Transvaal

The Transvaal was an area of South Africa. The city of Pretoria was located there.

History

As the Sixth Doctor explained to Peri Brown, the Dutch Boers had settled in an area of South Africa called the Transvaal, which was rich in gold and diamonds. Hearing about this, many of the British flocked there to make their fortunes. Soon there were more British than Boers, but the Boers refused them any political rights. The British used this as an excuse to take over the Transvaal, including its gold and diamond mines. This led to the Boer Wars which ultimately ended in victory for the British. (PROSE: Players)

In 1877, the Transvaal was annexed into the British Empire. (PROSE: White Man's Burden)

Present Day Metallurgical Engineering on the Rand by John Yates, published in the 1890s, contained an appendix on the economics of the Transvaal gold mining industry. An advert for the book was placed in a copy of The Times. (TV: Deep Breath)