Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape

The British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, appointed Sir Alfred Milner as Governor of the Cape Colony in 1897. Milner arrived in Cape Town on 5 May 1897 to assume his new position. Soon after taking up the position, he advocated a sterner policy with regard to the Transvaal Republic than that suggested by Chamberlain and Salisbury. He continued to emphasise the grievances of the Uitlanders with the intention to 'work up a crisis'. This hard-line attitude earned him the reputation of being a convinced imperialist.

How we know this

01Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 7, p. 418.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011174

South African History Online (2011) 'Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011174 (Accessed: 19 October 2026).

South African History Online, Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011174, (accessed 19 October 2026).

"Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011174. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011174.