Carl Borckenhagen

Borckenhagen propounded strong anti-imperialist views, and as a republican, consistently fought for a united and independent South Africa. He was outraged by the extravagant imperial conquests of Governor Sir Henry Bartle Frere, which involved the annexation of the Transvaal. During the First Anglo-Boer war, he used his influence and resources to ensure that the Transvaal Republic remained connected to the outside world in spite of British attempts to cut off lines of communication.

For the Orange Free State, the long moderate rule of President Brand had meant close ties with the British Empire and with the Cape Colony to the south. However, as Borckenhagen rose to power, his influence pushed the Free State to align increasingly with its fellow republic of the Transvaal to the north. The next two Presidents, Francis William Reitz and Martinus Theunis Steyn, were both protégés of Borckenhagen, who assisted them to come to power and remained their mentor to some degree, even after they assumed office. Borckenhagen was therefore seen as a "maker of Presidents" and even acquired the nicknames of "Mynheer de President" and "President van die Vrystaat", as he was acknowledged to be the "power behind the throne" of the Presidency.[5][6]

Borckenhagen came to have a massive influence over many other leaders across southern Africa, and excelled at influencing politicians with persuasive argument. A fellow editor later wrote of him: " ...He became one of the most prominent figures in South African affairs, a valued councillor at Bloemfontein and Pretoria whenever affairs were critical, his advice ever tending towards peace and conciliation."[7][8]

Under his direction, Reitz and other leaders joined him in founding the Afrikaner Bond in 1881, as a political organisation for all those who, regardless of ancestry, considered Africa to be their home rather than Europe.[9] On 7 April 1881 he wrote the constitution of the new Bond, and published its manifesto in the Express, declaring it to be for "the States of South Africa to be federated in one independent republic", independent from the British Empire.

As a first step to this goal, he favoured a union between the two Afrikaner republics, as a bulwark against British imperial expansion. To this effect he took the position of Secretary of the Commission from Orange Free State Volksraad, to the Transvaal Republic, in May 1887, and led the discussions on this question. Borckenhagen facilitated the meeting of President Reitz with President Kruger of the Transvaal, at Potchefstroom. This resulted in the conclusion of a railway convention (8 March 1889), strategic alliance and trade agreements between the two republics.[10]

With the rise to power of Cecil Rhodes, Borckenhagen quickly became aware of the pivotal importance of this arch-imperialist in the future of southern Africa. Making an estimation of the level of Rhodes's personal ambition and keen to neutralise an impending wave of imperialism, Borckenhagen met Rhodes and attempted to divert him to the republican cause, using the temptation of power. Having successfully influenced Rhodes to desire a united South Africa by offering him its leadership, he finally failed to persuade Rhodes to support complete independence for South Africa. He famously confronted Rhodes in Cape Town, in an oft-quoted interview, of which several conflicting versions exist. Borckenhagen reportedly accused Rhodes of "crass materialism", a reverence for money, and the intention of forcefully bringing the republics into the British Empire.[11] Rhodes reported that, in response to Borckenhagen's insistence that any union of South Africa would need to be independent, he had replied: "No, you take me either for a rogue or a fool. I would be a rogue to forget all my history and traditions; and I would be a fool, because I would be hated by my own countrymen and mistrusted by yours."

Failing to influence Rhodes, as he had so many politicians in the past, Borckenhagen moved to stand squarely in opposition to him. He gained considerable following in the ensuing years as he was perceived as the only Free Stater capable of foreseeing and combating Rhodes's plans. As stated in "Lord Milner and South Africa", The Express (Mr. Borckenbagen's paper) has of late been the only paper in South Africa that has been able to hold its own against the Rhodesian flood. This was owing to Mr. Borckenhagen's intelligence and independence. [12] [13]

Borckenhagen often made private trips to the Transvaal, where he served as a type of unofficial ambassador. As such he was able to influence the country on matters such as its judicial crisis in 1897.

Although he was supportive of the Transvaal and its government under Paul Kruger, he also did not hesitate to tell Kruger off, on what he considered to be policy mistakes. He harshly and frequently criticised Kruger's government on its financial mismanagement and inefficiency.

In 1886, he famously wrote of how the Transvaal was not ready for the discovery of gold and the massive influx of prospecting "uitlanders" which resulted. He concluded that Pretoria had not had time to prepare itself and that gold had been discovered 50 years too early.

After the Jameson Raid in 1896, Borckenhagen met Kruger and told him to return Jameson for trial in the Cape, a decision that Kruger did carry out.