The Transvaal Colony (Afrikaans pronunciation: [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 were larger than the defeated South African Republic (which had existed from 1852 to 1902). In 1910 the entire territory became the Transvaal Province of the Union of South Africa.
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 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 licence.
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 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. As the British followed a scorched earth policy in the Transvaal, Boer lands, stock and farms had been destroyed.
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. 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.
The resident magistrate then submitted the names of three members of the district to the governor for district commission under the magistrate. 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. 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.
Repatriation depots were established in the districts and they were stocked with food, seed, agricultural equipment, transport, plough animals, stone and building material. The rail transport network struggled to compete with the army transport requirement to maintain a garrison and civilian requirements to repair the colony. All feed for transport animals had to be brought to the depots as the process started in the winter of 1902. Refugees from the concentration camps and prisoners of war were returned to their districts in a system of drafts. At the depots, they would receive farm equipment, tents and rations to start again and transport to their destinations. Food rations were provided for almost a year. 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. The loan scheme was never going to compensate a person for the actual loss experienced by the war. Damage and the reconstruction required varied from district to district.