Jan Smuts and Alfred Milner

Abstract

Alfred Milner, British High Commissioner in South Africa from 1897 to 1905, was a convinced imperialist who saw his charge as the weakest link in the imperial chain and Afrikanerdom as an obstacle he was determined to crush. Respected by the leaders of both British political parties, he initially kept to his brief of exercising caution, but in two years the Bloemfontein Conference on the future of the Transvaal had failed and war between Britain and the two Afrikaner states broke out. The article examines Milner's stance during the peace talks and his disappointment at an outcome he regarded as a missed opportunity, and his relationship with Jan Smuts, later to become Prime Minister of South Africa.