As Transvaal how do I conquer Oranje without bringing the wrath of the British down on me?

[The King in Yellow]

I am a very new player and I am trying to learn by starting as a very small nation Transvaal. I'd like to conquer my neighbor Oranje right at the start, but every time I've tried to declare war the British have joined Oranje and completely overwhelmed me.

How can I wage a war against Oranje without also bringing in the British?

[Geredis]

You don't. Not immediately at least. Instead, I'd suggest turning your gaze to Gaza and the Zulu as your first targets. This lets you basically triple your population and gain access to additional resources. From there, and the port you can build in Zululand to start making yourself more important to the British relative to Oranje by engaging in trade with them and generally increasing your relations with the British. And around 1856 you should be in sufficient a position to be the favored party relative to Oranje in the eyes of the British, and maybe give you some time to let the guarantee start to lapse; and in 1856 the guarantee of independence should lapse.

In the meantime, turn your gaze to the Portuguese, Zanzibar, and to Madagascar in order to expand before you're in a position to start colonizing malarial Africa.

[Oracle]

declare interest in asia anywhere, catch gb starting a war. Declare war on orange same time as join gb in other war = profit