Battle of Majuba Hill

The Battle of Majuba Hill drawn by Richard Caton Woodville for the Illustrated London News, 1889.

Majuba Hill (27 February 1881) was the main battle fought between British and Boer forces during the First Boer War, 1880-81. It was a comprehensive victory for the Boers, who routed a 400-strong British force occupying the summit of the hill.

Shocked by their defeat at Majuba and unwilling to become locked into a long and costly war, the British signed a provisional peace treaty with the Boers in March 1881. The First Boer War officially ended with the signing of the Pretoria Convention (August-October 1881), which gave the Boers self-rule in the Transvaal, albeit under British administration.

This semblance of independence was short-lived. The discovery of gold in the Transvaal in 1886 led to a large influx of mainly British settlers. Concerned at losing control of their country, the Boers refused to grant these uitlanders (outlanders) citizenship. This situation heightened tensions between Britain and the Transvaal (and its Orange Free State ally).