ABSTRACT
The period July 1883 to February 1884 was to be vital not only for the demise of the Pretoria Convention, and the further involvement of imperial rule in Africa, but also for the whole future of the British presence in South Africa. The Derby settlement of early 1884—termed the London Convention—created the framework of politics and policies which ultimately resulted in the Anglo-Boer War. Indeed, at the lowest common denominator, the London Convention was what the Boer War was about: Britain's attempt to assert her supremacy in southern Africa, and in particular the controversial 'suzerainty' over the Transvaal republic. The struggle for the Pretoria Convention was over; the struggle for the London Convention was about to begin. The story of the creation, and the negotiations for the London Convention, is indeed the story of Sir Hercules Robinson endeavours to pull the Cape Premier into the orbit of British policy.
