The Boers
In the early to mid 1800’s a group of people known as the Voortrekkers, in an effort to escape British imperialism and abolishment of slavery, left the Cape colony to begin a migration into the interior of South Africa. This migration was known as the Great Trek. The Voortrekkers (pioneers) were Boers (farmers) who were made up of Dutch, German and French Huguenots who had, up to that time, occupied the area of the Cape and the Eastern Cape. They were a hardy, self-reliant and fiercely independent group of people who were well suited to the rigours of pioneer life.
As the Voortrekkers moved deeper into the interior they encountered a land that appeared to be unoccupied. They were unaware of a violent reorganization of tribal lines that was taking place simultaneously. Because the land appeared to be unoccupied, they believed that the land was theirs for the taking and when they did come into contact with the indigenous peoples the outcome was often violent as they struggled for control and ownership of the land. In one such confrontation (the Battle of Blood River), the record shows that over 10 000 Zulus were slaughtered with only minimal casualties suffered by the Boers. The Boers took this overwhelming defeat of the Zulus to be a sign that they were indeed God’s chosen and that it was their destiny to rule the land.
As the British continued to establish their presence throughout South Africa the Boers were pushed deeper inland establishing settlements and republics across the northern part of the country in areas like current day Pretoria. The Anglo-Boer Wars in the late 1800’s saw the end of the Boer republics but not the end of their policies around the separation of people by race which ultimately resulted in the Apartheid era.
There are still many vestiges of Boer culture evident throughout South Africa today. Afrikaans is still spoken widely throughout the north, and much of the architecture is reminiscent of their European roots. While it is important to note that the Boers did contribute to the development of South Africa it is also important to note that it was largely their values and beliefs that created one of the darkest times in South African history…apartheid.