Afrikaner
Encyclopedia
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa
descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch
, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans
: a Germanic language
which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch
, and a variety of other languages.
The term Afrikaner as used in the 20th and 21st century context refers to all white Afrikaans-speaking people, i.e. those of the larger Cape Dutch
origin and of the smaller Boer
origin, who are descended from northwestern European settler
s who first arrived in the Cape of Good Hope during the period of administration (1652 – 1795) by the Dutch East India Company
(Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC). Their ancestors were primarily Dutch Calvinists, with smaller numbers of Frisians
, English
, Germans
and French Huguenots, and with minor numbers of other European groups (such as Dutch Jews, Scandinavians
, Portuguese
, Greeks
, Italians
, Spaniards
, Scots
, Irish
, Polish
).
South Africans of British descent
are considered a separate ethnic group from Afrikaners, and their first language is English
.
The Dutch who first settled at the Cape in 1652 established a geographically limited refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company; originally, the Company was not interested in establishing a permanent settlement. However, in order to ensure the viability of the refreshment station, some employees of the Company were freed from their contracts (so-called vrijburgers or free burghers) and allowed to farm. Over time, the boundaries of the colony expanded. The arrival in 1688 of some French Huguenot
refugees, who had fled to the Dutch Republic
to escape Roman Catholic religious persecution following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
, increased the number of settlers. Some of the later colonists, such as German mercenaries
in the employ of the Company, and settlers from other parts of Europe (e.g. Scandinavia
, Ireland
and Scotland
) were also incorporated into what became the Boers and Cape Dutch. Most Afrikaner families have between 5% and 7% non-white ancestry as the early Dutch settlement at the Cape allowed inter-racial marriage. This is well attested by genealogical records and DNA research. During the Apartheid era, race classification was based on appearance and there were many borderline cases.
The first person recorded to have identified himself as an Afrikaner was Hendrik Biebouw, who, in March 1707, stated, Ik ben een Afrikander (I am an African), and did not want to leave South Africa
. Biebouw was resisting his expulsion from the Cape Colony
, as ordered by the magistrate of Stellenbosch. He was banished and sent to Batavia. The term shows the individual's first loyalty and a sense of belonging to the territory of modern South Africa
, rather than to any ancestral homeland in Europe. In January, 1902, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the word Africanders in referring to the Dutch settler expansion northwards from the Cape.
The pastoral Afrikaans-speakers who developed on the Cape frontier were called Boers (boer is the Dutch word for farmer). They have often been considered a slightly separate entity from the Afrikaners,. However, the Boers of Trekboer descent who developed on the Cape frontier from the late 17th century are an anthropologically distinct group from the Afrikaners who developed in the south western Cape region who were often known as the Cape Dutch. It was only in 1910, with the creation of the Union of South Africa
that the word Afrikaner came to widespread use to refer to both the Boer
and Cape Dutch
. As a direct result of the Union, the majority Cape Dutch culturally assimilated
the minority Boer people of the Transvaal and Orange Free State; adopting a lot of the traditions and values of the Boer people within a new Afrikaner Nationalism
were pivotal for the preservation of Boer ethnic identity. The Boers created a number of states that were independent of British colonial oversight.
In the 1830s and 1840s, an estimated 10,000 Boers, later referred to as Voortrekkers
or "First Movers", migrated to the future Northern Cape
, Natal
, Orange Free State
, and Transvaal/Northern Interior provinces. They were motivated by the desire to escape British rule and to preserve their religious conservatism. The Trek resulted in a cultural split between the Voortrekkers, later known as the Boers, and the Cape Afrikaners. These distinctions overlapped with economic differences, as the Trekkers generally had fewer material resources on the frontier than those who remained behind. During the Anglo-Boer War, a number of Cape Afrikaners assisted the British in fighting against the Boers due to their long historical pro Colonial outlook.
As important as the Trek was to the formation of Boer ethnic identity, so were the running conflicts with various indigenous groups along the way. None is considered more central to the construction of Boer identity than the clashes with the Zulu in what today is KwaZulu-Natal
.
The Boer who entered Natal discovered that the land they wanted was under the authority of the Zulu chief Dingane
ka Senzangakhona, who ruled that part of what is now called KwaZulu-Natal. The British had a small port colony there but were unable to seize the whole of area from the war-ready Zulus, and only kept to the Port of Natal. The Boer found the land safe from the English and sent an un-armed Boer land treaty delegation under Piet Retief
on February 6, 1838, to negotiate with the Zulu King. The negotiations went well and a contract between Retief and Dingane was signed.
After the signing, Dingane's forces surprised and killed the members of the delegation; a large-scale massacre of the Boer followed. Zulu impi
s (regiments) attacked Boer encampments in the Drakensberg
foothills at what was later called Blaauwkrans and Weenen, killing women and children along with men. By contrast, in earlier conflicts the Trekkers had along the eastern Cape frontier, the Xhosa had refrained from harming women and children. If it were not for an Italian woman by the name of Thérèsa Viglione none of the Boer in Natal would have survived. She was a trader who camped near the Trekkers with three Italian men and three wagons to trade. During the attack by the Zulus on Bloukrans, she fearlessly charged down the banks of the Boesmans River on a horse to warn the laager of Gerrit Maritz against the oncoming Zulus. Because of her action, the Boers were forewarned and could defend themselves - many lives were saved.
The Transvaal Republic sent a commando brigade of 470 men to help the settlers. The Boers vowed to God that if they were victorious over the Zulu, they and future generations would commemorate the day as a Sabbath
.
The Zulu customarily attacked in the evening. The gun powder that the Boers used had to be kept completely dry. That evening a mist and light rain came down on the camp, soaking everything. The guns would not work and the Boers waited to die but the Zulus did not come. The Zulu only attacked the next morning when the gunpowder was dry again. Later, it was heard from the Zulu survivors that a strange light hung over the camp and that a monster circled the perimeter keeping them from coming closer. The Zulu also recount that a company of their troops had somehow gotten lost, weakening their army.
On 16 December 1838, a 470-strong force of Andries Pretorius confronted about 10,000 Zulu at the prepared positions. The Boers suffered three injuries without any fatalities. Due to the blood of 3,000 slain Zulus that stained the Ncome River, the conflict afterwards became known as the Battle of Blood River
.
Boers celebrate the 16th of December as a public holiday, colloquially called "Dingane's Day". After 1952, the holiday became officially called the Day of the Covenant
, changed in 1980 to Day of the Vow
(Mackenzie 1999:69). The Boer believed their victory at the Battle of Blood River meant they had found divine favor for their exodus
from British rule.
His power broken, King Dingane faced an uprising against his cruel rule in his own tribe and fled to Swaziland where others of his own people brutally killed him. The Boer were invited by the Zulu to bring homage to their new king after the death of the tyrant.
In 1998 at the inauguration of the most recent version of the monument in honor of Blood River, Mangosuthu Buthelezi
, Zulu politician and then Minister of Home Affairs, apologized to the Boer people for the murder of Piet Retief and the subsequent suffering of the Boer people.
After defeating the Zulu and the recovery of the treaty between Dingane and Retief, the Voortrekkers proclaimed the Boer state of the Natalia Republic
. Soon afterward, in 1843, Britain annexed this territory and the Boers who were not warriors vacated.
Due to the return of British rule, Boers fled to the frontiers to the north-west of the Drakensberg
mountains, and onto the highveld (steppes) of the Transvaal
and Transoranje "Transorangia". These areas were lightly occupied due to armed resistance by the Mfecane
. Some Boer ventured far beyond the present-day borders of South Africa
, north as far as present-day Zambia
and Angola
. Others reached the Portuguese colony of Delagoa Bay, later called Lourenço Marques. It is now called Maputo
, capital of Mozambique
.
The Boers created independent states in what is now South Africa
: de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (the South African Republic
) and the Orange Free State were the most prominent and lasted the longest.
Gold was discovered and awakened British interest in the Boer republics.
When the British annexed these territories, the two Boer Wars resulted: The First Boer War
(1880–1881) and the Second Boer War
(1899–1902). They ended with British victory and annexation of the Boer areas into the British colonies. The Boers won the first war and retained their independence temporarily. They lost the second. The British employed scorched earth
tactics and held many Boers in concentration camps as they tried to take control. An estimated 27,000 Boer civilians (mainly women and children under sixteen) died in the camps from hunger
and disease. This was 15 percent of the Boer population of the republics.
), where they were concentrated at the town of Enkeldoorn, now Chivhu
(Du Toit 1998:47). After the second Boer War, more Boers left South Africa
. Starting in 1902 a large group emigrated to the Patagonia
region of Argentina
(most notably in the town of Sarmiento
). Another group emigrated to British-ruled Kenya
, from where most returned to South Africa
during the 1930s as a result of warfare there with indigenous people. A third group, under the leadership of General Ben Viljoen
, emigrated to Chihuahua in northern Mexico
and to states of Arizona
, California
, New Mexico
and Texas
in the south-western USA. Others migrated to other parts of Africa, including German East Africa (present day Tanzania
, mostly near Arusha). Some refugees went to Angola
, where smaller and larger groups settled on the Bihe and the Humpata plateaus, respectively; Du Toit 1998:45.
It was a relatively large group of Boers who settled in Kenya. Historian Brian du Toit found that the first wave of migrants were single families, followed by larger multiple family treks (Du Toit 1998:57). Some had arrived by 1904, as documented by the caption of a newspaper photograph noting a tent town for "some of the early settlers from South Africa" on what today is the campus of the University of Nairobi
. Probably the first to arrive was W.J. Van Breda (1903), followed by John de Waal and Frans Arnoldi at Nakuru (1906). Jannie De Beer's family resided at Athi River, while Ignatius Gouws resided at Solai (Du Toit 1998:45,62).
The second wave of migrants is exemplified by Jan Janse van Rensburg's trek. Janse van Rensburg left the Transvaal on an exploratory trip to British East Africa in 1906 from Lourenço Marques (then Portuguese
), Mozambique
. Janse van Rensburg was inspired by an earlier Boer migrant, Abraham Joubert, who had moved to Nairobi from Arusha in 1906, along with others. When Joubert visited the Transvaal that year, Janse van Rensburg met with him (Du Toit 1998:61). Sources disagree about whether Janse van Rensburg received guarantees for land from the Governor, Sir James Hayes Sadler
(Du Toit 1998:62).
On his return to the Transvaal, Janse van Rensburg recruited about 280 people (comprising either 47 or 60 families) to accompany him to British East Africa. Most came from districts around Ermelo and Carolina. On 9 July 1908 Janse van Rensburg's party sailed in the chartered ship SS Windhuk from Lourenço Marques to Mombasa, from where they boarded a train for Nairobi. The party travelled by five trains to Nakuru.
In 1911 the last of the large trek groups departed for Kenya, when some 60 families from the Orange Free State boarded the SS Skramstad in Durban under leadership of C.J. Cloete. But migration dwindled, partly due to the British secretary of state's (then Lord Crewe) cash requirements for immigrants. When the British granted self-government to the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State in 1906 and 1907, respectively, the pressure for emigration decreased. A trickle of individual trekker families continued to migrate into the 1950s (Du Toit 1998:63).
A combination of factors spurred Boer migration on. Some, like Janse van Rensburg and Cloete, had collaborated with the British, or had surrendered during the Boer War (Du Toit 1998:63). These joiners and hensoppers subsequently experienced hostility from other Boers. Many migrants were extremely poor and had subsisted on others' property. Collaborators tended to move to British East Africa, while those who had fought to the end (called bittereinder
s) initially preferred German West Africa (Du Toit 1999:45).
One of the best known Boer settlements in the British East Africa Protectorate was at Eldoret
, in the south west of what became known as Kenya in 1920. By 1934 some 700 Boers lived here, near the Uganda border.
. Armed forces under the leadership of General Louis Botha defeated the German forces, who were unable to put up much resistance to the overwhelming South African forces.
Many Boers, who had little love or respect for Britain, objected to the use of the “children from the concentration camps” to attack the anti-British Germans, resulting in the Maritz Rebellion
of 1914, which was quickly quelled by the government forces.
Some Boer subsequently moved to South West Africa, which was administered by South Africa
until its independence in 1990, after which the country was named Namibia
.
, the black majority was excluded from equal participation in the affairs of the State and country (except for the homeland
s of Qwaqwa
, Zululand
, Ciskei
, Transkei
, Venda
, and Bophuthatswana
which were nominally self governed) until 1994.
Apartheid laws were enacted by the British controlled government when the Pass Laws were passed in 1923.
Due to the threat of Communism
the status quo was maintained and restrictions on non-whites' social and political segregation further tightened and internationally supported when Afrikaner-led political parties gained control of government in the 1960s. Apartheid unofficially ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall
and the end of Communism. This resulted in the freeing of Nelson Mandela.
The South African referendum, 1992
was held on 17 March 1992. In it, South Africans were asked to vote in the last tricameral election
held under the apartheid system, in which the Coloured
and India
n population groups could also vote, to determine whether or not they supported the negotiated reforms begun by then State President F.W. de Klerk
two years earlier. With Communism gone, the result of the election was a large victory for the "yes" side. Election analysts however reported that support to dismantle Apartheid among the Afrikaners was actually slightly higher than among English
speakers.
This assertion is debatable given that statistical analysis published by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation(CSVR) has shown that Afrikaners supported apartheid policies to a greater extent than English-speakers from the 1970s to the 1990s. (Between Acknowledgement and Ignorance:How white South Africans have dealt with the apartheid past)
even though protection of minority rights is fundamental to the new 1996 post-apartheid Constitution of South Africa
. These efforts include the Volkstaat
movement. In contrast, a handful of Afrikaners have joined the ruling African National Congress party, which is overwhelmingly supported by South Africa's black majority. However, the vast majority of Afrikaners/Boer have joined White English-speakers in supporting South Africa's official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, indicating their acceptance of non-racism within a free enterprise economy.
Employment Equity legislation favours employment of black (African, Indian and Coloured) South Africans and women over white men. Black Economic Empowerment legislation further favours blacks as the government considers ownership, employment, training and social responsibility initiatives which empower black South Africans as important criteria when awarding tenders. However, private enterprise adheres to this legislation voluntarily. Some reports indicate a growing number of whites suffering poverty compared to the pre-Apartheid years and attribute this to such laws - over 350,000 Afrikaners may be classified as poor, with some research claiming that up to 150,000 are struggling for survival. This combined with a wave of violent crime has led to vast numbers of English and Boer South Africans leaving the country.
There have been increasing incidents of racism against white South Africans since 1994. In particular the actions of racist police personnel towards white victims have attracted media attention. White men arrested and held in overcrowded cells on minor or spurious charges have taken legal action against the government, as many have been raped
and assaulted by violent criminals (often rape
and murder
suspects) held in the same cells.
Genocide Watch
has theorized that farm attacks constitute early warning signs of genocide against Afrikaners and has criticised the South African government for its inaction on the issue, pointing out that the murder
rate for them ("ethno-European farmers" in their report, which also included non-Afrikaner farmers of European race) is four times that of the general South African population. There are 40,000 white farmers in South Africa. Since 1994 close to three thousand farmers have been murdered in thousands of farm attacks, with many being brutally torture
d and/or rape
d. Some victims have been burned with smoothing irons or had boiling water poured down their throats.
. There are thus currently large Afrikaner and English South African communities in the UK and other developed nations. Since 1994, more than one million South Africans have emigrated, citing violent and racially motivated crime as the main reason. Farmers have emigrated to other parts of Africa to develop efficient commercial farming there. See human capital flight in South Africa for details.
and in the Southern provinces.
, the United Kingdom
, the United States
, the Netherlands, Belgium
, Australia
, New Zealand
, Spain
, Argentina
, Mexico
and Brazil
.
A large number of young Afrikaners are taking advantage of working holiday visa
s made available by the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth
countries, as well as the Netherlands and Belgium, to gain work experience. The scheme under which UK working holiday visas were issued ended on the 27th November 2008 and has been replaced by the Tier 5 (Youth Mobility) visa. South Africa
is unlikely to partake in this scheme.
As of 2011, Georgia
is encouraging Afrikaner immigration to help kickstart the country's agriculture industry, which has declined significantly since the fall of communism.
, the Calvinism
of Boers in South Africa
developed in much the same way as the New England colonies in North America. The original South African Boer republics were founded on the principles of the Dutch Reformed Church.
A good example of how the Boer culture and religion interlinked can be seen when gold was discovered in Johannesburg. The Boer community desperately tried to keep it a secret for fear that exploitation of the resource would lead to moral degradation of the Republic. Even after the mines were running, the Boers did not get involved and kept to farming.
spoken by the first white settlers at the Cape
. From the late 17th century, the form of Dutch spoken at the Cape developed differences, mostly in morphology but also in pronunciation and accent and, to a lesser extent, in syntax and vocabulary, from that of the Netherlands
, although the languages are still similar enough to be mutually intelligible. Settlers who arrived speaking German
and French
soon shifted to using Dutch and later Afrikaans. The process of language change
was influenced by the languages spoken by slaves, Khoikhoi
and people of mixed descent, as well as by Cape Malay, Zulu, English
and Portuguese
. While the Dutch of the Netherlands remained the official language, the new dialect, often known as Cape Dutch, African Dutch, "Kitchen Dutch", or "Taal" (meaning language in Afrikaans) developed into a separate language by the 19th century, with much work done by the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
and other writers such as Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven
. In a 1925 act of Parliament, Afrikaans replaced standard Dutch as one of the two official languages of the Union of South Africa
. There was much objection to the attempt to legislate the creation of Afrikaans as a new language. Marthinus Steyn, a prominent jurist and politician, and others were vocal in their opposition. They perceived that legalization of Afrikaans as an official language would only serve to isolate the Afrikaners, as they would be the only people in the world to speak Afrikaans. Steyn, who died before 1925, had been educated in Holland and England
and was a worldly cosmopolitan figure. Today, Afrikaans is recognised as one of the eleven official languages of the new South Africa
, and is widely accepted as an appropriate means of communication for a large number of South Africans.
ists and poet
s, including Eugene Marais
, Uys Krige
, Elisabeth Eybers
, Breyten Breytenbach
, André Brink
, and Etienne Leroux
. See section on
South African literature
(literally, People Games) folk dancing enjoyed popularity in the past, most Afrikaners today favour a variety of international genres and light popular Afrikaans music. American country and western music has enjoyed great popularity and has a strong following among many South Africans. Some also enjoy a social dance event called a sokkie
. The South African rock band, Seether
, has a hidden track on their album, Karma and Effect
, that is sung in the Afrikaans language. It is titled, Kom Saam Met My, which is translated as Come With Me. There is also an underground rock music movement and bands like the controversial Fokofpolisiekar
have a large following. The television Channel MK (channel) also supports local Afrikaans music and mainly screen videos from the Afrikaans Rock genre.
Also see section on protest music(South African)
, cricket
, and golf
are generally considered to be the most popular sports among Afrikaners. Rugby in particular is considered one of the central pillars of the Afrikaner community. The Springboks won the 1995 and 2007 Rugby World Cups.
"Boere-sport" also played a very big role in the Afrikaner history. It consisted of a variety of sports like tug of war
, three-legged races, jukskei, skilpadloop (tortoise walk) and other games.
was struck at the South African Mint on the third of July 1967. The name Krugerrand was derived from Kruger (President Paul Kruger
) and rand the monetary unit of South Africa
. The Rand
is associated with the area called Witwatersrand, "the ridge of white water" an important gold producing area.
In April 2007, the South African Mint coined a collectors R1 gold coin commemorating the Afrikaner people as part of its cultural series, depicting the Great Trek across the Drakensberg mountains.
Die Voortrekkers
is a youth movement for Afrikaners in South Africa and Namibia with a membership of over 10 000 active members to promote cultural values, maintaining norms and standards as Christians, and being accountable members of public society.
.
Smaller numbers are involved in nationalist or separatist political organizations. The Freedom Front Plus is an Afrikaner ethnic political party in the Republican tradition, which lobbies for minority rights to be granted to all of the South African ethnic minorities. The Freedom Front Plus is also leading the Volkstaat
initiative and is closely associated with the small town of Orania.
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
: a Germanic language
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, and a variety of other languages.
Related ethno-linguistic groups
Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch are people of the Western Cape of South Africa who descended primarily from Dutch and Flemish as well as smaller numbers of French, German and other European immigrants along with a percentage of their Asian and African slaves, who, from the 17th century into the 19th century, remained...
origin and of the smaller Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
origin, who are descended from northwestern European settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s who first arrived in the Cape of Good Hope during the period of administration (1652 – 1795) by the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC). Their ancestors were primarily Dutch Calvinists, with smaller numbers of Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and French Huguenots, and with minor numbers of other European groups (such as Dutch Jews, Scandinavians
Scandinavians
Scandinavians are a group of Germanic peoples, inhabiting Scandinavia and to a lesser extent countries associated with Scandinavia, and speaking Scandinavian languages. The group includes Danes, Norwegians and Swedes, and additionally the descendants of Scandinavian settlers such as the Icelandic...
, Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Italians
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, Spaniards
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
, Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
).
South Africans of British descent
Anglo-African
Anglo-Africans are primarily White African people of largely British descent who live or come from Sub-Saharan Africa and are Anglophone. A large majority live in South Africa...
are considered a separate ethnic group from Afrikaners, and their first language is English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
The Dutch who first settled at the Cape in 1652 established a geographically limited refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company; originally, the Company was not interested in establishing a permanent settlement. However, in order to ensure the viability of the refreshment station, some employees of the Company were freed from their contracts (so-called vrijburgers or free burghers) and allowed to farm. Over time, the boundaries of the colony expanded. The arrival in 1688 of some French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
refugees, who had fled to the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
to escape Roman Catholic religious persecution following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
, increased the number of settlers. Some of the later colonists, such as German mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
in the employ of the Company, and settlers from other parts of Europe (e.g. Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) were also incorporated into what became the Boers and Cape Dutch. Most Afrikaner families have between 5% and 7% non-white ancestry as the early Dutch settlement at the Cape allowed inter-racial marriage. This is well attested by genealogical records and DNA research. During the Apartheid era, race classification was based on appearance and there were many borderline cases.
The first person recorded to have identified himself as an Afrikaner was Hendrik Biebouw, who, in March 1707, stated, Ik ben een Afrikander (I am an African), and did not want to leave South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Biebouw was resisting his expulsion from the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, as ordered by the magistrate of Stellenbosch. He was banished and sent to Batavia. The term shows the individual's first loyalty and a sense of belonging to the territory of modern South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, rather than to any ancestral homeland in Europe. In January, 1902, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the word Africanders in referring to the Dutch settler expansion northwards from the Cape.
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
that the word Afrikaner came to widespread use to refer to both the Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
and Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch are people of the Western Cape of South Africa who descended primarily from Dutch and Flemish as well as smaller numbers of French, German and other European immigrants along with a percentage of their Asian and African slaves, who, from the 17th century into the 19th century, remained...
. As a direct result of the Union, the majority Cape Dutch culturally assimilated
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
the minority Boer people of the Transvaal and Orange Free State; adopting a lot of the traditions and values of the Boer people within a new Afrikaner Nationalism
Afrikaner nationalism
Afrikaner nationalism is a political ideology that was born in the late 19th century around the idea that Afrikaners in South Africa were a "chosen people"; it was also strongly influenced by anti-British sentiments that grew strong among the Afrikaners, especially because of the Boer Wars...
Migrations
The mass migrations under British rule collectively known as the Great TrekGreat Trek
The Great Trek was an eastward and north-eastward migration away from British control in the Cape Colony during the 1830s and 1840s by Boers . The migrants were descended from settlers from western mainland Europe, most notably from the Netherlands, northwest Germany and French Huguenots...
were pivotal for the preservation of Boer ethnic identity. The Boers created a number of states that were independent of British colonial oversight.
In the 1830s and 1840s, an estimated 10,000 Boers, later referred to as Voortrekkers
Voortrekkers
The Voortrekkers were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony moving into the interior of what is now South Africa...
or "First Movers", migrated to the future Northern Cape
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
, Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
, Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, and Transvaal/Northern Interior provinces. They were motivated by the desire to escape British rule and to preserve their religious conservatism. The Trek resulted in a cultural split between the Voortrekkers, later known as the Boers, and the Cape Afrikaners. These distinctions overlapped with economic differences, as the Trekkers generally had fewer material resources on the frontier than those who remained behind. During the Anglo-Boer War, a number of Cape Afrikaners assisted the British in fighting against the Boers due to their long historical pro Colonial outlook.
As important as the Trek was to the formation of Boer ethnic identity, so were the running conflicts with various indigenous groups along the way. None is considered more central to the construction of Boer identity than the clashes with the Zulu in what today is KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
.
The Boer who entered Natal discovered that the land they wanted was under the authority of the Zulu chief Dingane
Dingane
Dingane kaSenzangakhona Zulu —commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan—was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828...
ka Senzangakhona, who ruled that part of what is now called KwaZulu-Natal. The British had a small port colony there but were unable to seize the whole of area from the war-ready Zulus, and only kept to the Port of Natal. The Boer found the land safe from the English and sent an un-armed Boer land treaty delegation under Piet Retief
Piet Retief
Pieter Mauritz Retief was a South African Boer leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he assumed command of punitive expeditions in response to raiding parties from the adjacent Xhosa territory...
on February 6, 1838, to negotiate with the Zulu King. The negotiations went well and a contract between Retief and Dingane was signed.
After the signing, Dingane's forces surprised and killed the members of the delegation; a large-scale massacre of the Boer followed. Zulu impi
Impi
An Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, where groups of armed men called impis battled...
s (regiments) attacked Boer encampments in the Drakensberg
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
foothills at what was later called Blaauwkrans and Weenen, killing women and children along with men. By contrast, in earlier conflicts the Trekkers had along the eastern Cape frontier, the Xhosa had refrained from harming women and children. If it were not for an Italian woman by the name of Thérèsa Viglione none of the Boer in Natal would have survived. She was a trader who camped near the Trekkers with three Italian men and three wagons to trade. During the attack by the Zulus on Bloukrans, she fearlessly charged down the banks of the Boesmans River on a horse to warn the laager of Gerrit Maritz against the oncoming Zulus. Because of her action, the Boers were forewarned and could defend themselves - many lives were saved.
The Transvaal Republic sent a commando brigade of 470 men to help the settlers. The Boers vowed to God that if they were victorious over the Zulu, they and future generations would commemorate the day as a Sabbath
Day of the Vow
The Day of the Vow is the name of a religious public holiday in South Africa until 1994, when it was renamed the Day of Reconciliation. The holiday is December 16...
.
The Zulu customarily attacked in the evening. The gun powder that the Boers used had to be kept completely dry. That evening a mist and light rain came down on the camp, soaking everything. The guns would not work and the Boers waited to die but the Zulus did not come. The Zulu only attacked the next morning when the gunpowder was dry again. Later, it was heard from the Zulu survivors that a strange light hung over the camp and that a monster circled the perimeter keeping them from coming closer. The Zulu also recount that a company of their troops had somehow gotten lost, weakening their army.
On 16 December 1838, a 470-strong force of Andries Pretorius confronted about 10,000 Zulu at the prepared positions. The Boers suffered three injuries without any fatalities. Due to the blood of 3,000 slain Zulus that stained the Ncome River, the conflict afterwards became known as the Battle of Blood River
Battle of Blood River
The Battle of Blood River, so called due to the colour of water in the Ncome River turning red with blood, was fought between 470 Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000–15,000 Zulu attackers on the bank of the Ncome River on 16 December 1838, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal,...
.
Boers celebrate the 16th of December as a public holiday, colloquially called "Dingane's Day". After 1952, the holiday became officially called the Day of the Covenant
Day of the Vow
The Day of the Vow is the name of a religious public holiday in South Africa until 1994, when it was renamed the Day of Reconciliation. The holiday is December 16...
, changed in 1980 to Day of the Vow
Day of the Vow
The Day of the Vow is the name of a religious public holiday in South Africa until 1994, when it was renamed the Day of Reconciliation. The holiday is December 16...
(Mackenzie 1999:69). The Boer believed their victory at the Battle of Blood River meant they had found divine favor for their exodus
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
from British rule.
His power broken, King Dingane faced an uprising against his cruel rule in his own tribe and fled to Swaziland where others of his own people brutally killed him. The Boer were invited by the Zulu to bring homage to their new king after the death of the tyrant.
In 1998 at the inauguration of the most recent version of the monument in honor of Blood River, Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
, Zulu politician and then Minister of Home Affairs, apologized to the Boer people for the murder of Piet Retief and the subsequent suffering of the Boer people.
Boer republics
Natalia Republic
The Natalia Republic was a short-lived Boer republic, established in 1839 by local Afrikaans-speaking Voortrekkers shortly after the Battle of Blood River. The republic was located on the coast of the Indian Ocean beyond the Eastern Cape, and was previously named Natalia by Portuguese sailors. The...
. Soon afterward, in 1843, Britain annexed this territory and the Boers who were not warriors vacated.
Due to the return of British rule, Boers fled to the frontiers to the north-west of the Drakensberg
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
mountains, and onto the highveld (steppes) of the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
and Transoranje "Transorangia". These areas were lightly occupied due to armed resistance by the Mfecane
Mfecane
Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous tribes in southern Africa during the period between 1815 to about 1840....
. Some Boer ventured far beyond the present-day borders of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, north as far as present-day Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. Others reached the Portuguese colony of Delagoa Bay, later called Lourenço Marques. It is now called Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
, capital of Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
: de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (the South African Republic
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
) and the Orange Free State were the most prominent and lasted the longest.
Gold was discovered and awakened British interest in the Boer republics.
When the British annexed these territories, the two Boer Wars resulted: The First Boer War
First Boer War
The First Boer War also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881-1877 annexation:...
(1880–1881) and the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
(1899–1902). They ended with British victory and annexation of the Boer areas into the British colonies. The Boers won the first war and retained their independence temporarily. They lost the second. The British employed scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
tactics and held many Boers in concentration camps as they tried to take control. An estimated 27,000 Boer civilians (mainly women and children under sixteen) died in the camps from hunger
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
and disease. This was 15 percent of the Boer population of the republics.
Post Boer War diaspora
In the 1890s, some Boers moved to Mashonaland and Matabeleland (today ZimbabweZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
), where they were concentrated at the town of Enkeldoorn, now Chivhu
Chivhu
Chivhu is a small town in Zimbabwe, with an estimated population of 10,000 in 2007. It is located south of Harare on the main road south to Masvingo and South Africa.-History:...
(Du Toit 1998:47). After the second Boer War, more Boers left South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Starting in 1902 a large group emigrated to the Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
region of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
(most notably in the town of Sarmiento
Sarmiento, Chubut
Sarmiento is a town in the province of Chubut, Argentina. It has about 8,000 inhabitants as per the , and is the head town of the department of the same name. It is located on the so-called Central Corridor of Patagonia, in a fertile valley amidst an otherwise arid region, 140 km west from...
). Another group emigrated to British-ruled Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, from where most returned to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
during the 1930s as a result of warfare there with indigenous people. A third group, under the leadership of General Ben Viljoen
Ben Viljoen
Benjamin Johannes Viljoen was a general in the Boer army. He was born in a cave in the Wodehouse district of the Cape Colony. This was the temporary residence of the Viljoen family while their farm house was being constructed. He spent his early years on the Varkiesdraai farm near Umtata...
, emigrated to Chihuahua in northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and to states of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the south-western USA. Others migrated to other parts of Africa, including German East Africa (present day Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, mostly near Arusha). Some refugees went to Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, where smaller and larger groups settled on the Bihe and the Humpata plateaus, respectively; Du Toit 1998:45.
It was a relatively large group of Boers who settled in Kenya. Historian Brian du Toit found that the first wave of migrants were single families, followed by larger multiple family treks (Du Toit 1998:57). Some had arrived by 1904, as documented by the caption of a newspaper photograph noting a tent town for "some of the early settlers from South Africa" on what today is the campus of the University of Nairobi
University of Nairobi
The University of Nairobi is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution goes back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970 when the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: Makerere University in...
. Probably the first to arrive was W.J. Van Breda (1903), followed by John de Waal and Frans Arnoldi at Nakuru (1906). Jannie De Beer's family resided at Athi River, while Ignatius Gouws resided at Solai (Du Toit 1998:45,62).
The second wave of migrants is exemplified by Jan Janse van Rensburg's trek. Janse van Rensburg left the Transvaal on an exploratory trip to British East Africa in 1906 from Lourenço Marques (then Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
), Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
. Janse van Rensburg was inspired by an earlier Boer migrant, Abraham Joubert, who had moved to Nairobi from Arusha in 1906, along with others. When Joubert visited the Transvaal that year, Janse van Rensburg met with him (Du Toit 1998:61). Sources disagree about whether Janse van Rensburg received guarantees for land from the Governor, Sir James Hayes Sadler
James Hayes Sadler
Colonel Sir James Hayes Sadler, KCMG, CB was a British diplomat and civil servant.In 1854 Sadler was commissioned into the Artillery Battalion of the Royal Sussex Militia...
(Du Toit 1998:62).
On his return to the Transvaal, Janse van Rensburg recruited about 280 people (comprising either 47 or 60 families) to accompany him to British East Africa. Most came from districts around Ermelo and Carolina. On 9 July 1908 Janse van Rensburg's party sailed in the chartered ship SS Windhuk from Lourenço Marques to Mombasa, from where they boarded a train for Nairobi. The party travelled by five trains to Nakuru.
In 1911 the last of the large trek groups departed for Kenya, when some 60 families from the Orange Free State boarded the SS Skramstad in Durban under leadership of C.J. Cloete. But migration dwindled, partly due to the British secretary of state's (then Lord Crewe) cash requirements for immigrants. When the British granted self-government to the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State in 1906 and 1907, respectively, the pressure for emigration decreased. A trickle of individual trekker families continued to migrate into the 1950s (Du Toit 1998:63).
A combination of factors spurred Boer migration on. Some, like Janse van Rensburg and Cloete, had collaborated with the British, or had surrendered during the Boer War (Du Toit 1998:63). These joiners and hensoppers subsequently experienced hostility from other Boers. Many migrants were extremely poor and had subsisted on others' property. Collaborators tended to move to British East Africa, while those who had fought to the end (called bittereinder
Bittereinder
Bittereinders were a faction of Boer guerrilla fighters, resisting the forces of the British Empire in the later stages of the Second Boer War ....
s) initially preferred German West Africa (Du Toit 1999:45).
One of the best known Boer settlements in the British East Africa Protectorate was at Eldoret
Eldoret
Eldoret is a town in western Kenya and the administrative centre of Uasin Gishu District of Rift Valley Province. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2100 metres above sea level at the airport to more than 2700 metres in nearby areas...
, in the south west of what became known as Kenya in 1920. By 1934 some 700 Boers lived here, near the Uganda border.
South West Africa
With the onset of the First World War, the Union of South Africa was asked by the Allied forces to attack the German territory of South West Africa, resulting in the South-West Africa CampaignSouth-West Africa Campaign
The South-West Africa Campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa, now called Namibia, by forces from the Union of South Africa acting on behalf of the British Imperial Government at the beginning of the First World War.-Background:...
. Armed forces under the leadership of General Louis Botha defeated the German forces, who were unable to put up much resistance to the overwhelming South African forces.
Maritz Rebellion
The Maritz Rebellion or the Boer Revolt or the Five Shilling Rebellion, occurred in South Africa in 1914 at the start of World War I, in which men who supported the recreation of the old Boer republics rose up against the government of the Union of South Africa...
of 1914, which was quickly quelled by the government forces.
Some Boer subsequently moved to South West Africa, which was administered by South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
until its independence in 1990, after which the country was named Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
.
Modern history
Apartheid era
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the black majority was excluded from equal participation in the affairs of the State and country (except for the homeland
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
s of Qwaqwa
QwaQwa
QwaQwa was a Bantustan, or homeland, in the eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Phuthaditjhaba...
, Zululand
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
, Ciskei
Ciskei
Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
, Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
, Venda
Venda
Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa....
, and Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
which were nominally self governed) until 1994.
Apartheid laws were enacted by the British controlled government when the Pass Laws were passed in 1923.
Due to the threat of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
the status quo was maintained and restrictions on non-whites' social and political segregation further tightened and internationally supported when Afrikaner-led political parties gained control of government in the 1960s. Apartheid unofficially ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and the end of Communism. This resulted in the freeing of Nelson Mandela.
The South African referendum, 1992
South African referendum, 1992
The 1992 referendum was held in South Africa on 17 March of that year. In it, white South Africans were asked to vote in the country's last whites-only referendum to determine whether or not they supported the negotiated reforms begun by State President F.W. de Klerk two years earlier, in which he...
was held on 17 March 1992. In it, South Africans were asked to vote in the last tricameral election
Tricameral Parliament
The Tricameral Parliament was the name given to the South African parliament and its structure from 1984 to 1994, established by the South African Constitution of 1983...
held under the apartheid system, in which the Coloured
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n population groups could also vote, to determine whether or not they supported the negotiated reforms begun by then State President F.W. de Klerk
Frederik Willem de Klerk
Frederik Willem de Klerk , often known as F. W. de Klerk, is the former seventh and last State President of apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994...
two years earlier. With Communism gone, the result of the election was a large victory for the "yes" side. Election analysts however reported that support to dismantle Apartheid among the Afrikaners was actually slightly higher than among English
Anglo-African
Anglo-Africans are primarily White African people of largely British descent who live or come from Sub-Saharan Africa and are Anglophone. A large majority live in South Africa...
speakers.
This assertion is debatable given that statistical analysis published by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation(CSVR) has shown that Afrikaners supported apartheid policies to a greater extent than English-speakers from the 1970s to the 1990s. (Between Acknowledgement and Ignorance:How white South Africans have dealt with the apartheid past)
Post-Apartheid era
Efforts are being made by a few Afrikaners to secure minority rightsMinority rights
The term Minority Rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or sexual minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups...
even though protection of minority rights is fundamental to the new 1996 post-apartheid Constitution of South Africa
Constitution of South Africa
The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...
. These efforts include the Volkstaat
Volkstaat
Volkstaat is a proposal for the establishment of self determination for the Boer and Afrikaners minority in South Africa according to federal principles, alluding to full independence in the form of a homeland for Boer and Afrikaners....
movement. In contrast, a handful of Afrikaners have joined the ruling African National Congress party, which is overwhelmingly supported by South Africa's black majority. However, the vast majority of Afrikaners/Boer have joined White English-speakers in supporting South Africa's official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, indicating their acceptance of non-racism within a free enterprise economy.
Employment Equity legislation favours employment of black (African, Indian and Coloured) South Africans and women over white men. Black Economic Empowerment legislation further favours blacks as the government considers ownership, employment, training and social responsibility initiatives which empower black South Africans as important criteria when awarding tenders. However, private enterprise adheres to this legislation voluntarily. Some reports indicate a growing number of whites suffering poverty compared to the pre-Apartheid years and attribute this to such laws - over 350,000 Afrikaners may be classified as poor, with some research claiming that up to 150,000 are struggling for survival. This combined with a wave of violent crime has led to vast numbers of English and Boer South Africans leaving the country.
There have been increasing incidents of racism against white South Africans since 1994. In particular the actions of racist police personnel towards white victims have attracted media attention. White men arrested and held in overcrowded cells on minor or spurious charges have taken legal action against the government, as many have been raped
Prison rape
Prison rape commonly refers to the rape of inmates in prison by other inmates or prison staff.In 2001, Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 140,000 inmates had been raped while incarcerated. and there is a significant variation in the rates of prison rape by race...
and assaulted by violent criminals (often rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
suspects) held in the same cells.
Genocide Watch
Genocide Watch
Genocide Watch is an international organization based in the United States which attempts to predict, prevent, limit, eliminate, and punish genocide throughout the world through reporting, public awareness campaigns, and judicial or quasi-judicial follow-up...
has theorized that farm attacks constitute early warning signs of genocide against Afrikaners and has criticised the South African government for its inaction on the issue, pointing out that the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
rate for them ("ethno-European farmers" in their report, which also included non-Afrikaner farmers of European race) is four times that of the general South African population. There are 40,000 white farmers in South Africa. Since 1994 close to three thousand farmers have been murdered in thousands of farm attacks, with many being brutally torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d and/or rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d. Some victims have been burned with smoothing irons or had boiling water poured down their throats.
Afrikaner diaspora and emigration
Since 1994 there has been significant emigration of skilled white persons from South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. There are thus currently large Afrikaner and English South African communities in the UK and other developed nations. Since 1994, more than one million South Africans have emigrated, citing violent and racially motivated crime as the main reason. Farmers have emigrated to other parts of Africa to develop efficient commercial farming there. See human capital flight in South Africa for details.
Namibia
There were 133,324 speakers of Afrikaans in Namibia, forming 9.5% of the total national population, according to the 1991 census. However the majority of these speakers come from the Coloured and Baster communities. Afrikaners are mostly found in WindhoekWindhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
and in the Southern provinces.
Global presence
A significant number of Afrikaners have migrated to countries such as CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Netherlands, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
A large number of young Afrikaners are taking advantage of working holiday visa
Working holiday visa
A working holiday visa is a travel permit which allows travellers to undertake employment in the country issuing the visa for the purpose of supplementing their travel funds....
s made available by the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
countries, as well as the Netherlands and Belgium, to gain work experience. The scheme under which UK working holiday visas were issued ended on the 27th November 2008 and has been replaced by the Tier 5 (Youth Mobility) visa. South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
is unlikely to partake in this scheme.
As of 2011, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
is encouraging Afrikaner immigration to help kickstart the country's agriculture industry, which has declined significantly since the fall of communism.
Religion
Mainly ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, the Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
of Boers in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
developed in much the same way as the New England colonies in North America. The original South African Boer republics were founded on the principles of the Dutch Reformed Church.
A good example of how the Boer culture and religion interlinked can be seen when gold was discovered in Johannesburg. The Boer community desperately tried to keep it a secret for fear that exploitation of the resource would lead to moral degradation of the Republic. Even after the mines were running, the Boers did not get involved and kept to farming.
Language
The Afrikaans language changed over time from the DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
spoken by the first white settlers at the Cape
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. From the late 17th century, the form of Dutch spoken at the Cape developed differences, mostly in morphology but also in pronunciation and accent and, to a lesser extent, in syntax and vocabulary, from that of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, although the languages are still similar enough to be mutually intelligible. Settlers who arrived speaking German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
soon shifted to using Dutch and later Afrikaans. The process of language change
Language change
Language change is the phenomenon whereby phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of language vary over time. The effect on language over time is known as diachronic change. Two linguistic disciplines in particular concern themselves with studying language change:...
was influenced by the languages spoken by slaves, Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
and people of mixed descent, as well as by Cape Malay, Zulu, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
. While the Dutch of the Netherlands remained the official language, the new dialect, often known as Cape Dutch, African Dutch, "Kitchen Dutch", or "Taal" (meaning language in Afrikaans) developed into a separate language by the 19th century, with much work done by the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
The Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners was formed on 14 August 1875 in the town of Paarl by a group of Afrikaans speakers from the current Western Cape region...
and other writers such as Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven
Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven
Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven , wrote under the pen name C.J. Langenhoven and was better known as Sagmoedige Neelsie or Kerneels. He had a formidable role in South Africa's Afrikaans literature and cultural history, and was one of the young language's foremost promoters...
. In a 1925 act of Parliament, Afrikaans replaced standard Dutch as one of the two official languages of the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
. There was much objection to the attempt to legislate the creation of Afrikaans as a new language. Marthinus Steyn, a prominent jurist and politician, and others were vocal in their opposition. They perceived that legalization of Afrikaans as an official language would only serve to isolate the Afrikaners, as they would be the only people in the world to speak Afrikaans. Steyn, who died before 1925, had been educated in Holland and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was a worldly cosmopolitan figure. Today, Afrikaans is recognised as one of the eleven official languages of the new South Africa
Languages of South Africa
South Africa has eleven official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. Fewer than one percent of South Africans speak a first language other than an official one. Most South Africans can speak more than one language. Dutch and...
, and is widely accepted as an appropriate means of communication for a large number of South Africans.
Literature
Afrikaners have a long literary tradition, and have produced a number of notable novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ists and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s, including Eugene Marais
Eugene Marais
Eugène Nielen Marais was a South African lawyer, naturalist, poet and writer.- His early years, before and during the Boer War :Marais was born in Pretoria, the thirteenth and last child of his parents, Jan Christiaan Nielen Marais and Catharina Helena Cornelia van Niekerk...
, Uys Krige
Uys Krige
Mattheus Uys Krige was a South African writer of novels, short stories, poems and plays in both Afrikaans and English. He was born in Bontebokskloof in the Cape Province and educated at the University of Stellenbosch.From 1931 to 1935 he lived in France and Spain, acquiring fluency in both...
, Elisabeth Eybers
Elisabeth Eybers
Elisabeth Françoise Eybers , was a South African poet. Her poetry was mainly in Afrikaans, although she has translated some of her own work into English....
, Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach is a South African writer and painter with French citizenship.-Biography:Breyten Breytenbach was born in Bonnievale, Western Cape, approximately 180 km from Cape Town and 100 km from the southernmost tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas...
, André Brink
André Brink
André Philippus Brink, OIS, is a South African novelist. He writes in Afrikaans and English and is a Professor of English at the University of Cape Town....
, and Etienne Leroux
Etienne Leroux
Etienne Leroux was an influential Afrikaans author and a key member of the South African Sestigers literary movement. He was born on June 13 as Stephanus Petrus Daniël le Roux, son of S.P. Le Roux, a South African Minister of Agriculture....
. See section on
South African literature
Arts
Music is probably the most popular art form among Afrikaners. While the traditional Boeremusiek (Boer Music) and VolkspeleVolkspele
Volkspele is a South African folk dance tradition.Directly translated, Volkspele means "folk games" and can be translated to folk dance. Folk dance was the brain child of South African, Dr. SH Pellisier who was visiting Sweden in 1912 with a friend to become more proficient in carpentry...
(literally, People Games) folk dancing enjoyed popularity in the past, most Afrikaners today favour a variety of international genres and light popular Afrikaans music. American country and western music has enjoyed great popularity and has a strong following among many South Africans. Some also enjoy a social dance event called a sokkie
Sokkie
Sokkie is a style of music and dance unique to Southern Africa and popular mostly with Afrikaners.-Sokkie Dance:Sokkie dance is a style of social ballroom dance with a partner....
. The South African rock band, Seether
Seether
Seether is a post-grunge/alternative metal band from Pretoria, South Africa, formed in 1999. The band is currently signed to Wind-up Records...
, has a hidden track on their album, Karma and Effect
Karma and Effect
Karma and Effect is the third album by the South African post-grunge/alternative metal band Seether. It was released on May 24, 2005 by Wind-up Records. It is certified gold in the US and Canada....
, that is sung in the Afrikaans language. It is titled, Kom Saam Met My, which is translated as Come With Me. There is also an underground rock music movement and bands like the controversial Fokofpolisiekar
Fokofpolisiekar
Fokofpolisiekar is an Afrikaans punk rock band from Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. Due to the obscenity in the name, they are also commonly known simply as Polisiekar or FPK.-Band history:...
have a large following. The television Channel MK (channel) also supports local Afrikaans music and mainly screen videos from the Afrikaans Rock genre.
Also see section on protest music(South African)
Sport
RugbyRugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
are generally considered to be the most popular sports among Afrikaners. Rugby in particular is considered one of the central pillars of the Afrikaner community. The Springboks won the 1995 and 2007 Rugby World Cups.
"Boere-sport" also played a very big role in the Afrikaner history. It consisted of a variety of sports like tug of war
Tug of war
Tug of war, also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war or rope pulling, is a sport that directly pits two teams against each other in a test of strength. The term may also be used as a metaphor to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups, such as a rivalry between two...
, three-legged races, jukskei, skilpadloop (tortoise walk) and other games.
Numismatics
The world's first ounce-denominated gold coin, the KrugerrandKrugerrand
The Krugerrand is a South African gold coin, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. The coin, produced by the South African Mint, proved popular and by 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the gold coin market. The name itself is a compound of Kruger and rand, the South...
was struck at the South African Mint on the third of July 1967. The name Krugerrand was derived from Kruger (President Paul Kruger
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
) and rand the monetary unit of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The Rand
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
is associated with the area called Witwatersrand, "the ridge of white water" an important gold producing area.
In April 2007, the South African Mint coined a collectors R1 gold coin commemorating the Afrikaner people as part of its cultural series, depicting the Great Trek across the Drakensberg mountains.
Cultural
The Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV) (Afrikaans Language and Culture Society) is responsible for promoting the Afrikaans language and culture.Die Voortrekkers
Voortrekkers (youth organization)
The Voortrekkers is an Afrikaans language youth organisation founded in South Africa in 1931.-Mission, values and principles:In the words of its mission statement, "Die Voortrekkers empowers the Afrikaner to be successful as positive citizens and dependable Christians."Its Values are encapsulated...
is a youth movement for Afrikaners in South Africa and Namibia with a membership of over 10 000 active members to promote cultural values, maintaining norms and standards as Christians, and being accountable members of public society.
Political
An estimated 82% of Afrikaners supported the Democratic Alliance, the official opposition party, in the 2009 general electionSouth African general election, 2009
South Africa held national and provincial elections to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province on 22 April 2009....
.
Smaller numbers are involved in nationalist or separatist political organizations. The Freedom Front Plus is an Afrikaner ethnic political party in the Republican tradition, which lobbies for minority rights to be granted to all of the South African ethnic minorities. The Freedom Front Plus is also leading the Volkstaat
Volkstaat
Volkstaat is a proposal for the establishment of self determination for the Boer and Afrikaners minority in South Africa according to federal principles, alluding to full independence in the form of a homeland for Boer and Afrikaners....
initiative and is closely associated with the small town of Orania.
See also
- Afrikaner CalvinismAfrikaner CalvinismAfrikaner Calvinism is, according to theory, a unique cultural development that combined the Calvinist religion with the political aspirations of the white Afrikaans speaking people of South Africa....
- Afrikaner nationalismAfrikaner nationalismAfrikaner nationalism is a political ideology that was born in the late 19th century around the idea that Afrikaners in South Africa were a "chosen people"; it was also strongly influenced by anti-British sentiments that grew strong among the Afrikaners, especially because of the Boer Wars...
- Afrikaner cattleAfrikaner cattleAfrikaner cattle are a hardy breed of beef cattle which are popular in South Africa. In Afrikaans, this breed is called Afrikanerbees.The Afrikaner is a native South African breed, belonging to the Sanga type...
- Anglo-AfricanAnglo-AfricanAnglo-Africans are primarily White African people of largely British descent who live or come from Sub-Saharan Africa and are Anglophone. A large majority live in South Africa...
s - Afrikaner-JewsAfrikaner-JewsAfrikaner-Jews or Boere-Jode as they are sometimes known, are an off-shoot of Afrikanerdom and Judaism. At the beginning of the 19th century, when greater freedom of religious practice was introduced in South Africa, small numbers of Ashkenazi Jews arrived from Britain and Germany. They established...
- Ethnic groups in Africa
- Huguenots in South AfricaHuguenots in South AfricaA large number of people in South Africa are descended from Huguenots. Most of these originally settled in the Cape Colony, but have since been quickly absorbed into the Afrikaner and Afrikaans population, thanks to sharing a similar religion to the Dutch colonists.-History:Even before the large...
- White South Africans
- White peopleWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
- White Africans
- BoerBoerBoer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
- Cape ColouredsCape ColouredsThe Cape Coloureds form a minority group within South Africa, however they are the predominant population group in the Western Cape. They are generally bilingual, however subsets within the group can be exclusively Afrikaans speakers, whereas others primarily speak English...
- Cape DutchCape DutchCape Dutch are people of the Western Cape of South Africa who descended primarily from Dutch and Flemish as well as smaller numbers of French, German and other European immigrants along with a percentage of their Asian and African slaves, who, from the 17th century into the 19th century, remained...
- Cape MalaysCape MalaysThe Cape Malay community is an ethnic group or community in South Africa. It derives its name from the present-day Western Cape of South Africa and the people originally from Maritime Southeast Asia, mostly Javanese from modern-day Indonesia, a Dutch colony for several centuries, and Dutch...
- Culture of South AfricaCulture of South AfricaSouth Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Therefore, there is no single culture of South Africa.The South African black majority still has a substantial number of rural inhabitants who lead largely impoverished lives...
External links
- The Historical Heritage of The Afrikaner Nation
- South Africa - Poor Whites
- South Africa: Poor whites are strangers in a new land
- 2001 Digital Census Atlas
- Nationalism Captures The State.
- The Afrikaners of South Africa. Afrique du Sud mSN Encarta(Archived 2009-10-31)
- Boer soldiers
- British Policies and Afrikaner Discontent
- The genetic heritage of one Afrikaner family(Archived 2009-10-24)
- Afrikaans Wiki
- ATKV - Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging
- Some Boer characteristics, by George Lacy (The North American ReviewNorth American ReviewThe North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. Founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others, it was published continuously until 1940, when publication was suspended due to J. H. Smyth, who had purchased the magazine, being unmasked as a Japanese...
/ Volume 170, Issue 518, January 1900) - Arthur Conan Doyle's description of Afrikaners/ Boere.
- Between Acknowledgement and Ignorance:How white South Africans have dealt with the apartheid past
- South Africa Suspends Disposal Of State Mining Assets
- Du Toit, Brian M. 1998. The Boers in East Africa: Ethnicity and Identity. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
- Gilliomee, Hermann. 1989. The Beginnings of Afrikaner Ethnic Consciousness, 1850–1915, in Leroy Vail (ed.) The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa. London/ Berkeley: Currey University of California Press, 1989.
- Mackenzie, S.P. 1997. Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Era: A Revisionist Approach. Routledge.
- Van der Watt, Liese. 1997. 'Savagery and civilisation': race as a signifier of difference in Afrikaner nationalist art, De Arte 55.