Oom Paul

Paul Kruger majestically graces Church square in the centre of Pretoria. One of the few statues in Pretoria. Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger was born in 1825 and served as president of the Transvaal Republic from 1883 to 1900. With the discovery of gold in Johannesburg in 1886, which subsequently brought thousands of Uitlanders (foreigners), mostly British, to the Republic. This led to serious conflicts of interest between Britain and the Boers leading to the Anglo Boer war which broke out in 1899. This ultimately lead to "Oom (uncle) Paul" fleeing the country and into exile in Europe.