during the first british annexation of the transvaal, joubert earned for himself the reputation of a consistent irreconcilable by refusing to hold office under the government, as paul kruger and other prominent boers were doing. instead of accepting the lucrative post offered him, he took a leading part in creating and directing the agitation which led to the first boer war (1880–1881), eventually becoming, as commandant-general of the boer forces, a member of the triumvirate that administered the provisional boer government set up in december 1880 at heidelberg.