lines, and the Afrikaner Bond narrowly won a bitterly contested election in
1898. In Britain, Chamberlain managed to cover up his complicity in the
raid by dexterous use of his official position.
The raid having failed, Chamberlain concluded that direct British action
was necessary to check the growth of Afrikaner power in Southern Africa.
Initially, he was confident that strong and relentless diplomatic pressure on
the Transvaal government would suffice, but he made two errors of judg-
ment. First, he exaggerated Afrikaner solidarity and the threat to British
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