Pretoria, located in the Gauteng province, is the seat of government and an important industrial center. The city was founded in 1855 and named after Andries Pretorius, a Boer statesman that negotiated with Britain the Sand River Convention in 1852, which recognized the Transvaal republic as independent, with Pretoria as its capital. Not long after its establishment, the city became known as ‘Jacaranda City’, after J.D. Cilliers imported Jacaranda trees from Rio de Janeiro and thousands of them were planted all along the streets. It was only after becoming the administrative capital of South Africa that Pretoria finally achieved official city status, and a reputation as a major academic center and research hub.
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