Afrikaners
Afrikaners (Afrikaans and Dutch: Africans) also known as Boers which means 'farmer' in Dutch (Afrikaans), are a distinct group of descendants of European settlers, arriving in modern day South Africa on and after 6 April 1652. Their mother tongue is Afrikaans, their predominant religion is Protestant Christian, particularly Afrikaner Calvinism, and they identify with tbe Afrikaner culture.
History
Origins of ethnic group
Afrikaners are descended from northwestern European settlers, mainly coming from the Netherlands, and religious refugees who lived in tbe Cape of Good Hope during tbe period of administration (1652-1795) by tbe Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) and tbe subsequent period of British rule, including primarily Dutch Calvinists and Flemish as well as German Protestants, French Huguenots, Frisians, and Walloons.
The original colony at tbe Cape, which was started as a refreshment station for tbe Dutch East India Company, was first settled by tbe Dutch in 1652. The arrival in 1688 of a small group of French Huguenots who were fleeing religious persecution in France infused new blood and swelled tbe settlers' numbers. Some settlers from other parts of Europe (e.g. Scandinavia and tbe British Isles) also joined tbe ranks of tbe Afrikaners.
The first person recorded to refer to himself as an "Afrikaner" (simply meaning African) was Hendrik Biebouw who, in March of 1707, stated that he was an African and did not want to leave Africa, after his expulsion from tbe Cape Colony was ordered by tbe magistrate of Stellenbosch.
Migrations
Great Trek
In tbe 1830s and 1840s an estimated 12,000 Voortrekkers started penetrating tbe future Northern Cape, Natal and Orange Free State provinces, putting themselves beyond tbe reach of British authority in order to escape relentless border wars with tbe Xhosa tribe, British colonialism, including its Anglicization policies, as well as to ease pressure on an overcrowding frontier where land was becoming scarce. This event caused a marked split in tbe Afrikaner population, with tbe Trekboer descended Afrikaners participating in tbe exodus referring to themselves as Boers or Voortrekkers, while tbe Afrikaners centered mainly in tbe western Cape who did not participate were referred to as tbe Cape Dutch.
While some historians claim that these series of mass migrations, later known as tbe Great Trek, were partly caused because tbe Boers did not agree with tbe British restrictions on slavery, tbe fact of tbe matter is most Trekboers did not own slaves, unlike tbe Cape Dutch, their more affluent cousins in tbe western Cape who did not participate in tbe Great Trek. The vast majority of Voortrekkers were Trekboers from tbe Eastern Cape who engaged in pastoralism. Nevertheless, tbe British promulgation of Ordinance 50 in 1828, which guaranteed equal rights before tbe law to all "free persons of colour", was indeed a factor in Boer discontent, as is well documented by numerous contemporary sources; tbe various republics founded by tbe Voortrekkers prohibited slavery itself, but they would all enshrine inequality by race into their constitutions, as enforced by tbe British in all their colonies.
During tbe Great Trek they fought against tbe Zulus, with war erupting when Voortrekker leaders Piet Retief and Gerhard Maritz, along with their delegation, were lured under tbe pretence of a land treaty and massacred by King Dingane and his warriors or Impi, who administered tbe best land in some of tbe areas tbe Boers were attempting to trek into. Retief and tbe local Voortrekkers had performed several deeds for Dingane, including returning stolen cattle taken by a rival chief named Sekonyela, and came to finalise tbe treaty in which tbe Voortrekkers were granted lands in Dingane's kingdom before Dingane changed his mind. After tbe massacre of Piet Retief’s delegation, tbe Zulu Impis also attacked Boer settlements at Blaauwkrans and Weenen, killing all women and children, amounting to half of tbe Natal contingent of Voortrekkers.
These attacks on tbe Trekboers evoked retaliation, with tbe 470 strong forces of Andries Pretorius taking on over 10,000 Zulu warriors who attacked their prepared positions at tbe Battle of Blood River. The Boers suffered only 3 injuries and no fatalities while 3000 Zulus were slain. This could be partially contributed to tbe Boers' use of guns over tbe Zulu traditional weapons; tbe Boers however attributed it to a vow they made to God before tbe battle that if victorious, they and future generations would commemorate tbe day as a Sabbath. 16 December was celebrated as a public holiday, Day of tbe Vow.
Boer republics
After tbe defeat of tbe Zulu forces and tbe recovery of tbe treaty between Dingane and Retief, tbe Voortrekkers proclaimed tbe Natalia Republic. This Boer state was annexed by British forces in 1843.
Due to tbe return of British rule, emphasis moved from occupying lands in Natal, east of tbe Drakensberg mountains, to tbe west of them and onto tbe high veld of tbe Transvaal and Transorangia, which were lightly occupied due to tbe devastation of tbe Mfecane. Some were known to have ventured far beyond tbe present day borders of South Africa, north as far as present day Zambia and Angola, also reaching tbe Portuguese colony of Algoa Bay, modern-day Maputo, capital of Mozambique.
The Boers created independent states in what is now South Africa: tbe Transvaal Republic (the South African Republic) and tbe Orange Free State. The British also annexed these territories, which led to tbe two Boer Wars: The First Boer War (1880-1881) and tbe Second Boer War (1899-1902)- now called tbe South-African War, which ended with tbe inclusion of tbe Boer areas in tbe British colonies. The Boers won tbe first war, but lost tbe second, mainly due to tbe British employing their Scorched earth tactics, and tbe first use of Concentration camps, which led to tbe deaths of an estimated 27,000 Boer civilians (mainly children under sixteen), who died in tbe concentration camps marking tbe deaths of about 15 percent of tbe local Boer population. About 15,000 Bantu civilians died in separate concentration camps, erected by tbe British forces.
Following tbe British annexation of tbe Boer republics, tbe creation of tbe Union of South Africa (1910) went some way towards blurring tbe division between tbe British settlers and tbe Afrikaners.
Boer diaspora
After tbe second Anglo-Boer War three main Boer diasporas occurred. Starting in 1903 tbe largest group emigrated to tbe Patagonia region of Argentina. Another group emigrated to modern day Kenya, from where most returned to South Africa during tbe 1930s, while a third group under tbe leadership of General Ben Viljoen emigrated to Mexico as well as tbe American southwest of New Mexico and Texas.[cn]
South West Africa
With tbe onset of tbe First World War, tbe Union of South Africa was asked by tbe Allied forces to attack tbe German territory of South West Africa, resulting in tbe South-West Africa Campaign. Armed forces under tbe leadership of General Louis Botha defeated tbe German forces, who were unable to put up much resistance to tbe overwhelming South African forces.
Many Afrikaners objected to tbe use of tbe “children from tbe concentration camps” to attack tbe Afrikaner-friendly Germans, resulting in tbe Maritz Rebellion of 1914, which was quickly quelled by tbe government forces.
Some Afrikaners subsequently moved to South West Africa, which was administrated by South Africa, until its independence in 1990, after which tbe country was named Namibia.
Volkstaat
A small group of Afrikaners has settled in tbe town of Orania, with tbe goal of ultimately gaining a Volkstaat as tbe result of a process of Afrikaner demographic consolidation. Afrikaners today feel that they are facing a serious threat to their continued existence as a people, due to tbe relatively small population of Afrikaners, tbe dominance of tbe English language and tbe lack of any real political power. They also fear a repeat of tbe events in Zimbabwe, especially from tbe more "radical" elements within tbe African National Congress.
External links
- Will tbe Genocide of tbe Boers Now Begin? by Mat Rodina
- The Boer at YouTube