122-548: Mthwakazi is the traditional name of the proto-Ndebele people and Ndebele kingdom and is located in between Sanyati river and Limpopo River in the area of today's Zimbabwe . Mthwakazi is widely used to refer to inhabitants of Matebeleland Province in Zimbabwe. The word Matabele is an anglicised term that was used by the British, a spelling that is still common in older texts, because they found it difficult to pronounce
244-402: A central place, such as a school or a borehole, where they would beat the civilians with sticks and force them to sing songs praising ZANU. These gatherings usually ended with public executions. Those killed included ex-ZIPRA guerrillas, ZAPU officials, and civilians perceived as dissidents Boer Boers ( / b ʊər z / BOORZ ; Afrikaans : Boere ; [ˈbuːrə] ) are
366-467: A few of his elite warriors. The BSAC moved into the remains of koBulawayo, establishing a base, which they renamed KwaBulawayo, and then sent out patrols to find Lobengula. The most famous of these patrols, the Shangani Patrol , managed to find Lobengula, only to be trapped and wiped out in battle. The British were vastly outnumbered throughout the war, but their superior armaments, most notably
488-687: A minority of Boer culture, who see their role in society as abiding by the national laws and accepting calamity and hardship as part of their Christian duty. Many Boers have since converted denominations and are now members of Baptist , Charismatic , Pentecostal or Lutheran Churches . During recent times, mainly during the apartheid reform and post-1994 eras, some white Afrikaans -speaking people, mainly with conservative political views, and of Trekboer and Voortrekker descent, have chosen to be called Boere , rather than Afrikaners , to distinguish their identity. They believe that many people of Voortrekker descent were not assimilated into what they see as
610-788: A nine-day battle, they destroyed eGabeni and other Matabele camps along the Marico River. Mzilikazi—realizing that the Ndebele, like the Sotho, did not stand a chance against the Boers, who were heavily armed with guns and rifles—decided to retreat with his regiments and loyalists from the Marico Valley. He moved to present-day Matabeleland South where the amaNdebele people overwhelmed the indigenous Rozvi people and Kalanga people —who were already crumbling due to leadership squabbles after
732-597: A period of serious civil war. Lobengula faced a rebellion in June 1870, and in 1872 he repelled an invasion by Mangwane and a pretender backed by the British authorities in the colony of Natal . Lobengula maintained Mthwakazi power over a huge section of (Zimbabwean) highveld until the Witwatersrand gold discoveries of 1886 drew attention to the gold in Mthwakazi kingdom and in the neighbouring Mashonaland . Soon after,
854-473: A result of the representations of the missionaries, of equal rights with whites to the Khoikhoi and other free coloured people, the imposition (1830) of heavy penalties for harsh treatment of enslaved people, and finally the emancipation of the enslaved people in 1834, were measures which combined to aggravate the farmers' dislike of government. Moreover, what the Boers viewed as the inadequate compensation for
976-778: A rival nation. Mzilikazi and his allies continued on to raid and occupy the chiefdoms of the Sotho people and the Southern Ndebele , who had been significantly weakened by the Dutch–Afrikaner settlers (Boers) from the Cape Colonies. This happened during a turbulent period of civil conflict in Nguni and Sotho–Tswana history, known as the Mfecane ("the crushing" or "the scattering"). Mzilikazi's regiments moved north-west to
1098-875: A separate people or cultural group under international law by the Sand River Convention (which created the South African Republic in 1852), the Bloemfontein Convention (which created the Orange Free State Republic in 1854), the Pretoria Convention (which re-established the independence of the South African Republic 1881), the London Convention (which granted the full independence to the South African Republic in 1884), and
1220-616: A song, "Kudala kwakunganje, umhlaba uyaphenduka, kwakubusa uMambo no Mzilikazi" loosely translated as "A long time ago, it wasn't like this, Mambo and Mzilikazi ruled together." One thing to point out was that there were many different tribes living in this large territory. The Kalanga people can be seen in Botswana and Zimbabwe, just like the Nambya and Tonga are both in Zambia and Zimbabwe for example. These tribes and others were assimilated by
1342-557: A sovereign state that was recognized by both neighbouring African states and foreign powers. Mthwakazi has a long history of diverse cultures and arts. Imbongi (poets) began poetically describing the wonderful social structure of Mthwakazi with references like uMbuthwa okazi (the great collective union). Mzilikazi is said to have marvelled at the great diverse and collective union saying "Saze sabasihle isizwe sakoMthwakazi, uMbuthwa okazi!, undlela zimhlophe!, njenginsimu yamaluba", loosely translated as: "O, how beautiful, great and diverse
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#17327725172981464-554: A treaty of friendship was signed with the British in February 1888 (the Moffat Treaty), however it was distorted by the British government in order to declare the kingdom a British protectorate. In October 1888 Lobengula signed a limited mineral concession with a group of Cecil Rhodes 's business associates, led by C. D. Rudd, but it too was distorted: manipulated to appear as a gold concession to his entire kingdom, in 1889 it
1586-604: A treaty with Mzilikazi. Mzilikazi died on 9 September 1868, near Bulawayo. His son, Lobengula , succeeded him as king. Lobengula established a state that held sovereignty over the region between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers to the north and south and between the desert of the Makgadikgadi salt pans to the west and the Save River to the east. In exchange for wealth and arms, Lobengula granted several concessions to
1708-596: Is a West Germanic language spoken widely in South Africa and Namibia , and to a lesser extent in Botswana and Zimbabwe . It evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland ( Hollandic dialect ) spoken by the mainly Dutch colonists of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century. Hence, it is a daughter language of Dutch, and
1830-673: Is a federation of 47 Calvinist private schools, primarily in the Free State and the Transvaal, committed to educating Boer children from grade 0 through to 12. Some local radio stations promote the ideals of those who identify with the Boer people, like Radio Rosestad 100.6 FM (in Bloemfontein), Overvaal Stereo and Radio Pretoria . An internet-based radio station, Boerevolk Radio , promotes Boer separatism. Territorial areas in
1952-779: The African National Congress of South Africa), and the South West Africa People's Organization ( SWAPO ) fighters was a major threat to Zambia's internal security. Because ZAPU's political strategy relied more heavily on negotiations than armed force, ZIPRA did not grow as quickly or elaborately as the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), but by 1979 it had an estimated 20,000 combatants, almost all based in camps around Lusaka, Zambia. The Gukurahundi ( Shona : "the early rain which washes away
2074-652: The Boer designation view the term Afrikaner as an artificial political label which usurped their history and culture, turning Boer achievements into Afrikaner achievements. They feel that the Western-Cape based Afrikaners – whose ancestors did not trek eastwards or northwards – took advantage of the republican Boers' destitution following the Anglo-Boer War. At that time, the Afrikaners attempted to assimilate
2196-589: The British South Africa Company (BSAC) in 1889. As part of the agreement, BSAC would pay Lobengula 100 pounds a month, 1,000 rifles, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, and a riverboat. Lobengula had hoped that the Rudd Concession would diminish European incursions. However, as white settlers moved in, BSAC set up its government, made its laws, and set its sights on more mineral rights and territorial concessions. The social organization of
2318-577: The Cape -based Afrikaner identity. They suggest that this developed after the Second Anglo-Boer War and the subsequent establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Some Boer nationalists have asserted that they do not identify as a right-wing element of the political spectrum. They contend that the Boers of the South African Republic and Orange Free State republics were recognised as
2440-569: The Great Fish River the common boundary. In 1795 the heavily taxed burghers of the frontier districts, who were afforded no protection against the Bantus, expelled the VOC officials, and set up independent governments at Swellendam and Graaff Reinet. The trekboers of the 19th century were the lineal descendants of the trekboers of the 18th century. The end of the 19th century saw a revival of
2562-576: The Liesbeek River for farming purposes in 1657. The two areas which were allocated to the freemen, for agricultural purposes, were named Groeneveld and Dutch Garden. These areas were separated by the Amstel River (Liesbeek River). Nine of the best applicants were selected to use the land for agricultural purposes. The freemen or free burghers as they were afterwards termed, thus became subjects of VOC and were no longer its servants. In 1671,
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#17327725172982684-545: The Maxim gun , proved too much for the Ndebele. In an attempt to reach a peace accord with the British, a band of Lobengula's warriors brought a large sum of gold to two BSAC soldiers to be delivered to their superiors. The two soldiers instead decided to keep the gold for themselves, and the incident went undiscovered for many months. Lobengula chose to escape; he was last seen crossing the Shangani River . In March 1896,
2806-829: The Northern Ndebele language (siNdebele) are found in Zimbabwe and as amaZulu in South Africa . They differ from Southern Ndebele people who speak isiNdebele of KwaNdebele . The Northern Ndebele language spoken by the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe is generally the same as the isiZulu language spoken by the Zulu people of South Africa with a few pronunciation and word meaning differences. Northern Ndebele spoken in Zimbabwe and Southern Ndebele (or Transvaal Ndebele) spoken in South Africa are separate but related languages with some degree of mutual intelligibility, although
2928-658: The Patagonia region of Argentina and to Brazil . Another group emigrated to the British colony of Kenya , from where most returned to South Africa during the 1930s, while a third group under the leadership of General Ben Viljoen emigrated to Mexico and to New Mexico and Texas in the southwestern United States. The Maritz Rebellion (also known as the Boer Revolt, the Five Shilling Rebellion or
3050-634: The Vereeniging Peace Treaty , which formally ended the Second Anglo-Boer War on 31 May 1902. Others contend, however, that these treaties dealt only with agreements between governmental entities and do not imply the recognition of a Boer cultural identity per se . The supporters of these views feel that the Afrikaner label was used from the 1930s onwards as a means of politically unifying the white Afrikaans speakers of
3172-569: The War of the Third Coalition broke out in 1803, a British force was once again sent to the Cape. After an engagement (January 1806) on the shores of Table Bay, the Dutch garrison of Castle of Good Hope surrendered to the British under Sir David Baird , and in the 1814 Anglo-Dutch treaty the colony was ceded outright by The Netherlands to the British crown . At that time the colony extended to
3294-595: The chaff before the spring rains" ) refers to the civil suppression by Zimbabwe's 5th Brigade in the predominantly Ndebele-speaking region of Matabeleland, most of whom were supporters of Joshua Nkomo and ZAPU. Robert Mugabe , then prime minister, had signed an agreement with North Korean President Kim Il Sung in October 1980 to have the North Korean military train a brigade for the Zimbabwean army. This
3416-465: The "Rule by Conquest" for more than 120 years, has been perpetuated to deny Mthwakazi statehood, subjecting it to alien interest, domination, subjugation and rendering the rulers to corruptly exploit Mthwakazi's economic resources. The "Rule by Conquest" emerged as an unprovoked invasion by mercenaries of the BSAC, and violated the 1888 Moffat Treaty of Peace and Unity. The BSAC was originally promulgated by
3538-488: The 18th century. She was the matriarch of the abaThwa, the San people. With the arrival of Bantu people, Mthwakazi territory became, increasingly, a center of diverse cultures. These local groups maintained their local autonomy, however, boundaries were fluid and intermarriages were common. The later arrival of the Nguni peoples, in the late 18th century and early 19th century, saw the intercultural society of Mthwakazi evolving into
3660-638: The BSA Co another half being shared equal between officers and men, a share of the Kingdoms' mineral consisting of two 20 liters tins of biscuit one full of pure gold with another one full of uncut diamonds all worth 10 million sovereign pounds and a provision of forced and cheap labour of the conquered people once Mthwakazi was conquered". On 18 July 1894, the British government promulgated the Matabeleland Order-in-Council, legitimizing
3782-504: The BSAC administrator after 1891, induced settlers and some native Mashonaland inhabitants to join an invading force against Lobengula's Mthwakazi kingdom in September 1893 with promises of gold claims, land, and cattle. To justify the invasion, claims were made that the Ndebele intended to attack Mashonaland. Faced with this attack as well as a simultaneous invasion by imperial troops from the south, Lobengula left his capital, Bulawayo, and
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3904-552: The Boers into the new politically based cultural label. In contemporary South Africa, Boer and Afrikaner have often been used interchangeably. Afrikaner directly translated means African , and thus refers to all Afrikaans-speaking people in Africa who have their origins in the Cape Colony founded by Jan Van Riebeeck. Boer is a specific group within the larger Afrikaans-speaking population. During apartheid, Boer
4026-599: The British Colonial Government before leaving the Cape Colony as reasons for their departure. Piet Retief , one of the leaders of the Boers during the time, addressed a letter to the government on 22 January 1837 in Grahamstown stating that the Boers did not see any prospect for peace or happiness for their children in a country with such internal commotions. Retief further complained about the severe financial losses which they felt had resulted from
4148-454: The British during their eight years' rule. One of the first acts of General Craig had been to abolish torture in the administration of justice. The country still remained essentially Dutch, and few British citizens were attracted to it. Its cost to the British exchequer during this period was £ 16,000,000. The Batavian Republic entertained very liberal views as to the administration of the country, but had little opportunity to enact them. When
4270-691: The British from the Transvaal. The Boers then fought the Second Boer War in the late 19th and early 20th century against the British in order to ensure the republics of the Transvaal (the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek ) and the Orange Free State , remaining independent, ultimately capitulating in 1902. After the Second Boer War, a Boer diaspora occurred. Starting in 1903, the largest group emigrated to
4392-559: The British government through a royal charter on 29 October 1889. On 14 August 1893, at Fort Victoria in British Mashonaland Protectorate the BSA Co signed a secret contract called the Victoria Agreement pledging to give each mercenary "a free farm 6,000 acres with the title deed value of 9,000 sovereign pounds, 15 gold reefs, 5 gold alluviums, a share of looted cattle (600,000) one half going to
4514-406: The British, the most prominent of which was the 1888 Rudd Concession , which permitted British mining and colonisation of Zimbabwe and prohibited all Boer settlement in the country. This concession gave Cecil Rhodes exclusive mineral rights in much of the lands east of his main territory. As gold was already known to exist in that area, the concession enabled Rhodes to obtain a royal charter to form
4636-415: The Cape after serving their contracts. A large number of vrijburgers became independent farmers and applied for grants of land, as well as loans of seed and tools, from VOC administration. VOC authorities had been endeavouring to induce gardeners and small farmers to emigrate from Europe to South Africa, but with little success. They were only able to attract a few families through tales of wealth, but
4758-575: The Cape and the British abolition of slavery in 1833. The term Afrikaners or Afrikaans people is generally used in modern-day South Africa for the white Afrikaans-speaking population of South Africa (the largest group of White South Africans ) encompassing the descendants of both the Boers, and the Cape Dutch who did not embark on the Great Trek . The Dutch East India Company ( Dutch : Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie ; VOC)
4880-485: The Cape had little charm in comparison. In October 1670, however, the Chamber of Amsterdam announced that a few families were willing to leave for the Cape and Mauritius during the following December. Among the new names of burghers at this time are Jacob and Dirk van Niekerk, Johannes van As, Francois Villion, Jacob Brouwer, Jan van Eden, Hermanus Potgieter, Albertus Gildenhuis, and Jacobus van den Berg. During 1688–1689,
5002-455: The Cape. As a result, the VOC sent a Dutch expedition in 1652 led by Jan van Riebeek , who constructed a fort and laid out vegetable gardens at Table Bay and took control over Cape Town, which he governed for a decade. VOC favoured the idea of freemen at the Cape and many workers of VOC requested to be discharged in order to become free burghers. As a result, Jan van Riebeek approved the notion on favourable conditions and earmarked two areas near
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5124-511: The Dutch first purchased land from the indigenous Khoikhoi beyond the limits of the fort built by Van Riebeek; this marked the development of the Colony proper . As the result of the investigations of a 1685 commissioner, the government worked to recruit a greater variety of immigrants to develop a stable community. They formed part of the class of vrijlieden , also known as vrijburgers ('free citizens'), former VOC employees who remained at
5246-555: The Fifth Brigade lasted until September 1982, when Minister Sekeramayi announced training was complete. The first commander of the Fifth Brigade was Colonel Perrance Shiri . The Fifth Brigade differed from all other Zimbabwean army units in that it was directly subordinate to the prime minister's office and not integrated into the regular army command structures. Their codes, uniforms, radios, and equipment were incompatible with other army units. Their most distinguishing feature in
5368-525: The Huguenots assimilating by the middle of the 18th century, with a loss in the use and knowledge of French . The colony gradually spread eastwards, and in 1754 land as far as Algoa Bay was included in the colony. At this time the European colonists numbered eight to ten thousand. They possessed numerous slaves, grew wheat in sufficient quantity to make it a commodity crop for export, and were famed for
5490-803: The Karanga, Zezuru, Korekore, Ndau and Manyika (made up the eastern Shona dialects). The kingdom united the Kalanga tribe, the Wewuska tribe, the Ngsma tribe and the Tafaka tribe under a strong leadership . This kingdom was often attacked from the south by Vendas and Sotho, east by the Shona and west by the Tswana. His arrival was very welcomed as he gave military support to Mambo's kingdom. Ndebele children played and sang
5612-427: The Limpopo line in battles against the Boer attacks of 1847–1851, were so much that it persuaded the government of the South African Republic to sign a peace treaty in 1852. With time, due to absolute power Mzilikazi was gaining, Mthwakazi developed into a Kingdom. Lobengula , (born c. 1836, Mosega, Transvaal [now in South Africa]—died c. 1894, near Bulawayo, Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]), second and last king (1870–94) of
5734-453: The Marico River, and eGabeni (Kapain), where they also built a sizeable settlement. During the Great Trek of 1836–1838, voortrekkers (Boers) arrived in Transvaal and found Mzilikazi the king of the region, and a threat to their advancement. They fought with him, losing in the first battle. In the second battle in 1837, the Boers (led by Potgieter, Maritz, and Uys) launched another attack on Mzilikazi's military stronghold at eGabeni at dawn. In
5856-403: The Maritz rebels against the British in the Second Boer War. The rebellion was put down by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts , and the ringleaders received heavy fines and terms of imprisonment. One, Jopie Fourie , an officer in the Union Defence Force , was convicted for treason when he refused to take up arms alongside the British, and was executed by the South African government in 1914. Afrikaans
5978-404: The Matebele revolted against the authority of the BSAC in what is now celebrated in Mthwakazi as the First War of Independence. After a year of drought and cattle sickness, Mlimo, the Matebele spiritual leader, is credited with fomenting much of the anger that led to this confrontation. An estimated 50,000 Matebele retreated into their stronghold of the Matobo Hills near KwaBulawayo, which became
6100-437: The Matebele stronghold and persuaded the leaders to lay down their arms. This final uprising thus ended in October 1897; Matebeleland and Mashonaland were later renamed Rhodesia . In 1963 a subset of the main rebel group, Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), split off and formed the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). Though these groups had a common origin, they gradually grew apart, with ZANU mainly recruiting from
6222-556: The Mfecane, Mzilikazi arrived in the region around the 1830s. His arrival brought military strength, Zulu-influenced tactics, and a hierarchical social organization, which were instrumental in his ability to establish dominance. The territory he settled, later called Mthwakazi by the Ndebele, was previously inhabited by groups like the Kalanga and Rozvi, whose societies were impacted by Mzilikazi's expansion. Mzilikazi's settlement involved both conquest and incorporation: he subdued local communities but also assimilated many of their people into
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#17327725172986344-424: The Mthwakazi (Matabele) nation. Lobengula—the son of the founder of the Ndebele kingdom, Mzilikazi—was unable to prevent his kingdom from being annexed by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) in 1893. After Mzilikazi died in September 1868, the succession of Lobengula was not accepted by Mangwane (one of Mzilikazi's older sons) and some of the izinduna (chiefs), and he succeeded to the throne only in 1870 after
6466-427: The Ndebele in Zimbabwe. A strong army was to be established, however, by virtue of Mzilikazi already having a standing army, he became by default the "Commander in Chief of the Armies" ( Inkosi yamabutho ) and men were enlisted to join his army. The Limpopo river was successfully defended and Mzilikazi became by default the leader of the Mthwakazi. The effects of Mthwakazian success, led by Mzilikazi in campaigns defending
6588-399: The Ndebele social structure. This assimilation created a multi-ethnic society under Ndebele rule, with a centralized authority that imposed Ndebele language and customs, while allowing for some preservation of local identities within a tributary framework. Through this process, Mzilikazi transformed Mthwakazi into a cohesive and influential kingdom. His rule brought stability to the area after
6710-427: The Northern Ndebele kingdom. Mzilikazi called his new nation 'Mthwakazi', a Zulu word which means 'something which became big at conception' ( Zulu : into ethe ithwasa yabankulu ). Europeans called the territory 'Matebeleland'. Mzilikazi organized this ethnically diverse nation into a militaristic system of regimental towns and established his capital at Bulawayo . In 1852, the Boer government in Transvaal made
6832-522: The Northern Ndebele language people was rigidly controlled by rules of service and hierarchy inherited from Shaka's reforms among the Zulu. Other subject peoples, such as in Mashonaland , were treated harshly; their lives and property were subject to the King's control and could be disrupted at any time by raids or exactions of tribute. This scene was presented to the British Pioneer Column when they arrived in Mashonaland in 1890. In August 1893, Lobengula sent warriors to Fort Victoria to raid cattle from
6954-481: The Shona people. Although Lobengula's armed warriors won, the British South Africa Company (BSAC) took the opportunity to attack Lobengula in the guise of protecting the Shona. During this confrontation, a fight broke out between BSAC and Matebele, beginning the First Matebele War. Hoping for a quick victory, Leander Starr Jameson sent his BSAC forces to attack the capital koBulawayo and capture Lobengula. Rather than fight, Lobengula burned down his capital and fled with
7076-432: The Shona regions and ZAPU mainly recruiting from Ndebele regions. The Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) was a primarily-Ndebele anti-government force, led by Joshua Nkomo and ZAPU. ZIPRA trained and planned their missions in Zambian bases; however, this was not always with full Zambian government support. By 1979, the combination of the ZIPRA forces based in Zambia, the Umkhonto we Sizwe (the armed wing of
7198-451: The Third Boer War) occurred in 1914 at the start of World War I , in which men who supported the re-creation of the Boer republics rose up against the government of the Union of South Africa because they did not want to side with the British against the German Empire so soon after the war with the British. Many Boers had German ancestry and many members of the government were themselves former Boer military leaders who had fought with
7320-549: The Trekboer group. The Boers possessed a distinct Protestant culture , and the majority of Boers and their descendants were members of a Reformed Church . The Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk ('Dutch Reformed Church') was the national Church of the South African Republic (1852–1902). The Orange Free State (1854–1902) was named after the Protestant House of Orange in the Netherlands . The Calvinist influence, in such fundamental Calvinist doctrines such as unconditional predestination and divine providence , remains present in
7442-419: The VOC, though their grounds for complaint were not the same. In 1792, Moravian missions had been established which targeted the Khoikhoi, and in 1799 the London Missionary Society began work among both Khoikhoi and Bantu peoples. The missionaries' championing of Khoikhoi grievances caused much dissatisfaction among the majority of the Dutch colonists, whose views temporarily prevailed, for in 1812 an ordinance
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#17327725172987564-424: The Victoria Agreement as the jurisdiction of Company rule in Rhodesia by conquest as well as the legal bases of the constitution of the "Rule by Conquest". Once the Matabeleland Order-in-Council was in place, the BSA Co proceeded to expropriate all the fruitful lands from the inter-cultural society of Mthwakazi, dispossessed them of 600,000 cattle and any other valuable properties, displacing people by exiling them to
7686-465: The Western Cape with those of Trekboer and Voortrekker descent in the north of South Africa, where the Boer Republics were established. Since the Anglo-Boer war, the term Boerevolk ('farmer people') was rarely used in the 20th century by the various regimes because of the effort to assimilate the Boerevolk with the Afrikaners. A portion of those who are the descendants of the Boerevolk have reasserted use of this designation. The supporters of
7808-400: The Wonderboom Mountains on the Apies River, just north of present-day Pretoria . Another was Dinaneni, north of the Hartbeespoort Dam , while the third was Hlahlandlela in the territory of the Fokeng near Rustenburg . Mzilikazi and his allies also conquered and occupied the BaHurutshe , whose capital, Mosega, became their military headquarters. They built military strongholds at Tshwenyane,
7930-434: The Xhosas on the frontier led to the 5th Frontier War in 1819. The Xhosas, due to dissatisfaction with vacillating government policies regarding where they were permitted to live, undertook large-scale cattle thefts on the frontier. The Cape government responded with several military expeditions. In 1834 a large Xhosa force moved into the Cape territory, which began the 6th Frontier War. Additional fortifications were built by
8052-415: The area when the British, under the Treaty of Amiens , returned the Cape Colony to the Dutch Batavian Republic in 1803. In January 1806 during a second invasion, the British reoccupied the colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg . Tensions in the Zuurveld led the colonial administration and Boer colonists to expel many of the Xhosa tribes from the area, initiating the 4th Frontier War in 1811. Conflicts between
8174-404: The arrival of the British; when the British arrived, Boer republics had already been declared and were in rebellion from the VOC. The Boers of the frontier were known for their independent spirit, resourcefulness, hardiness, and self-sufficiency, whose political notions verged on anarchy but had begun to be influenced by republicanism. The Boers had cut their ties to Europe as they emerged from
8296-420: The boundary line without success. The Xhosas were accused of stealing cattle and in 1779 a series of skirmishes erupted along the border which initiated the 1st Frontier War. The frontier remained unstable, resulting in the outbreak of the 2nd Frontier War in 1789. Raids carried out by Boers and Xhosas on both sides of the boundary caused much friction in the area which resulted in several groups being drawn into
8418-466: The colony was greatly strengthened by the arrival of nearly two hundred French Huguenots , who were political refugees from the religious wars in France following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes . They joined colonies at Stellenbosch , Drakenstein , Franschhoek and Paarl . The influence of the Huguenots on the character of the colonists was marked, leading to the VOC directing in 1701 that only Dutch should be taught in schools. This resulted in
8540-404: The colony, expressing "the anxious hope that no more extension should take place, and with heavy penalties forbidding the rambling peasants to wander beyond". In 1789, so strong had feelings amongst the burghers become that delegates were sent from the Cape to interview the authorities at Amsterdam . After this deputation, some nominal reforms were granted. It was largely to escape oppression that
8662-410: The conflict. In 1795, the British invasion of the Cape Colony resulted in a change of government. After the government takeover the British began to draw up policies with regards to the frontier resulting in a Boer rebellion in Graaff-Reinet . The policies caused the Khoisan tribes to join some Xhosa chiefs in attacks against British forces during the 3rd Frontier War (1799–1803). Peace was restored to
8784-668: The daughter of the Ndwandwe chief Zwide and sired a son, Mzilikazi . The Ndwandwes were closely related to the Zulus and spoke the same language, Nguni , using different dialects. When Mashobane did not tell Zwide about patrolling Mthethwa amabutho (soldiers), Zwide had Mashobane killed. Thus his son, Mzilikazi, became the leader of the Khumalo. Mzilikazi immediately mistrusted his grandfather, Zwide, and took soldiers to join Shaka. Shaka
8906-441: The death of Changamire Dombo —and eventually carved out a home. During the migration, numerous raided indigenous clans and individuals (such as the Southern Ndebele , Swazi , Sotho–Tswana, and Rozvi ethnic groups) were absorbed into the Ndebele tribe, adopting the Ndebele language and culture. When Europeans arrived in the area, they found Mzilikazi settled with his people. Thus, they called the area Matabeleland , which encompasses
9028-766: The descendants of the proto Afrikaans -speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled Dutch Cape Colony , but the United Kingdom incorporated it into the British Empire in 1806. The name of the group is derived from Trekboer then later "boer", which means "farmer" in Dutch and Afrikaans. In addition,
9150-477: The displeasure of the governor or other high officers was not only exercised with reference to the individuals themselves; it was claimed by the government to be applicable to their children as well. The tyranny caused many to feel desperate and to flee from oppression, even before 1700 trekking began. In 1780, Joachim van Plettenberg , the governor, proclaimed the Sneeuberge to be the northern boundary of
9272-487: The disruption of the Mfecane, establishing the Ndebele as a major political and military power in southwestern Rhodesia, which would remain significant until British colonial occupation in the late 19th century. Mutapa Kingdom . These Shona groups built stone structures such as khami and the great Zimbabwe ruins. The ethnic groups which were found in this "unnamed" area are the Kalanga, Venda, Xhosa, Sotho, Nambya, Tonga and
9394-592: The early 19th century, the Ndebele invaded and lived in territories populated by Sotho – Tswana peoples, who used the plural prefix ma- for certain types of unfamiliar people (or the Nguni prefix ama- ). British explorers—who were first informed of the existence of the Northern Ndebele people by the Sotho–Tswana communities they encountered on their trip north—would have been presented with two variations of
9516-433: The eastern and northeastern parts of the colony were not cultivators of the soil, but of purely pastoral and nomadic habits, ever ready to seek new pastures for their flocks and herds, possessing no special affection for any particular locality. These people, thinly scattered over a wide territory, had lived for so long with little restraint from the law that when, in 1815, by the institution of "Commissions of Circuit", justice
9638-466: The fact that the Khoikhoi, escaping from their former enslavers, flocked to the British standard. The burghers of Graaff Reinet did not surrender until a force had been sent against them; in 1799 and again in 1801 they rose in revolt. In February 1803, as a result of the peace of Amiens (February 1803), the colony was handed over to the Batavian Republic which introduced many reforms, as had
9760-457: The farmers trekked farther and farther from the seat of government. VOC, to control the emigrants, established a magistracy at Swellendam in 1745 and another at Graaff Reinet in 1786. The Gamtoos River had been declared, c. 1740 , the eastern frontier of the colony but it was soon passed. In 1780, however, the Dutch, to avoid collision with the Bantu peoples , agreed with them to make
9882-512: The field was their red berets . After several ZIPRA forces in Lupane and Matopos refused their tools, the Fifth Brigade conducted public executions of ex-ZIPRA soldiers, families, and supporters in the Lupane , Tsholotsho , and Matobo districts. Victims were often forced to re-initiation camps, but those who refused were executed and buried in mass graves. The initial number of executed Ndebeles
10004-456: The former is more closely related to Zulu . Southern Ndebele, while maintaining its Nguni roots, has been influenced by the Sotho languages . The Northern Ndebele, specifically the Khumalo (amaNtungwa) people under Mzilikazi , were originally named Matebele in English. This name is common in older texts because it is the name the British first heard from the Sotho and Tswana peoples. In
10126-543: The freeing of the slaves, and the suspicions engendered by the method of payment, caused much resentment; and in 1835 the farmers again removed themselves to unknown country to escape the government. While emigration beyond the colonial border had been continuous for 150 years, it now took on larger proportions. The migration of the trekboers from the Cape Colony into the Eastern Cape parts of South Africa, where
10248-562: The full assurance that the English Government has nothing more to require of us, and will allow us to govern ourselves without its interference in future". As the Voortrekkers progressed further inland, they continued to establish Boer colonies on the interior of South Africa. Following the British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877, Paul Kruger was a key figure in organizing a Boer resistance which led to expulsion of
10370-430: The good quality of their wines . But their chief wealth was in cattle. They enjoyed considerable prosperity. Through the latter half of the 17th and the whole of the 18th century, troubles arose between the colonists and the government as the VOC administration was despotic . Its policies were not directed at development of the colony, but to using it to profit the VOC. VOC closed the colony against free immigration, kept
10492-597: The government and mounted patrols were not well received by the Xhosas, who continued with raids on farms during the 7th Frontier War (1846–1847). The 8th (1850–1853) and 9th Frontier Wars (1877–1878) continued at the same pace as their predecessors. Eventually the Xhosas were defeated and the territories were brought under British control. The Great Trek occurred between 1835 and the early 1840s. During that period some 12,000 to 14,000 Boers (including women and children), impatient with British rule, emigrated from Cape Colony into
10614-544: The great plains beyond the Orange River , and across them again into Natal and the vastness of the Zoutspansberg , in the northern part of the Transvaal. Those Trekboers who occupied the eastern Cape were semi-nomadic. A significant number in the eastern Cape frontier later became Grensboere ('border farmers') who were the direct ancestors of the Voortrekkers . The Boers addressed several correspondence to
10736-410: The inhabitable two Native Reserves where they remained poor, as forced and cheap labour. The BSA Co promptly formed the conquest government which ruled by terror, imposed deprivation situations against the people of Mthwakazi and opportunity reservations for the rulers. The culture of the Mthwakazi was broken down including the crucial support system that was based on the extended families and had assisted
10858-492: The inter-cultural society of Mthwakazi without franchise. The white minority ruled culminating in the 1970s Bush war which further displacing many of the people. Northern Ndebele people#Ndebele kingdom The Northern Ndebele people ( / ˌ ɛ n d ə ˈ b ɛ l i , - ˈ b iː l i , - l eɪ / ; EN -də- BE(E)L -ee, -ay ; Northern Ndebele : amaNdebele ) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa . Significant populations of native speakers of
10980-623: The invading forces could not capture him, he disappeared in the direction of the Zambezi River. It is conventionally presumed that he died in late 1893 or early 1894; there is no certainty, however, and there were rumours that he had crossed the Zambezi and found refuge with Mpezeni's Ngoni people in North Eastern Zambia. After the 1893 invasion, Mthwakazi has been ruled by conquest ever since. The existence of Mthwakazi under
11102-561: The laws of the British administration. While there was financial compensation for the freeing of the people they had enslaved, the Boers found it to be inadequate. They also felt that the English church system was incompatible with the Dutch Reformed Church . By this time the Boers had already formed a separate code of laws in preparation for the great trek and were aware of the dangerous territory they were about to enter. Retief concluded his letter with "We quit this colony under
11224-509: The line of mountains guarding the vast central plateau, then called Bushmansland (after a name for the San people ), and had an area of about 120,000 sq. m. and a population of some 60,000, of whom 27,000 were whites, 17,000 free Khoikhoi and the rest enslaved people, mostly non-indigenous blacks and Malays. Although the colony was fairly prosperous, many of the Dutch farmers were as dissatisfied with British rule as they had been with that of
11346-628: The name, the first being the Sotho-Tswana pronunciation ( maTebele or Matabele ) and the second being the Ndebele pronunciation ( Ndebele or amaNdebele ). They are now commonly known as the Ndebele or amaNdebele under Zimbabwean rule (but were officially known as the Matabele under British rule). The word Mthwakazi was derived from the name of Queen MuThwa, the first ruler of Mthwakazi territory. The Muthwa pseudo-dynasty survived up to around
11468-569: The name: the Sotho–Tswana pronunciation ( Matebele ) and the Ndebele pronunciation ( Ndebele or amaNdebele ). Under British rule, they were officially known as the Matebele . They are now commonly known as the Ndebele or amaNdebele . The Khumalos were caught between the Ndwandwe led by Zwide and the Zulus led by Shaka . To please the Ndwandwe tribe, the Khumalo chief Mashobane married
11590-485: The native Xhosa people had established settlements, gave rise to a series of conflicts between the Boers and the Xhosas. In 1775 the Cape government established a boundary between the trekboers and the Xhosas at the Bushmans and Upper Fish Rivers. The Boers and Xhosas ignored the boundary, with both groups establishing homes on either side of the frontier. Governor van Plettenberg attempted to persuade both groups to respect
11712-418: The party sent to arrest him, was killed by the return fire. This caused a small rebellion in 1815, known as Slachters Nek , described as "the most insane attempt ever made by a set of men to wage war against their sovereign" by Henry Cloete. Upon its suppression, five ringleaders were publicly hanged at the spot where they had sworn to expel "the English tyrants". The feeling caused by the hanging of these men
11834-484: The people to help each other during hard times such as death, famine and disasters, were broken down during displacement. The society got disorganized followed by the personality disorganization and permanent extreme poverty of the whole inter-cultural society of Mthwakazi. In 1923, the British government promulgated the constitution which ruled Mthwakazi jointly with Mashonaland and made the White minority rulers while it left
11956-466: The plumes on Mzilikazi's head and presented him with one of two ivory axes, the other being kept by Shaka. The Khumalos returned in peace to their ancestral homeland. This peace lasted until Shaka asked Mzilikazi to punish a tribe to the north of the Khumalo, belonging to Raninsi a Sotho. After defeating Raninsi, Mzilikazi refused to hand over the cattle and land to Shaka. The history of the Ndebele of Zimbabwe began through that refusal and attempt to create
12078-511: The present-day provinces of Gauteng , Mpumalanga , North West , and Limpopo . A skilled military and political tactician, Mzilikazi attacked or subjugated the local tribes he found along the way, including the Khoi, Batswana, Bapedi, and the Ndebeles of Mpumalanga. In their land, between 1827 and 1832, Mzilikazi built three military strongholds. The largest was Kungwini , situated at the foot of
12200-624: The revolutionary government of France and a British force under General Sir James Henry Craig was sent to Cape Town to secure the colony from the French for the Prince of Orange , a refugee in England. The governor of Cape Town at first refused to obey the instructions from the Prince, but when the British proceeded to land troops to take possession anyway, he capitulated. His action was hastened by
12322-536: The same tyrannical monopolist policy as that in the VOC government in the Transvaal . If the formula, "In all things political, purely despotic; in all things commercial, purely monopolist", was true of the VOC government in the 18th century, it was equally true of Kruger 's government in the latter part of the 19th. The underlying fact which made the trek possible is that the Dutch-descended colonists in
12444-616: The same year, one of their ships was stranded in Table Bay near what would eventually become Cape Town , and the shipwrecked crew had to forage for themselves on shore for several months. They were so impressed with the natural resources of the country that on their return to the Republic, they represented to the VOC directors the great advantages to be had for the Dutch Eastern trade from a properly provided and fortified station at
12566-445: The scene of the fiercest fighting against the white settler patrols, led by legendary military figures such as Frederick Russell Burnham , Robert Baden-Powell , and Frederick Selous . Hundreds of white settlers and uncounted Matebele and Mashona were killed over the next year and a half. The Matebele military defiance ended only when Burnham found and assassinated Mlimo . Upon learning of Mlimo's death, Rhodes boldly walked unarmed into
12688-485: The term Boeren also applied to those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to colonise in the Orange Free State , Transvaal (together known as the Boer Republics ), and to a lesser extent Natal . They emigrated from the Cape to live beyond the reach of the British colonial administration, with their reasons for doing so primarily being the new Anglophone common law system being introduced into
12810-500: The trekboers—notably including many against people they had enslaved—seeing justice. These prosecutions were very unpopular amongst the trekkers and were seen as interfering with their rights over the enslaved people they viewed as their property. The Invasion of the Cape Colony was a British military expedition launched in 1795 against the Dutch Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope . The Netherlands had fallen under
12932-418: The union is. It is like a garden of flowers". Several peace treaties, marking the borders of Mthwakazi, were signed and the new land existed as a nation. However, the colonial powers, occupying the eastern neighbouring state at the time (British Mashonaland Protectorate), later disregarded these agreements and invaded Mthwakazi on 3 November 1893. Mthwakazi fought a bitter defensive battle at Gadade, Mbembesi, but
13054-526: The west and southwest region of Zimbabwe. Mzilikazi who reigned from 1823, chose a new headquarters on the western edge of the central plateau of modern-day Zimbabwe , leading some 20,000 Ndebele, descendants of the Nguni and Sotho of South Africa. He had invaded the Rozvi state and raided some of the Rozvi people (mostly women); the rest became satellite farming communities and were forced to pay tribute to
13176-522: The whole of the trade in its own hands, combined the administrative, legislative and judicial powers in one body, prescribed to the farmers the nature of the crops they were to grow, demanded a large part of their produce as a kind of tax, and made other exactions. From time to time, indentured VOC servants were endowed with the right of freeburghers but the VOC retained the power to compel them to return into its service whenever they deemed it necessary. This right to force into servitude those who might incur
13298-407: The word amaNdebele . Moreover, in the early 19th century, the Ndebele lived in territories populated by Sotho-Tswana peoples who used the plural prefix "ma" for certain types of unfamiliar people or the Nguni prefix "ama", so the British explorers, who were first informed of the existence of the kingdom by Sotho-Tswana communities they encountered on the trip north, were presented two variations of
13420-607: Was 2,800 in 1987; however, some recent politicians estimate 20,000. The largest number of dead in a single killing occurred on 5 March 1983, when 62 young men were shot on the banks of the Cewale River, Lupane; seven survived with gunshot wounds, the other 55 died. The Fifth Brigade also killed large groups of people by burning them alive in huts, as they did in Tsholotsho and Lupane. They routinely rounded up dozens, or even hundreds, of civilians and marched them at gunpoint to
13542-658: Was a notable characteristic of the Boers. It figured prominently in the late 17th century when the Trekboers began to inhabit the northern and eastern Cape frontiers, again during the Great Trek when the Voortrekkers left the eastern Cape en masse , and after the major republics were established during the Thirstland (' Dorsland ') Trek. One such trekker described the impetus for emigrating as, "a drifting spirit
13664-731: Was accepted as authentic by the British government and used to charter the British South Africa Company. Lobengula refused the BSAC access to the areas under his control (Mthwakazi), and in 1890 the BSAC occupied the neighbouring Mashonaland. Due to constant interference and friction between the two sovereign states, a border line was agreed between the Mthwakazi and the British Mashonaland Protectorate . After British settlers failed to find much gold in Mashonaland, Leander Starr Jameson ,
13786-438: Was brought nearer to their homes, various offences were brought to light, the remedying of which caused much resentment. The Dutch-descended colonists in the eastern and northeastern parts of the colony, as a result of the Great Trek , had removed themselves from governmental rule and become widely spread out. However, the institution of "Commissions of Circuit" in 1815 allowed the prosecution of crimes, with offences committed by
13908-456: Was deepened by the circumstances of the execution, as the scaffold on which the rebels were simultaneously hanged broke down from their united weight and the men were afterwards hanged one by one. An ordinance was passed in 1827, abolishing the old Dutch courts of landdrost and heemraden (resident magistrates being substituted) and establishing that henceforth all legal proceedings should be conducted in English. The granting in 1828, as
14030-659: Was formed in the Dutch Republic in 1602, and at this time the Dutch had entered the competition for the colonial and imperial trade of commerce in Southeast Asia. The end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 saw European soldiers and refugees widely dispersed across Europe. Immigrants from Germany, Scandinavia, and Switzerland traveled to the Netherlands in the hope of finding employment with the VOC. During
14152-409: Was in our hearts, and we ourselves could not understand it. We just sold our farms and set out northwestwards to find a new home". A rustic characteristic and tradition was developed quite early on as Boer society was born on the frontiers of white colonisation and on the outskirts of Western civilisation. The Boer quest for independence manifested in a tradition of declaring republics, which predates
14274-421: Was issued which empowered magistrates to bind Khoikhoi children as apprentices under conditions which differed little from slavery . Simultaneously, the movement for the abolition of slavery was gaining strength in England, and the missionaries appealed from the colonists to the mother country. A farmer named Frederick Bezuidenhout refused to obey a summons issued on the complaint of a Khoikhoi, and, firing on
14396-662: Was overjoyed because the Khumalos would be helpful to spy on Zwide and the Ndwandwes. After a few battles, Shaka gave Mzilikazi the extraordinary honour of being chief of the Khumalos and remaining semi-independent from the Zulu, if Zwide could be defeated. This caused immense jealousy among Shaka's older allies, but as warriors, none realized their equal in Mzilikazi. When Zwide was defeated, Shaka acknowledged Mzilikazi's essential contributions of intelligence. Shaka himself placed
14518-467: Was overpowered by the enemy which used an arsenal of arms which were technologically more advanced than that of Mthwakazi warriors, hence lost and so began a long period of occupation and rule by conquest. Mzilikazi's settlement in southwestern Rhodesia (now Matabeleland, Zimbabwe) can be described as a transformative and strategic occupation, marked by his establishment of a powerful, centralized Ndebele kingdom. After leading his followers northward during
14640-428: Was previously referred to as Cape Dutch (also used to refer collectively to the early Cape colonists ) or kitchen Dutch (a derogatory term used in its earlier days). However, it is also variously (although incorrectly) described as a creole or as a partially creolised language. The term is ultimately derived from Dutch Afrikaans-Hollands meaning African Dutch . The desire to wander, known as trekgees ,
14762-451: Was soon after Mugabe had announced the need for a militia to "combat malcontents." Mugabe replied by saying Matabeleland dissidents should "watch out", announcing the brigade would be called "Gukurahundi". This brigade was named the Fifth Brigade, and its members were drawn from 3,500 ex-ZANLA troops at Tongogara Assembly Point, named after Josiah Tongogara , the ZANLA general. The training of
14884-535: Was used by opponents of apartheid in various contexts, referring to institutional structures such as the National Party , or to specific groups of people, such as members of the Police Force (colloquially known as Boere ) and Army , Afrikaners, or white South Africans generally. This usage is often viewed as pejorative in contemporary South Africa. The Movement for Christian-National Education
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