The man who took the job that no one else wanted
By 1872, the South African Republic (also called the Transvaal) was almost bankrupt. The communities of Lydenburg, Potchefstroom, Rustenburg and Pretoria disagreed on numerous issues, and the cantankerous farmers refused to pay their taxes.
President Marthinus Wessel Pretorius had resigned the year before, and the burghers were at a loss to name a suitable candidate for president; they wanted someone who had not taken any part in their internecine struggles or even had friends or relatives involved.
This meant that they had to search beyond the boundaries of the Transvaal. So desperate was the Volksraad that it even advertised for the post!
Finally, thanks to various recommendations, it approached Thomas François Burgers, a 38-year-old Dutch Reformed minister in Hanover in the Karoo.
