A well-documented article providing information about the crisis in the relations between England and the South African republics after the outbreak of the Second Boer War on October 11, 1899. After a brief and passionate introduction, Kuyper provides a historical sketch in twelve paragraphs, analyzing the roots of the crisis, the nature and character of the Boers, the political mistakes of the English, and the background motives that recurrently influence behavior of both sides. Kuyper admits that it is impossible to predict how the crisis will turn out, but he is certain that “if England does not come to repentance, then the struggle will be stubborn, bloody, and lengthy.” The article was published in a renowned journal that had agencies around the entire Western world. It was subsequently published as a brochure in six different languages. F. Brunetière, director of the Revue des deux mondes, and editor Charles Benoist had invited Kuyper to write an article for their journal about “les affaires du Transvaal que vous connaissez si bien” (letter to Kuyper, dated October 16, 1899 [KA 130]).

A summary of the article was published in South Africa in De keizer en de Zuid-Afrikaansche oorlog: naar het Duitsch [door F. Peinlich] en De Zuid-Afrikaansche crisis [door A. Kuyper] (naar het Fransch): Een précis (Kaapstad: Ritchie, [1900]).