Transvaal

formerly (1856–77, 1881–1902) South African Republic

Former province, northeastern South Africa. Located between the Limpopo and Vaal rivers, the region was inhabited c. 1800 chiefly by various Bantu-speaking peoples. The Boers (Afrikaners) began migrating there during the Great Trek of the 1830s. They established the short-lived South African Republic in 1856. Discoveries of diamonds and gold deposits (1868–74) heightened British interest in the region, and the British annexed the republic in 1877. A Boer rebellion restored it in 1881. Further discovery of gold in 1886 brought more foreigners, who eventually outnumbered the Boers. In 1895 Leander Starr Jameson attempted to incite them to overthrow the Boer government. In 1899 Transvaal joined with Orange Free State against Britain in the South African (Boer) War. It was taken in 1900, and in 1902, following the British victory, it became a crown colony. It was granted self-government in 1906 and joined the Union (now Republic) of South Africa in 1910. In 1994 the Transvaal was split into four provinces. The region is extremely rich in mineral and agricultural resources.

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