Potchefstroom en die Eerste Vryheidsoorlog 1880-81

Abstract

At first the Transvaalers seemed to accept the British annexation of their country which took place in April 1877. However, there was an undercurrent of protest which within three years turned into definitive action when the Potchefstroomers clashed with the British authorities. Throughout the Transvaal the Boers had refused to pay taxes but it was in Potchefstroom that the issue culminated in direct conflict. What happened was that the British authorities took possession of a certain P.L. Bezuidenhout's oxwagon which they wanted to auction in an effort to raise the money needed for his outstanding taxes. His friends rallied round him and forcefully recovered the wagon. British troops were despatched to Potchefstroom to restore law and order. But it was too late. On 15 December 1880 armed Afrikaners entered Potchefstroom to have the First Proclamation of the restored republican government printed by a local printer. Shots were exchanged between Boer and Briton; this marked the start of the First Anglo-Boer War. The British troops had to defend the local garrison from incessant attack by the Boers under the command of Gen. P.A. Cronjé. The siege ended on 18 March 1881 when the British hoisted the white flag. Many Transvaalers were reluctant to accept the peace terms, but with the Pretoria convention of August 1881 hostilities were formally ended when self-government was restored.