Boers of South Africa | History, Culture & Traditions

Who were the Boers?

Jan van Riebeek, a Dutchman, founded Cape Town as the first colony of Europe in South Africa in 1653. More immigrants from the Netherlands, France, and Germany came as the colony expanded. The Boers were the name given to these people.

British Control

The British started to dominate the area in the early 1800s. In 1814, as part of the Congress of Vienna, the Netherlands ceded control of the colony to Britain despite resistance from the Boers. Thousands of British colonists soon made their way to South Africa. They made numerous modifications to the Boers’ laws and manner of life.

Great Trek

Boers disapproved of British control. They made the decision to relocate their colony from Cape Town. Thousands of Boers began migrating in large numbers to new areas in South Africa’s north and east starting in 1835. The Transvaal and the Orange Free State are examples of the Boer republics they founded as independent free states. They were referred to as “Voortrekkers.”

(1880–1881) First Boer War

On Boer lands, diamonds were found in 1868. As a result, a large number of British people moved into the Boer region. In 1877, the British decided they wanted to have authority over the Transvaal and incorporated it into their province. The Boers did not take this well. The First Boer War began in 1880 with a rebellion of Transvaal Boers against the British.

The British were unprepared for the Boer soldiers’ competence and strategy. They were excellent shooters. If the British soldiers approached too closely, they would launch a distant attack before retreating. The Boer side won the conflict. The Transvaal and the Orange Free State were accepted as separate nations by the British.

Second Boer War (1889 – 1902)

In the Transvaal, gold was found in 1886. The Transvaal may have become quite strong as a result of this new wealth. The Boers’ potential conquest of all of South Africa worried the British. The Second Boer War started in 1889.

The British had forecast a brief duration of the conflict. But the Boers showed themselves to be fierce competitors once more. The British finally overcame the Boers after a protracted struggle. The Transvaal and the Orange Free State both joined the British Empire.

Camps for Concentration

Boer women and children were housed in concentration camps by the British as they seized territory during the Second Boer War. The circumstances in these camps were appalling. In these camps, as many as 28,000 Boer women and children perished. Later, the use of these camps was made to incite rebellion to British control.

Interesting information about the African Boers

In Dutch, “boer” is the word for farmer.

The Boers were a subset of the Afrikaners, a broader group of white South Africans.

The Second Boer War involved other countries. Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands fought with the Boers, while Australia and India supported the British.

After the Second Boer War, a large number of Boers left South Africa. They visited countries such as Argentina, Kenya, Mexico, and the US.

At the commencement of World War I, the Boers made an attempt to overthrow the British. The Maritz Rebellion was the name of this.