Selected Official Documents of the South African Republic and Great Britain

Treaties, constitutional articles and diplomatic correspondence set out the disputes between the South African Republic and Great Britain before war broke out in 1899. Hugh Williams and Frederick Charles Hicks assemble the records around questions of independence, representation and relations between governments. The selection begins with the London Convention of 1884, then moves through the republic's revised constitution, the establishment of a second Volksraad and the negotiations over voting rights for the Uitlander population.

Alongside these larger political arguments, the constitutional provisions show how government was meant to work in daily life: local councils, taxation, land ownership, trading licences and official record keeping. The collection also includes the October 1899 ultimatum, Britain's reply and documents concerning the Orange Free State. Readers studying the South African controversy can compare formal legal language with diplomatic demands and see which powers, obligations and concessions the governments put into writing.