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Events on Thursday 16 December 1880 1
1880First Boer War beginsTransvaal Boers rise against British annexationBoer settlers in the Transvaal declared independence from British rule and attacked a British column at Bronkhorstspruit on 16 December 1880. The conflict exposed British forces to a string of defeats over the following weeks. It ended in 1881 with the restoration of Transvaal self-government.