However, tensions between the Boers and the British grew due to the gold rush in the Transvaal. Tens of thousands of uitlanders settled in the Transvaal following the discovery of gold in 1884, in search of employment and fortune. The huge influx, which meant there was twice as many uitlanders than Boers, threatened the political independence of the recently formed republic. Transvaal heavily relied on the revenue generated by the gold mines, and fearful of losing independence and becoming a British colony, the Boer government adopted policies of protectionism and exclusion, to include restrictions' requiring Uitlanders to be resident for many years in order to obtain the franchise, or right to vote. They heavily taxed the new gold mining industry and the Uitlanders became increasingly resentful and angry about the lack of representation. Chamberlain in retaliation campaigned for Uitlander Rights, but was mainly just an excuse to intervene in the Transvaal. He agreed to Cecil Rhodes’ plans, the prime minister of the Cape Colony, to attempt to generate an armed uprising amongst the uitlanders against the Boers. Dr Starr Jameson and about 500 troops, under the orders of Cecil Rhodes, were sent into Transvaal, however, the raid was a disaster and there was no uprising.
The raid brought Anglo-Boer relations to a dangerous low and the ill feeling was further heated by the "Kruger telegram" from the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. It congratulated Paul Kruger, the prime minister of Transvaal, on defeating the raiders, and also recognised the Boer republic and offered them support. The emperor was already perceived as anti-British and consequently, the telegram angered the British. Transvaal began importing large quantities of arms from Germany and an alliance was signed between Transvaal and the Orange Free State in 1897. Jan C. Smuts wrote in 1906 of the Raid, "The Jameson Raid was the real declaration of war”. Joseph Chamberlain condemned the raid despite previously having approved Rhodes' plans to send armed assistance into Transvaal. In Britain the media and most newspapers used the episode as an opportunity to provoke anti-Boer feelings. Jameson and his raiders were treated as public heroes. As a result of gaining the support of the public, Chamberlain aimed to manoeuvre the Boers into a position where they had no recourse but to declare war on Britain. This was achieved by the appointing of Alfred Milner as the British High Commissioner who totally believed in total supremacy of South Africa and discriminated against the Boers. Kruger, reluctantly declared war on the British in October 1899, when the British troops refused to withdraw from the Transvaal border.
