Chamberlain and the British government had long wished for the federation of South Africa under the British crown, but it appeared that the growing wealth of the Transvaal would ensure that any future union of Southern African states would be as a Boer dominated republic outside the British Empire.
Chamberlain sought British domination of the Transvaal and Orange Free State by endorsing the civil rights of the disenfranchised Uitlanders.
Britain also exerted steady military pressure.
In April 1897, Chamberlain asked the Cabinet to increase the British garrison in South Africa by three to four thousand men – consequently, the quantity of British forces in the area grew during the next two years.

The government appointed Sir Alfred Milner to the posts of High Commissioner and Governor-General of the Cape in August 1897 to pursue the issue more decisively.
Within a year, Milner concluded that war with the Transvaal was inevitable, and he worked with Chamberlain to publicise the cause of the Uitlanders to the British people.
A meeting between President Kruger and Milner at Bloemfontein in May 1899 failed to resolve the Uitlander problem – Kruger's concessions were considered inadequate by Milner, and the Boers left the conference convinced that the British were determined to settle the future of South Africa by force.
By now, British public opinion was supportive of a war in support of the Uitlanders, allowing Chamberlain to ask successfully for further troop reinforcements.
By the beginning of October 1899, nearly 20,000 British troops were based in the Cape and Natal, with thousands more en route.
On 12 October, following a Transvaal ultimatum (9 October) demanding that British troops be withdrawn from her frontiers, and that any forces destined for South Africa be turned back, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State declared war.
Chamberlain and the British government had long wished for the federation of South Africa under the British crown, but it appeared that the growing wealth of the Transvaal would ensure that any future union of Southern African states would be as a Boer dominated republic outside the British Empire. Chamberlain sought British domination of the Transvaal and Orange Free State by endorsing the civil rights of the disenfranchised Uitlanders. Britain also exerted steady military pressure. In April 1897, Chamberlain asked the Cabinet to increase the British garrison in South Africa by three to four thousand men – consequently, the quantity of British forces in the area grew during the next two years.
The government appointed Sir Alfred Milner to the posts of High Commissioner and Governor-General of the Cape in August 1897 to pursue the issue more decisively. Within a year, Milner concluded that war with the Transvaal was inevitable, and he worked with Chamberlain to publicise the cause of the Uitlanders to the British people. A meeting between President Kruger and Milner at Bloemfontein in May 1899 failed to resolve the Uitlander problem – Kruger's concessions were considered inadequate by Milner, and the Boers left the conference convinced that the British were determined to settle the future of South Africa by force. By now, British public opinion was supportive of a war in support of the Uitlanders, allowing Chamberlain to ask successfully for further troop reinforcements. By the beginning of October 1899, nearly 20,000 British troops were based in the Cape and Natal, with thousands more en route. On 12 October, following a Transvaal ultimatum (9 October) demanding that British troops be withdrawn from her frontiers, and that any forces destined for South Africa be turned back, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State declared war.
Joseph Chamberlain