Pretoria, convention of

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Pretoria, convention of, 1881. This convention brought to an end the first Boer war, which followed the British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877. The Boers were given self-government, but the British retained suzerainty and the conduct of foreign relations. This shaky compromise was undermined by the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand south of Pretoria in 1886.

J. A. Cannon