therefore enfranchising the uitilanders, at a time when the Crown was keen to consolidate its colonial hold in South Africa,[citation needed] risked creating a powerful fifth column that could ultimately lead to a power shift and the Transvaal passing into British hands, eventually turning it into a British colony. As a result, beginning in 1890 the Transvaal government passed a series of laws refusing voting rights and citizenship to immigrants who had not both resided the republic for fourteen years and were over forty years of age.[2] This successfully disenfranchised the uitlanders from any meaningful political role. This attitude was called, "Krugerism".
This policy, together with high taxation,[citation needed] gave rise to considerable discontent. Their treatment served as the pretext for the Jameson Raid in 1895; Cecil Rhodes planned an invasion of the Transvaal to coincide with an uprising of the uitlanders in Johannesburg. Dr Jameson's force invaded, but the expected uprising never took place; the invading force were quickly overpowered and arrested.
From 1897 onwards, the High Commissioner for South Africa, Sir Alfred Milner, and the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, used the denial of rights to the uitlanders as their main point of attack against the Transvaal. They encouraged uitlander agitation and pressed uitlander claims, with veiled threat of war, upon Kruger's government.
In the end, British insistence and Kruger's intransigence led to the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899.
Upon its defeat in 1902, the Transvaal became a British colony. All residents of the Transvaal thereafter became British subjects and so the term uitlander lost prominence.
With the election of a liberal government in Britain, everything was returned to the Boers in 1906.
^ Estimated at ~60,000 uitlanders to ~30,000 burghers.[1]
Referencesedit
^Exact figures are uncertain, as the first census of the Transvaal was not taken until April 1904. The Transvaal government made policy on the assumption that there were 60,000 uitlanders to 30,000 burghers (these figures refer to adult males only). This was a conservative estimate, others claimed the ratio to be 4:1 or even 10:1. Despite these figures, subsequent scholarship has suggested that there was in fact parity between the burgher and uitlander populations, although given the nature of mining there may have been more uitlander males. See JS Marias, The Fall of Kruger's Republic, p2)
^James Percy Fitzpatrick (July 1899). The Transvaal from Within. William Heinemann, London. p. 73-76.
Bibliographyedit
Marais, JS - The Fall of Kruger's Republic, (1961, Clarendon Press)
External linksedit
Imperialism in the dock - the Boer War
The Uitlander Franchise
October 26, 2023
uitlander, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2021, lea. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Uitlander news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Uitlander Afrikaans for foreigner lit outlander was a foreign mainly British migrant worker during the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in the independent Transvaal Republic following the discovery of gold in 1886 The limited rights granted to this group in the independent Boer Republics was one of the contributing factors behind the Second Boer War Uitlander cemetery at Pilgrim s Rest Mpumalanga Contents 1 Second Boer War 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 External linksSecond Boer War edit nbsp Breathing Time JM Staniforth The problem with Krugerism nbsp 1899 political cartoon by J M Staniforth depicting Transvaal President Paul Kruger showing a hard line to uitlanders by reversing the residency requirement for voting rights Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain is staring at the two men with his arms crossed in the background The vast Witwatersrand gold fields were discovered in 1886 and within ten years the uitlander English population of the Transvaal was thought to be double that of the ethnic Boer Transvaalers a These workers were primarily concentrated around the Johannesburg area The Transvaal government under President Paul Kruger were concerned as to the effect this large influx could have on the independence of the Transvaal The uitlanders were almost entirely British subjects Therefore enfranchising the uitilanders at a time when the Crown was keen to consolidate its colonial hold in South Africa citation needed risked creating a powerful fifth column that could ultimately lead to a power shift and the Transvaal passing into British hands eventually turning it into a British colony As a result beginning in 1890 the Transvaal government passed a series of laws refusing voting rights and citizenship to immigrants who had not both resided the republic for fourteen years and were over forty years of age 2 This successfully disenfranchised the uitlanders from any meaningful political role This attitude was called Krugerism This policy together with high taxation citation needed gave rise to considerable discontent Their treatment served as the pretext for the Jameson Raid in 1895 Cecil Rhodes planned an invasion of the Transvaal to coincide with an uprising of the uitlanders in Johannesburg Dr Jameson s force invaded but the expected uprising never took place the invading force were quickly overpowered and arrested From 1897 onwards the High Commissioner for South Africa Sir Alfred Milner and the Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain used the denial of rights to the uitlanders as their main point of attack against the Transvaal They encouraged uitlander agitation and pressed uitlander claims with veiled threat of war upon Kruger s government In the end British insistence and Kruger s intransigence led to the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899 Upon its defeat in 1902 the Transvaal became a British colony All residents of the Transvaal thereafter became British subjects and so the term uitlander lost prominence With the election of a liberal government in Britain everything was returned to the Boers in 1906 See also editBoerehaatNotes edit Estimated at 60 000 uitlanders to 30 000 burghers 1 References edit Exact figures are uncertain as the first census of the Transvaal was not taken until April 1904 The Transvaal government made policy on the assumption that there were 60 000 uitlanders to 30 000 burghers these figures refer to adult males only This was a conservative estimate others claimed the ratio to be 4 1 or even 10 1 Despite these figures subsequent scholarship has suggested that there was in fact parity between the burgher and uitlander populations although given the nature of mining there may have been more uitlander males See JS Marias The Fall of Kruger s Republic p2 James Percy Fitzpatrick July 1899 The Transvaal from Within William Heinemann London p 73 76 Bibliography editMarais JS The Fall of Kruger s Republic 1961 Clarendon Press External links editImperialism in the dock the Boer War The Uitlander Franchise Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Uitlander amp oldid 1135757541, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
