The London Convention was a treaty negotiated in 1884 between Great Britain, as the paramount power in South Africa, and the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...

. The London Convention superseded the 1881 Pretoria Convention.

Historical background

The treaty governed the relations between the ZAR and Britain following the retrocession of the

in the aftermath of the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

Delegates

The South African Republic was represented by the following delegates: * President

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (or ...

* General

Nicolaas Smit Nicolaas Jacobus Smit (5 May 1837 – 4 April 1896) was a Boer general and politician. During the First Boer War, he led Boer forces to victory during the Battle of Majuba Hill. He was elected Vice State President of the South African Repub ...

* Rev. Stephanus Jacobus du Toit * Jonkheer

Gerard Jacob Theodoor Beelaerts van Blokland Gerard Jacob Theodoor Beelaerts van Blokland (12 January 1843 – 14 March 1897) was a Dutch politician known for serving as European envoy for the South African Republic from 1884 to 1897, and as Speaker of the House of Representatives fr ...

, a Dutch legal advisor to the South African Republic *

Ewald Auguste Esselen Ewald Auguste Esselen (27 September 1858 - 1 November 1918) was a South African barrister who served as State Attorney of the South African Republic from 1894-1895. Biography Ewald Auguste Esselen was born in Worcester in the Cape Colony in 1 ...

, as secretary to the Boer delegation

Content of the convention

The convention incorporated the bulk of the earlier Pretoria Convention, but with two major differences.

Name of the country

Following the Pretoria Convention, the name of the South African Republic had been changed to the Transvaal Territory. At the request of the Transvaal Territory's

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa * Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) * Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia ...

the name was restored to the South African Republic.

Suzerainty

The main outcome of the London Convention was that British

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is ca ...

over the South African Republic was amended. The London convention stipulated that the South African Republic had the right to enter into a treaty with the Orange Free State without approval from the British. Any other treaty with any other nation would require approval from the British subject to the British not taking longer than six months to advise the South African Republic of such an approval or rejection.

References