Bloemfontein Conference facts for kids
The Bloemfontein Conference was an important meeting held in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, from May 31 to June 5, 1899. Leaders met at the railway station to try and solve a big problem between the British and the Boers (Dutch settlers) in Southern Africa. This meeting was a final attempt to avoid a war.
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Why the Conference Happened
The conference was suggested by Martinus Theunis Steyn, the president of the Orange Free State. He wanted to help settle disagreements between Paul Kruger, the president of the Transvaal, and Alfred Milner, a high-ranking British official. Everyone hoped this meeting could prevent a war.
The Uitlander Problem
The main issue discussed was the status of British workers called "Uitlanders". These workers had moved to the Transvaal to mine for gold. They wanted the right to vote and become full citizens, but the Transvaal government made it very difficult for them.
Milner's Demands
During the conference, Alfred Milner made three main demands to President Kruger:
- The Transvaal should immediately allow Uitlanders to vote.
- The English language should be used in the Volksraad of the South African Republic (the Transvaal Parliament).
- All new laws made by the Volksraad would need to be approved by the British Parliament.
Kruger's Response and the Outcome
President Kruger found Milner's demands impossible to accept. However, he was willing to make a compromise. He offered to reduce the time Uitlanders had to wait to vote from fourteen years to seven years.
Milner refused to change his original demands. Even though the British Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, encouraged him to keep talking, Milner left the conference on June 5. No agreement was reached about the Uitlanders' future.
After the conference, Milner wrote a strong message criticizing the Transvaal. On October 11, 1899, the Second Boer War began.
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