Petrus Jacobus Joubert

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Petrus Jacobus "Piet" Joubert (born January 20, 1834 in Cango , Oudtshoorn District , Cape Colony ; † March 28, 1900 in Pretoria ) was a South African Boer general and general commander of the South African Republic from 1880 to 1900.

Life

Petrus-Jacobus Joubert

Joubert came from a French Huguenot family who fled to South Africa shortly after the Edict of Nantes was revoked (October 23, 1685).

Orphaned at an early age, he moved to the Transvaal , where he settled in the Wakkerstroom district, near Laings Nek and the north-eastern corner of Natal . There he ran a farm with great success and devoted himself to the study of law. His wisdom as a farmer and in legal matters eventually led to his being elected to the Volksraad as representative for Wakkerstrom in the early 1860s . Marthinus Pretorius was in his second term as President at this time.

In 1870 he was re-elected and later appointed Attorney General of the Republic. In 1875, during the absence of TF Burgers , who was on a trip to Europe, he also served as President.

During the first British annexation of the Transvaal, Joubert acquired the reputation of a consistent and implacable opponent of the occupation. He refused to continue his office under the occupation. Instead of accepting a lucrative post he was offered, he took on a leading role in the opposition. It was one of the mainsprings of the anti-British agitation that finally led to the First Boer War (1880/81). He became commander in chief of the armed forces and a member of the triumvirate that led the provisional Boer government founded in Heidelberg in 1880.

Joubert commanded the Boer troops at Laings Nek, Ingogo and Majuba Hill and then led the peace negotiations that led to the Pretoria Convention. In 1883 he was a candidate for the Transvaal presidency, but was defeated by Kruger with 1171 to 3431 votes. In 1893 he was again Kruger's opponent candidate as a representative of the more progressive wing of the Boers. After a narrow vote lead, Kruger was declared the election winner, despite evidence that his agents had manipulated the electoral roll. Joubert initially protested, but then consented to Kruger's second presidency. In 1898 he ran again, but the Jameson Raid in 1896 had increased Kruger's popularity so that Joubert lost again with 12,858 votes in 2001.

Joubert's position was weakened by accusations of treason and sympathy with the Uitlanders , and so he took little part in the negotiations that eventually led to Kruger's ultimatum to the United Kingdom in 1899. Although he assumed nominal command immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, he left the actual management of military operations to others due to his lack of determination and assertiveness, which had earned him the nickname "Slim Piet" in earlier years.

As the war progressed, illness and physical weakness meant that Joubert was in fact no longer able to perform his task. Although he was named as Commander in Chief two days earlier, he died of peritonitis on March 28, 1900 in Pretoria .

literature

  • Löbel's annual reports on changes and advances in the military 1900, p, 621

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Joubert, Petrus Jacobus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Joubert, Piet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African Boer General, Commander General of the South African Republic
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH Cango , Oudtshoorn District , Cape Colony
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1900
Place of death Pretoria