Ron Gold History Series Part 3. Anglo Boer War: 3) - The Path to War - What were the causes?

Shortly before his death in 1904, the old Boer leader, Paul Kruger said in an interview: “Two things destroyed my people - Majuba and the gold”. This was as good a summary of the causes of the South African War, as any. But, to understand how this point was reached, one needs to look more closely at the history of the protagonists.
Ever since Britain had occupied the Cape in 1806, relations with the Dutch-speaking protestant settlers - particularly those in the frontier area to the east of Cape Town - later to become known as the Boers, had been strained. In 1836, numbers of these settlers moved away from British controlled territory to establish their own independent republics, free of British control. During this period, the two sides would meet in battle at Congella and Boomplaats. These disputes would be resolved peacefully but when Britain, taking advantage of the Transvaal Boers financial difficulties, annexed the Boer republic of the Transvaal in 1877, tensions rose appreciably. The Transvaalers rebelled in December 1880 and, during a few short weeks humiliated the British garrison troops by defeating them in 4 battles, the last of which was Majuba. The tail of the Imperial Lion had been tweaked - something that would not easily be forgotten. The Transvaal had, once again, become independent but only a few years later, vast gold deposits were discovered in the heart of the Boer republic and avaricious eyes began to focus on this bonanza. Pressure was once again exerted on the Boers by the imperialist faction in the British government as well as by the ‘Gold Bugs’ - Cecil John Rhodes, JB Robinson, Alfred Beit and others.