Trekboer
Encyclopedia
The Trekboers were nomadic pastoralists descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch colonists
, French Huguenots and German Protestants. The Trekboere began migrating from the areas surrounding what is now Cape Town
(such as Paarl
, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek) during the 17th century throughout the 18th century.
rule of the Dutch East India Company
(or VOC), which administered the Cape, and who they saw as tainted with corruption and unconcerned with the interests of the free burghers, a social class from which most of the Trekboers came from.
Trekboere also traded with indigenous people. This meant that their herds were of hardy local stock. They formed a vital link between the pool of animals in the interior and the providers of shipping provisions at the Cape. Trekboere tended to live in the wagons in which they traveled, and rarely remained in one location for an extended period of time. A number of Trekboere settled in the eastern Cape, where their descendants were soon known as Grensboere (Border Farmers), or later called simply Boers (which is a Dutch
word for "farmers").
and American Revolution
, a group of Boers rebelled against Dutch
rule
and set up independent republics in the towns of Graaff-Reinet, and four months later, in Swellendam
in 1795. A few months later the VOC was taken over by the Dutch state that was its self under threat from the new post-revolution French government
.
The Trekboers independence efforts were reversed by the British
in 1796 upon their acquisition of the Cape as a result of the Napoleonic Wars
. A generation later another group of Boers resisted the administration of British legislation in 1815. This led to a rebellion at Slagters Nek in which the British executed some of the Boer leaders of the rebellion. Because of further British encroachments, constant border wars with the Xhosa to the east, as well as growing land shortages, a large number of the Boer settlers of the eastern Cape became Voortrekkers
.
While numerous trekboere settled down to become border farmers for a few generations and later voortrekkers
, trekboere continued to exist well into the 20th century as an economic class of nomadic pastoralists.
Many Trekboere crossed the Orange River
decades before the Voortrekkers did. Voortrekkers often encountered Trekboere in Transorangia during the Great Trek. In 1815 a Trekboer/trader named Coenraad (Du) Buys (a surname of French Huguenot origin) was accused of cattle theft and fled from the British. He settled in the (western) Transvaal
. He was said to have polygamous marriages to hundreds of indigenous women, with his descendants' populating the town of Buysplaas in the Gourits River
valley. He continued his rich marriage life after leaving the colony. Descendants of this second marriage series still live in the small town of Buysville, near the mission station of Mara, 20 km to the west of Louis Trichardt in the modern Limpopo province. Buys eventually disappeared while traveling along the Limpopo River.
During the late 19th century, both the Trekboere and the Voortrekkers were collectively called Boers.
During the 20th century, both Boers and the Cape Dutch
—those who did not trek eastward and remained in the Western Cape—would become known as Afrikaners, a term that was applied to all Afrikaans speakers of Western and Central European (Dutch, German, French Huguenot) ancestry. The term later sometimes included non-White Afrikaans speakers (chiefly those who became known as Coloured
s in the Cape Province) as well. In recent times, however, many of the descendants of the Trekboers have preferred to be called the boerevolk.
The Trekboers spoke a language which was called die taal (lit. 'the language')—though later it was classified as Eastern Border Afrikaans
or East Cape Afrikaans. This language originated from 17th and 18th century Dutch dialects, but over time it became a distinct language, with numerous words having non-Dutch origins, mainly words taken from French, German, Portuguese, Malay
, Khoi
, and later English.
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 Huguenots and German Protestants. The Trekboere began migrating from the areas surrounding what is now Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
(such as Paarl
Paarl
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...
, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek) during the 17th century throughout the 18th century.
Origins
The Trekboere were semi-nomadic pastoralists, subsistence farmers who began trekking both northwards and eastwards into the interior to find better pastures/farm lands for their livestock to graze as well as to escape the autocraticAutocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
rule of 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...
(or VOC), which administered the Cape, and who they saw as tainted with corruption and unconcerned with the interests of the free burghers, a social class from which most of the Trekboers came from.
Trekboere also traded with indigenous people. This meant that their herds were of hardy local stock. They formed a vital link between the pool of animals in the interior and the providers of shipping provisions at the Cape. Trekboere tended to live in the wagons in which they traveled, and rarely remained in one location for an extended period of time. A number of Trekboere settled in the eastern Cape, where their descendants were soon known as Grensboere (Border Farmers), or later called simply Boers (which is a 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...
word for "farmers").
Expansion
Despite the VOC's attempts to prevent settler expansion beyond the western Cape the frontier of the Colony remained open as the authorities in Cape Town lacked the means to police the colonies borders. By the 1740s the first of the Trekboers had entered the Little Karoo. By the 1760s they reached the deep interior of the Great Karoo.Independent Republics
Due to the collapse of the VOC and inspired by the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, a group of Boers rebelled against Dutch
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...
rule
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
and set up independent republics in the towns of Graaff-Reinet, and four months later, in Swellendam
Swellendam
Swellendam is the third oldest town in the Republic of South Africa, a town with 28,072 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 National monuments most of them buildings of Cape Dutch architecture....
in 1795. A few months later the VOC was taken over by the Dutch state that was its self under threat from the new post-revolution French government
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
.
The Trekboers independence efforts were reversed by the British
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...
in 1796 upon their acquisition of the Cape as a result of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. A generation later another group of Boers resisted the administration of British legislation in 1815. This led to a rebellion at Slagters Nek in which the British executed some of the Boer leaders of the rebellion. Because of further British encroachments, constant border wars with the Xhosa to the east, as well as growing land shortages, a large number of the Boer settlers of the eastern Cape became 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...
.
Legacy
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...
, trekboere continued to exist well into the 20th century as an economic class of nomadic pastoralists.
Many Trekboere crossed the Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
decades before the Voortrekkers did. Voortrekkers often encountered Trekboere in Transorangia during the Great Trek. In 1815 a Trekboer/trader named Coenraad (Du) Buys (a surname of French Huguenot origin) was accused of cattle theft and fled from the British. He settled in the (western) 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...
. He was said to have polygamous marriages to hundreds of indigenous women, with his descendants' populating the town of Buysplaas in the Gourits River
Gourits River
Gourits River, sometimes spelled Gouritz River, is situated in the Western Cape, South Africa.The Gourits River flows from the confluence of the Gamka River and Olifants River and is joined by the Groot River, before flowing through the Langeberg Mountains and coastal plain. It eventually drains...
valley. He continued his rich marriage life after leaving the colony. Descendants of this second marriage series still live in the small town of Buysville, near the mission station of Mara, 20 km to the west of Louis Trichardt in the modern Limpopo province. Buys eventually disappeared while traveling along the Limpopo River.
During the late 19th century, both the Trekboere and the Voortrekkers were collectively called Boers.
During the 20th century, both Boers and the 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...
—those who did not trek eastward and remained in the Western Cape—would become known as Afrikaners, a term that was applied to all Afrikaans speakers of Western and Central European (Dutch, German, French Huguenot) ancestry. The term later sometimes included non-White Afrikaans speakers (chiefly those who became known as 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,...
s in the Cape Province) as well. In recent times, however, many of the descendants of the Trekboers have preferred to be called the boerevolk.
Language
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...
or East Cape Afrikaans. This language originated from 17th and 18th century Dutch dialects, but over time it became a distinct language, with numerous words having non-Dutch origins, mainly words taken from French, German, Portuguese, Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, Khoi
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 later English.
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...
- 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,...
- Boer republicsBoer RepublicsThe Boer Republics were independent self-governed republics created by the northeastern frontier branch of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the north eastern Cape Province and their descendants in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of...
- History of Cape Colony Pre-1806