View source for Transvaal Colony

{{Short description|British colony from 1877 to 1881 and 1902 to 1910}}
{{About|the former British colony|other uses|Transvaal (disambiguation)}}
{{coord|25|S|30|E|type:country|display=title}}
{{Use South African English|date=July 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Transvaal Colony
| native_name            = {{native name|af|paren=omit|Transvaalkolonie}}
| common_name            = Transvaal Colony
| life_span              = {{ubl|1877–1881, 1902–1910}}
| status                 = [[Crown colony]] of the [[British Empire|United Kingdom]]
| empire                 = United Kingdom
| image_flag             = Flag of the Transvaal Colony 1904–1910.svg
| flag_type_article      = Flag of Transvaal
| flag_size              = 
| image_coat             = Badge of the Transvaal Colony (1904–1910).svg
| coa_size               = 
| symbol_type            = Badge
| royal_anthem           = "[[God Save the King]]"
| image_map              = LocationZARca1890.svg
| image_map_caption      = Location of Transvaal, circa 1890
| capital                = [[Pretoria]]
| languages_type         = {{nowr|Official language}}
| languages              = [[English language|English]]
| languages2_sub         = yes
| languages2_type        = {{nowr|Common languages}}
| languages2             = [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Southern Ndebele language|Ndebele]], [[Northern Sotho language|Sepedi]], [[Tsonga language|Tsonga]], [[Tswana language|Tswana]], [[Venda language|Venda]], [[Zulu language|Zulu]]
| ethnic_groups          = {{plainlist|
* 73.79% [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black]]
* 23.40% [[White South Africans|White]]
* 1.90% [[Coloureds|Coloured]]
* 0.89% [[Asian (South Africa)|Asian]] 
}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 1904
| religion               = {{ubl|[[Dutch Reformed Church|Dutch Reformed]]|[[Anglican]]}}
| legislature            = Parliament of the Transvaal
| upper_house            = Legislative Council
| lower_house            = Legislative Assembly
| government_type        = {{nowr|[[Constitutional monarchy]]}}
| title_leader           = [[List of British monarchs|Monarch]]
| leader1                = [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]
| leader2                = [[Edward VII]]
| leader3                = [[George V]]
| year_leader1           = 1877–1901
| year_leader2           = 1901–1910
| year_leader3           = 1910
| title_representative   = [[List of governors of British South African colonies#Transvaal Colony|Governor]]
| representative1        = {{nowr|[[Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner|Viscount Milner]]}}
| representative2        = {{nowr|[[William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne|Earl of Selborne]]}}
| year_representative1   = 1902–1905
| year_representative2   = 1905–1910
| title_deputy           = [[List of governors of British South African colonies#Prime Minister of the Transvaal|Prime Minister]]
| deputy1                = [[Louis Botha]]
| year_deputy1           = 1907–1910
| era                    = {{nowr|[[Scramble for Africa]]}}
| date_start             = 12 April
| year_start             = 1877
| event1                 = {{nowr|[[Pretoria Convention]]}}
| date_event1            = 3 August 1881
| event2                 = {{nowr|'Transvaal Colony' Proclaimed}}
| date_event2            = 1 September 1900
| event3                 = {{nowr|[[Treaty of Vereeniging]]}}
| date_event3            = 31 May 1902
| event4                 = {{nowr|Grant of responsible self-government}}
| date_event4            = 6 December 1906
| event_end              = {{nowr|[[Union of South Africa]]}}
| date_end               = 31 May
| year_end               = 1910
| stat_year1             = 1904
| stat_pop1              = 1,268,716<ref name=britcensus />
| p1                     = South African Republic
| s1                     = Union of South Africa
| flag_p1                = Flag of Transvaal.svg
| flag_s1                = South Africa Flag 1910-1912.svg
| today                  = [[South Africa]]<br>[[Eswatini]]
| footnotes              = 
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| s2                     = Swaziland Protectorate
| flag_s2                = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
}}

The '''Transvaal Colony''' ({{IPA|af|transˈfɑːl}}) was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the [[Second Boer War]] in 1902 when the [[South African Republic]] was dissolved, and the establishment of the [[Union of South Africa]] in 1910. The borders of the Transvaal Colony<ref name=devilliers>{{cite book|last=De Villiers|first=John|title=The Transvaal|year=1896|publisher=Chatto & Windus|location=London|url=https://archive.org/stream/transvaal00devi#page/n29/mode/2up}}</ref> were larger than the defeated South African Republic (which had existed from 1856 to 1902).<ref>Irish University Press Series: British Parliamentary Papers Colonies Africa, BPPCA Transvaal Vol 37 (1971) No 41 at 267</ref> In 1910 the entire territory became the [[Transvaal Province]] of the Union of South Africa.

== History ==
{{Further|South African Republic}}
Both the [[Boer]] republics, the [[South African Republic]] (ZAR) and the [[Orange Free State]] were defeated in the Anglo-Boer War and surrendered to the UK. The peace treaty ([[Treaty of Vereeniging]]) contained the following terms:
# That all [[Burgher (Boer republics)|burghers]] of the ZAR and Orange Free State lay down their arms and accept King Edward VII as their sovereign.
# That all burghers outside the borders of the ZAR and Orange Free State, upon declaring their allegiance to the King, be transported back to their homes.
# That all burghers so surrendering will not be deprived of their property.
# No Civil or Criminal proceedings against burghers for acts of war, except Acts contrary to the usage of war. In such cases, there is to be held an immediate court-martial.
# That High Dutch be taught in schools and that the use of the [[Dutch language]] will be allowed in law courts.
# That the possession of rifles be allowed under license.
# That Military Administration be succeeded at the earliest possible date by representative institutions leading up to self-government.
# That the question of granting franchise to natives not be discussed until after self-government.
# That no special tax be introduced to cover the costs of the war.
# That various commissions be established to process and pay valid claims for war expenses and to honor script issued by the countries of the ZAR and Orange Free State during the period of the war. The commission would also feed the homeless and assist with the reconstruction of homes affected by the war. To that end, the crown agrees to a free grant of £3,000,000 as well as loans at no interest for two years to be repaid at 3 percent interest over years thereafter.

In 1902, with peace following the signing of the [[Treaty of Vereeniging]], the new Transvaal colony was faced with intertwined economic and political issues that needed to be resolved. The economic issues faced included the restoration of the mining industry to pre-war levels, then growing it further with the need for extra labour, the restoration of the Boers to their lands and increasing the agricultural output of those farms. The political issue faced depended on what side of politics one stood on. The existing British administrators under [[Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner|Alfred Milner]] wished to anglicise the population through two main means. One by increasing the English-speaking population of the Transvaal and the other by teaching the Boer children in English with very little Dutch used, followed by self-rule. The Transvaal Boers' political objectives were the restoration of self-rule in the colony and the political environment to be dominated by the Boers.

== Repatriation and reconstruction ==
As the war ended the British were faced with a large proportion of [[Boer]] men as prisoners of war and their families in concentration camps.<ref name=Readers>{{cite book|last=Oakes|first=Dougie|title=Illustrated History of South Africa – The Real Story|year=1992|publisher=Reader's Digest|location=South Africa|isbn=9781874912279}}</ref>{{rp|269}} As the British followed a [[scorched earth]] policy in the Transvaal, Boer lands, stock and farms had been destroyed.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|266}}

At the conclusion of the war, it was necessary to reconstruct a "government" for the new colony and this was begun with the appointment of a Resident Magistrate in every district of the colony who became District Commissioners while an Assistant Magistrate carried out the legal and magisterial duties of the area.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|88}} Roman-Dutch law was translated into English so the law courts could continue, with some old acts repealed and a considerable amount of new law promulgated by the authorities in Johannesburg.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|89}}

The Resident Magistrate then submitted the names of three members of the district to the Governor for district commission under the magistrate.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|88}} They would consist of one British subject, and two Boers, one from those who had surrendered early on in the war and one who had fought until the end.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|90}} The commission would have two functions, one to provide assistance and issuing of rations, equipment, transport and plough animals to those affected by the war, and the second to investigate claims for compensation for actual damages sustained during the war.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|90}}

Repatriation depots were established in the districts and they were stocked with food, seed, agricultural equipment, transport, plough animals, stone and building material.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|90}} The rail transport network struggled to compete with the army transport requirement to maintain a garrison and civilian requirements to repair the colony.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|89}} All feed for transport animals had to be brought to the depots as the process started in the winter of 1902.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|89}} Refugees from the concentration camps and prisoners of war were returned to their districts in a system of drafts.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|88}} At the depots, they would receive farm equipment, tents and rations to start again and transport to their destinations.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|88}} Food rations were provided for almost a year.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|88}} Families would receive a token grant irrespective of their ability to pay it back and additional material and equipment required were obtained via interest-free loans with small cash loans also attracting no interest, with larger loans attracting four percent interest by a mortgage.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|90}} The loan scheme was never going to compensate a person for the actual loss experienced by the war.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|90}} Damage and the reconstruction required varied from district to district.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|91}}

In the larger towns, municipal or health boards were "appointed" to manage them under the Resident Magistrate.<ref name="Stone">{{cite journal | jstor=25119583 | title=The Transvaal: After the War | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_north-american-review_1904-07_179_572/page/82 | author=Stone, F.G | journal=The North American Review | year=1904 | volume=179 | issue=572 | pages=83–95 }}</ref>{{rp|95}} They had limited functions and the only rates they levied were for sanitary functions.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|95}} Within fifteen months of the end of the war, the municipal government was introduced with preparations made for fair elections based on property valuation and the creation of voters' rolls with the registration process explained in English and Dutch.<ref name=Stone/>{{rp|95}}

===Economic issues===
The British administrators set out to place most Boer farmers back on their land by March 1903 with nineteen million [[Pound sterling|pounds]] spent on war damages, grants and loans.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|266}} The administrators reformed the state agricultural departments to modernise farming in the colony which resulted in a maize and beef surplus by 1908.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} They also attempted to solve the poor white problem by settling them as tenant farmers on state land, but the lack of capital and labour caused the scheme to fail.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|269}} An attempt was made to place English settlers on farmland so as to anglicise the Transvaal and increase the English-speaking population but this failed, too, as the policy attracted too few settlers.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|269}}

By the end of 1901, gold mining finally resumed on the Rand around [[Johannesburg]], having virtually stopped since 1899. Backed by the mining magnates and the British administrators, there was a need to restart the industry but labour was required. Just prior to the war, white miners wages were high and magnates weren't keen to increase the wages and since black miners wages had been reduced before the war and not increased, so black labourers weren't interested in working the mines.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|267}} Unskilled white labour was ruled out as their wages would be too high for the work done, so the mining magnates and their [[South African Chamber of Mines|Chamber of Mines]] in 1903 sought alternative labour in the form of cheap Chinese workers.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|267}} The legislation to import Chinese labour was introduced to the Transvaal Legislative Council on 28 December 1903 by George Farrar and was debated for 30 hours and successfully voted on after its three readings on 30 December 1903, coming into law in February 1904.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|36}} Having been rubber-stamped by the British and mining appointed Transvaal Legislative Council it outlined extremely restrictive employment contracts for the Chinese workers and the idea had been sold via a fear campaign aimed at white miners about the need for this labour or face the possibility of loss of mining and their jobs.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|267}} By 1906, the gold mines of the [[Witwatersrand]] were in full production and by 1907, South African gold mines represented thirty-two percent of the worlds gold output.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|268}} By 1910, Chinese labour ended on the Witwatersrand and the restrictive job reservation laws preventing Chinese miners doing certain jobs was replicated for Black miners.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|268}}

===Political issues===

From the end of the war in 1902, the political administration of the Transvaal colony was controlled by members of a legislative and executive council, all appointed by the British Administrators under Alfred Milner and the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Secretary]] in London.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|269}} In 1903, three seats in the Transvaal Legislative council were offered to [[Louis Botha]], [[Jan Smuts]] and [[Koos de la Rey]], but they turned the British down.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|269}} Due to a lack of a hearing given to the opinions of the Boer generals by the English administrators concerning Chinese mine labour, due to a belief that they did not represent the Boer population, and due to the lack of self-rule,  Louis Botha and others met in 1904 at a ''Volkskongres''.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}} The result of this people congress was the unification of the Boer political movement in the Transvaal into a new party called [[Het Volk (political party)|Het Volk]] in January 1905 by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}} This new party's objective was to seek reconciliation with Britain, which would be favoured by the British opposition [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], and Boer self-rule for the Transvaal.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}}

English political movements included the Transvaal Responsible Government Association, the Transvaal Progressive Association and labour groups under an Industrial Labour Party.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}} The Transvaal Responsible Government Association was formed in late 1904 by [[Edward Philip Solomon|E.P Solomon]] and made up of a loose gathering of ex-colonial and [[South African Republic|ZAR]] officials and diamond mining magnates, labour and businessmen.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|167}} They called for the allowance of the colony to create its own policy and strive for self-government and for the party to be eventually renamed the Nationalists.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|168}} The Transvaal Progressive Association, formed in November 1904 and active from February 1905, had a similar membership but was linked to the mining industry's opposed self-rule and preferred a legislature nominated by the High Commissioner with strong links to Britain.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|168}} They were led by [[George Farrar]] and [[Percy Fitzpatrick]].<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|168}}

The pro-Boer Liberal Party in Britain came to power in January 1906 with a new policy for the two former Boer colonies, one of self-rule.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}} Jan Smuts visited [[London]] and managed to persuade the new government to formulate a system that would favour the Boers and Het Volk in a new political assembly.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}} More than a year later in February 1907 an election was held with Het Volk running on two issues; Chinese labour needing to be ended when new labour sources were found and reconciliation with Britain with which they hoped would attract the English labourer vote as well as selling themselves as an alternative to the mining capitalistic [[Progressive Party (Cape Colony)|Progressive Party]].<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}}

== 1907 election ==
{{see also|Cabinet of Louis Botha (Transvaal Colony)}}
[[File:1907 Transvaal Colony parliamentary election map.svg|thumb|1907 election results.]]
The election was held on 20 February 1907 and Het Volk won the election gathering 37 of 69 seats.<ref name="Bright">{{cite book | title=Chinese Labour in South Africa, 1902-10: Race, Violence, and Global Spectacle | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | last=Bright | first=Rachel | year=2013 | location=United Kingdom | isbn=9781137316578}}</ref>{{rp|173}} It stood 43 candidates and won 34 seats outright, all the country seats were gained except [[Barberton, Mpumalanga|Barberton]], three seats in Pretoria and four on the [[Witwatersrand]] with three independents aligning themselves with the party.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|173}} The Progressive Party stood 34 candidates and won 21 seats, twenty on the Witwatersrand and one in Pretoria with five Randlords winning seats.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|174}} Other parties included the Nationalists (old Transvaal Responsible Government Association) that won 6 seats, four on the Witwatersrand and two in Pretoria but their leader [[Richard Solomon (barrister)|Richard Solomon]] failed to win his seat.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|174}}  The [[Transvaal Independent Labour Party]] won three seats in the Witwatersrand after contesting 14, but their leader [[Frederic Creswell]] failed to gain a seat.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|174}}

Louis Botha became Prime Minister of the Transvaal and Agriculture minister with Jan Smuts as its colonial secretary.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}} Other new cabinet ministers included J de Villiers, Attorney-General and Mines, [[Henry Charles Hull]], Treasurer, Johann Rissik, Land and Native Affairs, Harry Solomon held Public Works and Edward Rooth as [[whip]].<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|174}} The Progressives in opposition would be led by [[George Farrar]] and [[Abe Bailey]] as the opposition whip.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|174}} They all assembled for the first time in March 1907. After the 1907 election, the issue of Chinese mining labour was revisited with Het Volk believing there was enough labour in the form of black and white miners.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|174–5}} Taking into account the economic interests of the Transvaal, Botha ensured a gradual policy of repatriation of Chinese labour.<ref name=Bright/>{{rp|174–5}}

By 1908, the Boers had won control, in elections, of the [[Colony of Natal|Natal]], [[Orange River Colony|Orange River]] and Transvaal colonies, but under British influence there was the need now to unite the country under one government.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|270}}

== Progression to Union ==
[[File:Spelterini Transvaal.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Aerial photography]] of gold mines, taken by [[Eduard Spelterini]] in July 1911]]
In May 1908, Jan Smuts, Transvaal [[Chief Secretary (British Empire)|Colonial Secretary]] proposed a gathering of representatives from all four colonies and decide on a customs and railways agreement and also included a proposal that the colonies appoint delegates to discuss a constitution for a united country in the form of a National Convention.<ref name="Thompson">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Leonard Monteath |title=A History of South Africa |year=2001 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=USA |isbn=9780300087765 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthaf00thom_0 }}</ref>{{rp|149}} The objective of the convention was to find a solution to the political, racial and economic problems encountered by these colonies and find common ground between the Boers and the English.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} On 12 October 1908, the thirty delegates of the four colonies met in [[Durban]] under the Chairmanship of Sir [[John de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers|Henry de Villiers]].<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} Twelve delegates came from the [[Cape Colony]], eight from the Transvaal and five each from the Orange River and Natal Colonies representing a gathering of sixteen from an English background with the remaining fourteen of Boer origin.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}}

The main issues discussed were whether the four colonies would become a country made up of a [[political union|union]] or a [[federation]], who would be allowed to vote, and the number of voters who would make up a constituency in rural and urban seats. All three objectives were eventually finalised with South Africa to become a union which was the wish of both the Liberal British government and Jan Smuts.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} On the question of black enfranchisement, the British government was prepared to accept the final wishes of the National Convention.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} The colonies of the Transvaal, [[Orange River Colony|Orange River]] and Natal wanted no black enfranchisement while the Cape Colony wished to keep what limited enfranchisement it had for all other races.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} A compromise was reached and all the colonies' wishes concerning their racial make-up for enfranchisement were accepted, though subject to a repeal by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} As to the objective of rural and urban constituencies, it was decided to allow fifteen percent fewer constituents for a rural seat while an urban seat would have fifteen percent more constituents.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|271}} This system for the constituencies would ensure that the Afrikaner would dominate politics in years to come and would be one of the many reasons why Jan Smuts would lose the [[1948 South African general election]], sweeping [[D.F. Malan]] to power and the beginning of [[Apartheid]].<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|370}} The results of the negotiations at the Convention became the draft [[South Africa Act 1909|South Africa Act]] which was released for viewing on 9 February 1909.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|281}} By 19 August 1909, the South Africa Act passed through the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] and into law.<ref name=Readers/>{{rp|284}}

As to the question of black enfranchisement, Milner saw this is a serious issue when it came to a peace treaty:<blockquote>"If I did not have some conscience about the treatment of blacks I personally could win over the Dutch in the Colony and indeed all the South African dominion without offending the English. You have only to sacrifice ‘the nigger’ and the game is easy. Any attempt to secure fair play for them makes the Dutch fractious and almost unmanageable."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=J. Lee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yFakCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Any+attempt+to+secure+fair+play%22+%22milner%22&pg=PA72 |title=A Wider Patriotism: Alfred Milner and the British Empire |date=2015-09-30 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-31516-2 |pages=72 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

==Colonial Administration==
{{for|a list of Governors and Lieutenant-Governors|List of governors of British South African colonies#Transvaal Colony}}
Prior to the grant of responsible self-government on 6 December 1906, the Colony was administered by an Executive Council appointed by the Governor. The first elected [[Cabinet of Louis Botha (Transvaal Colony)|Cabinet of the Transvaal Colony]] was formed on 4 March 1907.

===Attorney General===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Attorney General
! Tenure
! Notes
|-
| [[Richard Solomon (barrister)|Sir Richard Solomon]]
| 22 March 1901 – 23 March 1906
| <ref name=TEC/><ref name=Times>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Latest intelligence - Lord Milner and the Transvaal |date=23 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36801}}</ref><ref name=LG>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114223203 |title=THE TRANSVAAL GOVERNMENT. |newspaper=[[The Evening News (Sydney)|Evening News]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=24 March 1906 |access-date=10 April 2020 |page=4 |via=Trove }}</ref>
|-
| [[Herbert Francis Blaine]]
| 23 March 1906 – 4 March 1907
| <ref name=LG/>
|-
| [[Jacob de Villiers]]
| 4 March 1907 – 31 May 1910
| <ref name=SYB>{{cite book |editor1-last=Keltie |editor1-first=J. Scott |title=The Statesman's Year-Book 1910 |date=1910 |publisher=Macmillan & Co. |location=London |isbn=978-0-230-27039-8 |pages=214–215 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9LMDQAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204998199 |title=BRITON OR BOER? |newspaper=[[The Age]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=21 September 1907 |access-date=10 April 2020 |page=20 |via=Trove }}</ref>
|}

{{Further|State Attorney of the Transvaal}}

===Colonial Secretary===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Colonial Secretary
! Tenure
! Notes
|-
| [[George Fiddes]] (Secretary to the Administration)
| 22 March 1901 – 21 June 1902
| <ref name=TEC>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4827373 |title=TRANSVAAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. |newspaper=The Advertiser |location=South Australia |date=23 March 1901 |access-date=11 April 2020 |page=7 |via=Trove }}</ref>
|-
| [[Walter Edward Davidson]]
| 21 June 1902 – 1903
| <ref name=Times/>
|-
| [[Patrick Duncan (South African politician)|Patrick Duncan]]
| 1903 – 4 March 1907
| 
|-
| [[Jan Smuts]]
| 4 March 1907 – 31 May 1910
| <ref name=SYB/>
|}

===Native Affairs===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Tenure
! Notes
|-
| [[Godfrey Yeatman Lagden|Sir Godfrey Lagden]] (Commissioner of Native Affairs)
| 22 March 1901 – 4 March 1907
| <ref name=TEC/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14431048 |title=TRANSVAAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=26 June 1902 |access-date=11 April 2020 |page=10 |via=Trove }}</ref>
|-
| [[Johann Rissik]] (Minister of Native Affairs)
| 4 March 1907 – 31 May 1910
| <ref name=SYB/>
|}

===Colonial Treasurer===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Tenure
! Notes
|-
| [[Patrick Duncan (South African politician)|Patrick Duncan]]
| 22 March 1901 – 1903
| <ref name=TEC/>
|-
| [[William Lionel Hichens]]
| 1903 – 4 March 1907
| <ref name=TSYB/>
|-
| [[Henry Charles Hull]]
| 4 March 1907 – 31 May 1910
| <ref name=SYB/>
|}

===Lands===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Tenure
! Notes
|-
| [[Adam Jameson]] (Commissioner of Lands)
| 21 June 1902 – 4 March 1907
| <ref name=TEC/>
|-
| [[Johann Rissik]] (Minister of Lands)
| 4 March 1907 – 31 May 1910
| <ref name=SYB/>
|}

===Mines===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Tenure
! Notes
|-
| [[Wilfred John Wybergh]] (Commissioner of Mines)
| 22 March 1901 – 2 December 1903
| <ref name=TEC/><ref name="TRANSVAAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174983841 |title=Transvaal War |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=Queensland, Australia |date=23 March 1901 |access-date=11 April 2020 |page=8 |via=Trove }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10585939 |title=THE TRANSVAAL. MINISTER OF MINES RESIGNS. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=4 December 1903 |access-date=11 April 2020 |page=5 |via=Trove }}</ref>
|-
| [[Horace Weldon]] (Acting Commissioner of Mines)
| 2 December 1903 – 4 March 1907
| <ref name=TSYB>{{cite book |editor1-last=Keltie |editor1-first=J. Scott |title=The Statesman's Year-Book 1906 |date=1906 |publisher=Macmillan & Co. |location=London|page=252 |isbn=9780230270381 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkfODQAAQBAJ}}</ref>
|-
| [[Jacob de Villiers]] (Minister of Mines)
| 4 March 1907 – 31 May 1910
| <ref name=SYB/>
|}

== Geography ==
The Transvaal Colony lay between [[Vaal River]] in the south and the [[Limpopo River]] in the north, roughly between 22½ and 27½ S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the [[Orange Free State]] and [[Natal Colony]], to its south-west were the [[Cape Colony]], to the west was the [[Bechuanaland Protectorate]] (later [[Botswana]]), to its north was [[Company rule in Rhodesia|Rhodesia]], and to its east were [[Portuguese East Africa]] and [[Swaziland]]. Except in the south-west, these borders were mostly well defined by natural features.<ref>{{cite EB1911 | wstitle=Transvaal |volume=27 |last= Cana |first= Frank Richardson |author-link= |pages = 186&ndash;210 |short=1 }}</ref> Within the Transvaal lies the [[Waterberg Massif]], a prominent ancient geological feature of the South African landscape.

Divisions:
* [[Zoutpansberg]]

Cities in the Transvaal Colony:
* [[Heidelberg, Gauteng|Heidelberg]]
* [[Johannesburg]]
* [[Messina, South Africa|Messina]]
* [[Nelspruit]]
* [[Pietersburg]]
* [[Pretoria]]
* [[Vereeniging]]

== Demographics ==
=== 1904 Census ===
Population statistics from the 1904 Census.<ref name="Hancock1962">{{cite book|last=Hancock|first=William Keith |title=Smuts, the Sanguine Years, 1870-1919|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPqyOwAACAAJ|volume=1|year=1962|publisher=University Press|location=Cambridge |page=219}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" 
|- style="text-align:center"
| Population group
| Number
| Percent<br/>(%)
|- style="text-align:right; background:gainsboro;"
|  style="text-align:left;"|[[Black people#Southern Africa|Black]]
|  937,127
|  73.79
|- style="text-align:right; background:white;"
|  style="text-align:left; "|[[White South African|White]]
|  297,277
|  23.40
|- style="text-align:right; background:#eee;"
|  style="text-align:left;"|[[Coloured]]
|  24,226
|  1.90
|- style="text-align:right; background:#EEEEE0"
|  style="text-align:left; "|[[Asian South African|Asian]]
|  11,321
|  0.89
|- style="text-align:right; "
|  style="text-align:center;"|Total
|  1,269,951
|  99.98
|}

== See also ==
* [[History of South Africa]]

== References ==
<references>
<ref name=britcensus>{{cite book|title=Census of the British empire: 1901|url = https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030396067#page/n243/mode/2up|publisher=[[HMSO]]|page=176|year=1906|location=London}}</ref>
</references>

== External links ==
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/south_africa.html Public-domain historical maps of South Africa]
* [https://www.loc.gov/search/?q=boer+war American Library of Congress]

{{South African Governments}}
{{British overseas territories}}
{{Political history of South Africa}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:States and territories established in 1877]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1881]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1902]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1910]]
[[Category:Geography of South Africa]]
[[Category:1900s in South Africa]]
[[Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in Africa]]
[[Category:1877 establishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:Transvaal Colony]]
[[Category:Transvaal|*]]
[[Category:1910 disestablishments in South Africa]]
[[Category:1910 disestablishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:1881 disestablishments in South Africa]]
[[Category:1902 establishments in the British Empire]]