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98-641: The talks were held in Pretoria , South Africa and lasted for five days. This Democratic Republic of the Congo -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Rwanda -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a treaty is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pretoria Pretoria ( / p r ɪ ˈ t ɔːr i ə , p r i -/ prih- TOR -ee-ə, pree- ; Afrikaans: [prəˈtʊəria] ),

196-584: A laager camp at the mouth of the Mvoti River , they proceeded on horseback, but were halted by a flooded Tugela River and forced to return to the laager . The Kommissietrek left Port Natal for Grahamstown with a stash of ivory in early June 1835, following more or less the same route back to the Cape, and arrived at Grahamstown in October 1835. On Piet Uys's recommendation, Bantjes set to work on

294-601: A Nation ( Die Bou van 'n Nasie ) was made in 1938 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Great Trek. The film tells the Afrikaans version of the history of South Africa from 1652 to 1910 with a focus on the Great Trek. A number of Afrikaans organisations such as the Afrikaner Broederbond and Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging continued to promote the centenary's goals of furthering

392-569: A Zulu warrior, were massacred at Inhambane by an impi (a force of warriors) of Manukosi . Those of Tregardt's party that had set up around Soutpansberg moved on to colonise Delagoa Bay , with most of the party, including Tregardt, perishing from fever. A party led by Hendrik Potgieter trekked out of the Tarka area in either late 1835 or early 1836, and in September 1836 a party led by Gerrit Maritz began their trek from Graaff-Reinet. There

490-529: A class of Boers who pursued semi-nomadic pastoral activities, were frustrated by the apparent unwillingness or inability of the British government to extend the borders of the Cape Colony eastward and provide them with access to more prime pasture and economic opportunities. They resolved to trek beyond the colony's borders on their own. Although it did nothing to impede the Great Trek, Great Britain viewed

588-528: A colourful march and the crowning of the Jacaranda Queen. Commuter rail services around Pretoria are operated by Metrorail . The routes, originating from the city centre, extend south to Germiston and Johannesburg , west to Atteridgeville , northwest to Ga-Rankuwa , north to Soshanguve and east to Mamelodi . Via the Pretoria–Maputo railway it is possible to access the port of Maputo, in

686-544: A few short decades, the Cape had become home to a large population of "Glidden" , also denoted as "burgers" (free citizens), former Company employees who remained in Dutch territories overseas after completing their contracts. Since the primary purpose of the Cape settlement at the time was to stock provisions for passing Dutch ships, the VOC offered grants of farmland to its employees under the condition they would cultivate grain for

784-464: A lack of public discussion about the war within the Afrikaans community helped set the scene for a large increase in interest in Afrikaans national identity. The celebration of the centenary of the Great Trek along with a new generation of Afrikaners interested in learning about the Afrikaans experiences of the Boer War catalysed a surge of Afrikaans nationalism. The centenary celebrations began with

882-867: A national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over Dingane and the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River in 1838. The elder Pretorius also negotiated the Sand River Convention (1852), in which the United Kingdom acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal . It became the capital of the South African Republic on 1 May 1860. The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be seen as marking

980-535: A poem written by Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven referring to the Great Trek, was chosen to be the words of the pre-1994 South African national anthem. The post-1997 national anthem of South Africa incorporates a section of " Die Stem van Suid-Afrika " but it was decided to omit the section in "reference to the Great Trek (' met die kreun van ossewa '), since this was the experience of only one section of our community". When apartheid in South Africa ended and

1078-519: A programme to plant jacaranda trees throughout Pretoria, and by 1971 there would already be 55,000 of them in the city. Most jacarandas in Pretoria are lilac in colour, but there are also white ones planted on Herbert Baker Street in Groenkloof . The Jacaranda Carnival is an old tradition that was held from 1939 to 1964. After a hiatus of over twenty years, it resumed in 1985. Festivities include

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1176-610: A public holiday, first called Dingane's Day, later changed to the Day of the Vow . Post-apartheid , the name was changed to the Day of Reconciliation by the South African government, in order to foster reconciliation between all South Africans. Conflict amongst the Voortrekkers was a problem because the trek levelled out the pre-existing class hierarchy which had previously enforced discipline, and thus social cohesion broke down. Instead

1274-520: A re-enactment of the trek beginning on 8 August 1938 with nine ox wagons at the statue of Jan van Riebeeck in Cape Town and ended at the newly completed Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria and attended by over 100,000 people. A second re-enactment trek starting at the same time and place ended at the scene of the Battle of Blood River. The commemoration sparked mass enthusiasm amongst Afrikaners as

1372-455: A republic in 1961, Pretoria remained its administrative capital. Pretoria is situated approximately 56 km (35 mi) north-northeast of Johannesburg in the northeast of South Africa , in a transitional belt between the plateau of the Highveld to the south and the lower-lying Bushveld to the north. It lies at an altitude of about 1,339 m (4,393 ft) above sea level , in

1470-525: A result of the Treaty of Paris . At the onset of the British rule, the Cape Colony encompassed 100,000 square miles (260,000 km ) and was populated by about 26,720 people of European descent, a relative majority of whom were of Dutch origin. Just over a quarter were of German ancestry and about one-sixth were descended from French Huguenots, although most had ceased speaking French since about 1750. There were also 30,000 African and Asian slaves owned by

1568-478: A treaty for land in what is now Kwa-Zulu Natal . King Dingane, suspicious and untrusting because of previous Voortrekker influxes from across the Drakensberg, had Retief and seventy of his followers killed . Various interpretations of what transpired exist, as only the missionary Francis Owen 's written eye-witness account survived. Retief's written request for land contained veiled threats by referring to

1666-481: A warm, sheltered, fertile valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magaliesberg range. Pretoria has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cwa ) with long hot, rainy summers, and short, dry and mild winters. The city experiences the typical winters of South Africa, with cold, clear nights and mild to moderately warm days. Although the average lows during winter are mild, it can get cold due to

1764-530: Is South Africa's administrative capital , serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa . Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountains. It has a reputation as an academic city and centre of research, being home to the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT),

1862-729: Is home to the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa , as well as the Pretoria National Botanical Garden . There are also a number of smaller parks and gardens located throughout the city, including the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary, Pretorius Square gardens, the Pretoria Rosarium , Church Square , Pretoria Showgrounds, Springbok Park , Freedom Park , Jan Cilliers Park and Burgers Park ,

1960-443: Is known as the "Jacaranda City" due to the approximately 50,000 Jacarandas that line its streets. Purple is a colour often associated with the city and is often included on local council logos and services such as the A Re Yeng rapid bus system and the logo of the local Jacaranda FM radio station. Pretoria has over the years had very diverse cultural influences and this is reflected in the architectural styles that can be found in

2058-588: Is the original N1, and served the same function before the construction of the highway. It runs through the centre of the city on regular streets rather than the eastern suburbs. The N4 enters the city as a highway from eMalahleni in the east, merging with the N1 at the Proefplaas Interchange. It begins again north of the city, branching west from the N1 as the Platinum Highway , forming

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2156-523: The Anglo-Boer Wars , was largely to blame. In November 1838 Andries Pretorius arrived to assist in the defence. A few days later on 16 December 1838, the trekkers fought against Zulu impis at the Battle of Blood River . Pretorius's victory over the Zulu army led to a civil war within the Zulu nation as King Dingane's half-brother, Mpande kaSenzangakhona , aligned with the Voortrekkers to overthrow

2254-482: The British Empire in 1843. The Voortrekkers' guns offered them a technological advantage over the Zulu's traditional weaponry of short stabbing spears, fighting sticks, and cattle-hide shields. The Boers attributed their victory to a vow they made to God before the battle: if victorious, they and future generations would commemorate the day as a Sabbath . Thereafter, 16 December was celebrated by Boers as

2352-670: The Cape Colony and Natal Colony in 1910 to become the Union of South Africa . Pretoria then became the administrative capital of the whole of South Africa, with Cape Town serving as the legislative capital and Bloemfontein as the judicial capital. Between 1910 and 1994, the city was also the capital of the province of Transvaal . (As the capital of the ZAR, Pretoria had superseded Potchefstroom in that role.) On 14 October 1931, Pretoria achieved official city status. When South Africa became

2450-540: The Cape of Good Hope area was populated by Khoisan tribes. The first Europeans settled in the Cape area under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company (also known by its Dutch initials VOC ), which established a victualling station there in 1652 to provide its outward bound fleets with fresh provisions and a harbour of refuge during the long sea journey from Europe to Asia (Hunt, John (2005)). In

2548-975: The M3 to Church Square , WF Nkomo Street from Church Square to the R511 (south-east of Hartbeespoort) and Elias Motswaledi Street from the R511 to Pelindaba . The N14 starts from the R101 just south of the Pretoria CBD, heading south as the Ben Schoeman Freeway . At the Brakfontein interchange in Centurion , the Ben Schoeman Freeway becomes the N1 to Johannesburg, and the N14 continues as

2646-587: The Northern Bypass , and heading to Rustenburg . The N4 runs east–west through South Africa, connecting Maputo to Gaborone . The N4 is a toll road. Before the Platinum Highway was built, the N4 continued passed the Proefplaas Interchange to the city centre, where it became a regular road, before again becoming a partially-tolled highway west of the city towards Hartbeespoort . These roads through

2744-805: The OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park. The R80 highway (Mabopane Highway) is a highway in the north-west of the city. The highway begins in Soshanguve and it terminates just north of the city centre (in Roseville ) at an intersection with the M1 . Pretoria is also served by many regional roads. The R55 starts at an interchange with the R80, and runs north–south from Pretoria West to Sandton . The R50 starts from

2842-884: The Ou Raadsaal . There is also the Transvaal Museum (the country's leading natural history museum, which although it has changed venues a number of times, has been around since 1892), the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (or more colloquially known as the Pretoria Zoo), Melrose House Museum in Jacob Maré Street, the Pretoria Art Museum and the African Window Cultural History Museum. Several National Departments also have Head Offices in

2940-547: The Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, most radio, television and paper media is the same as the rest of the metro area. There are many radio stations in the greater Pretoria region, some of note are: Jacaranda FM , previously known as Jacaranda 94.2, is a commercial South African radio station, broadcasting in English and Afrikaans, with a footprint that covers Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and

3038-829: The University of Pretoria (UP), the University of South Africa (UNISA), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Human Sciences Research Council . It also hosts the National Research Foundation and the South African Bureau of Standards . Pretoria was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup . Pretoria is the central part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality which

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3136-844: The Xhosa on the eastern Cape frontier, the Zulus killed women and children along with men, wiping out half of the Natal contingent of Voortrekkers. The Voortrekkers retaliated with a 347-strong punitive raid against the Zulu (later known as the Flight Commando), supported by new arrivals from the Orange Free State . The Voortrekkers were roundly defeated by about 7,000 warriors at Ithaleni , southwest of uMgungundlovu. The well-known reluctance of Afrikaner leaders to submit to one another's leadership, which later hindered sustained success in

3234-542: The Afrikaner cause and entrenching a greater sense of unity and solidarity within the community well into the 20th century. The Great Trek was used by Afrikaner nationalists as a core symbol of a common Afrikaans history. It was used to promote the idea of an Afrikaans nation and a narrative that promoted the ideals of the National Party . In 1938, celebrations of the centenary of the Battle of Blood River and

3332-663: The Boer leaders of Uitenhage and Grahamstown discussed a Kommissietrek ('Commission Trek') to visit Natal and to assess its potential as a new homeland for the Cape Boers who were disenchanted with British rule at the Cape. Petrus Lafras Uys was chosen as trek leader. At the same time at Graaff-Reinet , Jan Gerritze Bantjes heard about the exploratory trek to Port Natal and, encouraged by his father Bernard Louis Bantjes, sent word to Uys of his interest in participating. Bantjes wanted to help re-establish Dutch independence over

3430-677: The Boers and to get away from British law at the Cape. In early August 1834, he set off with some travellers headed for Grahamstown 220 kilometres (140 mi) away, a three-week journey from Graaff-Reinet . Sometime around late August 1834 he arrived in Grahamstown, contacted Uys and made his introductions. Bantjes was already well known in the area as an educated young man fluent both in spoken and written Dutch and in English. Because of these skills, Uys invited Bantjes to join him. Bantjes's writing skills would prove invaluable in recording events as

3528-476: The Boers belonged, explicitly refused to endorse the Great Trek. Despite their hostility towards the British, there were Boers who chose to remain in the Cape of their own accord. For its part, the distinct Cape Dutch community had accepted British rule; many of its members even considered themselves loyal British subjects with a special affection for English culture. The Cape Dutch were also much more heavily urbanised and therefore less likely to be susceptible to

3626-458: The Boers in their new homeland. At Port Natal, Uys sent Dick King, who could speak Zulu, to uMgungundlovu to investigate with King Dingane the possibility of granting them land. When Dick King returned to Port Natal some weeks later, he reported that King Dingane insisted they visit him in person. Johannes Uys , brother of Piet Uys, and a number of comrades with a few wagons travelled toward King Dingane's capital at uMgungundlovu, and after making

3724-443: The Boers was particularly amplified by the decision to abolish slavery in all its colonies in 1834. All 35,000 slaves registered with the Cape governor were to be freed and given rights on par with other citizens, although in most cases their masters could retain them as apprentices until 1838. Many Boers, especially those involved with grain and wine production, were dependent on slave labour; for example, 94% of all white farmers in

3822-782: The Cape Colony's white population or 20% of the white population in the eastern district in 1830s) trekked. The first two parties of Voortrekkers left in September 1835, led by Louis Tregardt and Hans van Rensburg . These two parties crossed the Vaal river at Robert's Drift in January 1836, but in April 1836 the two parties split up, just 110 kilometres (70 mi) from the Soutpansberg mountains, following differences between Tregardt and van Rensburg. In late July 1836 van Rensburg's entire party of 49, except two children who were saved by

3920-405: The Central Business district such as the Department of Health, Basic Education, Transport, Higher Education and Training, Sport and Recreation, Justice and Constitutional Development, Public Service and Administration, Water and Environmental Affairs and the National Treasury. The district also has a high number of residential buildings which house people who primarily work in the district. Pretoria

4018-419: The Company warehouses, and released them from their contracts to save on their wages. Vrijburgers were granted tax-exempt status for 12 years and loaned all the necessary seeds and farming implements they requested. They were married Dutch citizens, considered "of good character" by the Company, and had to commit to spending at least 20 years on the African continent. Reflecting the multi-national character of

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4116-447: The Great Trek mobilised behind an Afrikaans nationalist theses. The narrative of Afrikaner nationalism was a significant reason for the National Party's victory in the 1948 elections . A year later the Voortrekker Monument was completed and opened in Pretoria by the newly elected South African Prime Minister and National Party member Daniel Malan in 1949. A few years later, " Die Stem van Suid-Afrika " ('The Voice of South Africa'),

4214-423: The N1 in the south-east of the city, and heads south-east towards Bapsfontein and Delmas . The R511 runs north–south from Sandton towards Brits and barely by-passes Pretoria to the west. The R514 starts from the M1, north of the city centre, and terminates at the R511 in Hartbeespoort. The R513 crosses Pretoria's northern suburbs from east to west. It links Pretoria to Cullinan and Bronkhorstspruit in

4312-421: The North West Province and boasts a listening audience of 2 million people a week, and a digital community of more than 1,1 million people a month. The station's format is mainstream adult contemporary with programming constructed around a playlist of hit music from the 1980s, 1990s and now. Tuks FM is the radio station of the University of Pretoria and one of South Africa's community broadcasters. It

4410-473: The Oliver Tambo building which is the Headquarters of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation . Despite the many corporate offices, small businesses, shops, and government departments that are situated in Pretoria's sprawling suburbs , its Central Business District still retains its status as the traditional centre of government and commerce. Many banks, businesses, large corporations, shops, shopping centres, and other businesses are situated in

4508-413: The VOC's workforce, some German soldiers and sailors were also considered for vrijburger status as well, and in 1688 the Dutch government sponsored the resettlement of over a hundred French Huguenot refugees at the Cape. As a result, by 1691 over a quarter of the colony's European population was not ethnically Dutch. Nevertheless, there was a degree of cultural assimilation through intermarriage, and

4606-418: The Voortrekker's defeat of indigenous groups encountered along their journey. The Voortrekker demand for a written contract guaranteeing private property ownership was incompatible with the contemporaneous Zulu oral culture which prescribed that a chief could only temporarily dispense land as it was communally owned. Most versions agree that the following happened: King Dingane's authority extended over some of

4704-412: The Voortrekkers' cattle. On 20 October 1836, Potgieter's party was attacked by an army of 4,600 Ndebele warriors at the Battle of Vegkop . Thirty-five armed trekkers repulsed the Ndebele assault on their laager with the loss of two men and almost all the trekkers' cattle. Potgieter, Uys and Maritz mounted two punitive commando raids. The first resulted in the sacking of the Ndebele colony at Mosega ,

4802-402: The almost universal adoption of the Dutch language. Cleavages were likelier to occur along social and economic lines; broadly speaking, the Cape colonists were delineated into Boers , poor farmers who settled directly on the frontier, and the more affluent, predominantly urbanised Cape Dutch . Following the Flanders Campaign and the Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam , France assisted in

4900-448: The city centre are now designated as the M2 (from the Proefplaas Interchange to Arcadia ) and the M4 (from Arcadia to Hartbeespoort). There is a third, original east–west road: the R104 , previously named Church Street, also from eMalahleni in the east through Pretoria to Hartbeespoort and Rustenburg in the west. Church Street has been renamed as Stanza Bopape Street from the M16 to Nelson Mandela Drive (M3), Helen Joseph Street from

4998-529: The city centre which is towered by several large skyscrapers, the tallest of which is the Poyntons Building (110 m or 360 ft tall), the ABSA Building (132 m or 433 ft tall) and the Reserve Bank of South Africa building (150 m or 490 ft tall). The area contains a large number of historical buildings, monuments, and museums that include the Pretoria City Hall , National Library of South Africa , Pretorius Square, Church Square (along with its many historical buildings and statues), and

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5096-414: The city from the south as the Ben Schoeman Highway . At the Brakfontein Interchange in Centurion , the Ben Schoeman Highway becomes the N14 to Pretoria Central, the N1 turns north-east, then north, as the Eastern Bypass , bisecting the large expanse of the eastern suburbs, routing traffic from Johannesburg to Polokwane and the north of the country. The N1 is a toll road north of Pretoria. The R101

5194-399: The city. Wonderboom Airport in the suburb of Annlin in the north of Pretoria primarily services light commercial and private aircraft. However, as from August 2015, scheduled flights from Wonderboom Airport to Cape Town International Airport were made available by SA Airlink . There are two military air bases to the south of the city, Swartkop and Waterkloof . Since Pretoria forms part

5292-418: The city. It ranges from 19th century Dutch, German and British colonial architecture to modern , postmodern , neomodern , and art deco architecture styles with a good mix of a uniquely South African style. Some of the notable structures in Pretoria include the late 19th century Palace of Justice , the early 20th century Union Buildings , the post-war Voortrekker Monument , the diverse buildings dotting

5390-444: The clear skies, with night time low temperatures in recent years in the range of 2 to −5 °C (36 to 23 °F). The average annual temperature is 18.7 °C (65.7 °F). This is rather high, considering the city's relatively high altitude of about 1,339 metres (4,393 feet), and is due mainly to its sheltered valley position, which acts as a heat trap and cuts it off from cool southerly and south-easterly air masses for much of

5488-440: The colonial-style railway station at Capital Park. The South African Friends of the Rail have recently moved their vintage train trip operations from the Capital Park station to the Hercules station. Various bus companies exist in Pretoria, of which PUTCO is one of the oldest and most recognised. Tshwane municipality provides the remainder of the bus services. The N1 is the major freeway that runs through Pretoria. It enters

5586-399: The conflict was ended in Pretoria with the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902 at Melrose House . The Pretoria Forts were built for the defence of the city just prior to the Second Boer War. Though some of these forts are today in ruins, a number of them have been preserved as national monuments. The Boer Republics of the ZAR and the Orange River Colony were united with

5684-568: The culmination of tensions between rural descendants of the Cape's original European settlers, known collectively as Boers , and the British . It was also reflective of an increasingly common trend among individual Boer communities to pursue an isolationist and semi- nomadic lifestyle away from the developing administrative complexities in Cape Town . Boers who took part in the Great Trek identified themselves as voortrekkers , meaning "pioneers" or "pathfinders" (literally "fore-trekkers") in Dutch and Afrikaans . The Great Trek led directly to

5782-400: The death of 400 Ndebele, and the taking of 7,000 cattle. The second commando forced Mzilikazi and his followers to flee to what is now modern day Zimbabwe . By spring 1837, five to six large Voortrekker colonies had been established between the Vaal and Orange Rivers with a total population of around 2,000 trekkers. In October 1837 Retief met with Zulu King Dingane to negotiate

5880-538: The east and Hartbeespoort in the west. The R566 takes origin in Pretoria's northern suburbs, connecting Pretoria to Brits. The R573 (also called Moloto Road ) starts from the R513, just east of the town and heads north-east to KwaMhlanga and Siyabuswa . Pretoria is also served internally by metropolitan routes . For scheduled air services, Pretoria is served by Johannesburg's airports: OR Tambo International , 45 km (28 mi) south of central Pretoria; and Lanseria , 35 km (22 mi) south-west of

5978-409: The east. The Gautrain high-speed railway line runs from the eastern suburb of Hatfield to Pretoria Station and then southwards to Centurion , Midrand , Marlboro , Sandton , Rhodesfield , OR Tambo International Airport , Rosebank and Johannesburg . Pretoria Station is a departure point for the Blue Train luxury train. Rovos Rail , a luxury mainline train safari service operates from

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6076-481: The end of the Boers' settlement movements of the Great Trek . During the First Boer War , the city was besieged by Republican forces in December 1880 and March 1881. The peace treaty that ended the war was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881 at the Pretoria Convention . The Second Boer War resulted in the end of the Transvaal Republic and start of British hegemony in South Africa. The city surrendered to British forces under Frederick Roberts on 5 June 1900 and

6174-505: The establishment of a pro-French client state, the Batavian Republic , on Dutch soil. This opened the Cape to French warships. To protect her own prosperous maritime shipping routes, Great Britain occupied the fledgling colony by force until 1803. From 1806 to 1814, the Cape was governed as a British military dependency, whose sole importance to the Royal Navy was its strategic relation to Indian maritime traffic. The British formally assumed permanent administrative control around 1815, as

6272-487: The first draft of the Natalialand Report. Meetings and talks took place in the main church to much approval, and the first sparks of Trek Fever began to take hold. From all the information accumulated at Port Natal, Bantjes drew up the final report on "Natalia or Natal Land" that acted as the catalyst which inspired the Boers at the Cape to set in motion the Great Trek. The first wave of Voortrekkers lasted from 1835 to 1840, during which an estimated 6,000 people (roughly 10% of

6370-422: The founding of several autonomous Boer republics , namely the South African Republic (also known simply as the Transvaal), the Orange Free State and the Natalia Republic . It also led to conflicts that resulted in the displacement of the Northern Ndebele people , and conflicts with the Zulu people that contributed to the decline and eventual collapse of the Zulu Kingdom . Before the arrival of Europeans,

6468-418: The garden of local gardener, J.D. Cilliers , at Myrtle Lodge on Celliers Street in Sunnyside . He obtained the seedlings from a Cape Town nurseryman who had harvested them in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. The two trees still stand on the grounds of the Sunnyside Primary School. The jacaranda comes from tropical South America and belongs to the family Bignoniaceae . There are around fifty species of jacaranda, but

6566-502: The intersecting west-south-westerly highway towards Krugersdorp . The R114 parallels the N14 from Centurion to Muldersdrift . The R21 provides a second north–south highway, further east. It starts from the Fountains Circle south of the city centre, heading south-east to Monument Park , where it becomes a highway. It crosses the N1 at the Flying Saucer Interchange and runs north–south towards Ekurhuleni (specifically Kempton Park and Boksburg ). Importantly, it links Pretoria with

6664-400: The journey unfolded. On 8 September 1834, the Kommissietrek of 40 men and one woman, as well as a retinue of coloured servants, set off from Grahamstown for Natal with 14 wagons. Moving through the Eastern Cape , they were welcomed by the Xhosa who were in dispute with the neighbouring Zulu King Dingane ka Senzangakhona , and they passed unharmed into Natal. They travelled more or less

6762-429: The king and impose himself. Mpande sent 10,000 impis to assist the trekkers in follow-up expeditions against Dingane. After the defeat of the Zulu forces and the recovery of the treaty between Dingane and Retief from Retief's body, the Voortrekkers proclaimed the Natalia Republic . After Dingane's death, Mpande was proclaimed king, and the Zulu nation allied with the short-lived Natalia Republic until its annexation by

6860-514: The land in which the Boers wanted to settle. As prerequisite to granting the Voortrekker request, he demanded that the Voortrekkers return some cattle stolen by Sekonyela , a rival chief. After the Boers retrieved the cattle, King Dingane invited Retief to his residence at uMgungundlovu to finalise the treaty, having either planned the massacre in advance, or deciding to do so after Retief and his men arrived. King Dingane's reputed instruction to his warriors, " Bulalani abathakathi! " (Zulu for "kill

6958-440: The largest white population in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since its founding, it has been a major Afrikaner population centre, and there are roughly 1 million Afrikaners living in or around the city. Even since the end of Apartheid, Pretoria itself has had a white majority, albeit with an ever-increasing black middle-class. However, in the townships of Mamelodi , Soshanguve and Atteridgeville black people make up close to all of

7056-711: The main campuses of both the University of Pretoria and the University of South Africa , traditional Cape Dutch style Mahlamba Ndlopfu (the President's House), the Neo-Byzantine Old Synagogue , the more modern Reserve Bank of South Africa (office skyscraper) and the Telkom Lukasrand Tower . Other well-known structures and buildings include the Loftus Versfeld Stadium , The South African State Theatre and

7154-582: The month of November 2015 saw new records broken for high temperatures, with 43 °C (109 °F) recorded on 11 November after three weeks of temperatures between 35 °C (95 °F) and 43 °C (109 °F). Pretoria reached a new record high of 42.7 °C (108.9 °F) on 7 January 2016. Depending on the extent of the area understood to constitute "Pretoria", the population ranges from 700,000 to 2.95 million. The main languages spoken in Pretoria are Sepedi , Setswana , Xitsonga , Tshivenda , Afrikaans and English. The city of Pretoria has

7252-546: The most suitable tracks to negotiate. Eventually, after weeks of extraordinary toil, the small party arrived at Port Natal, crossing the Congela River and weaving their way through the coastal forest into the bay area. They had travelled a distance of about 650 kilometres (400 mi) from Grahamstown. This trip would have taken about 5 to 6 months with their slow moving wagons. The Drakensberg route via Kerkenberg into Natal had not yet been discovered. They arrived at

7350-514: The movement with pronounced trepidation. The British government initially suggested that conflict in the far interior of Southern Africa between the migrating Boers and the Bantu peoples they encountered would require an expensive military intervention. However, authorities at the Cape also judged that the human and material cost of pursuing the settlers and attempting to re-impose an unpopular system of governance on those who had deliberately spurned it

7448-614: The oldest park in the city and now a national monument. In the suburbs there are also several parks that are notable: Rietondale Park, "Die Proefplaas" in the Queenswood suburb, Magnolia Dell Park, Nelson Mandela Park and Mandela Park Peace Garden and Belgrave Square Park. Pretoria's nickname "the Jacaranda City" comes from the around 70,000 jacaranda trees that grow in Pretoria and decorate the city each October with their purple blossoms. The first two trees were planted in 1888 in

7546-541: The one found most often in the warmer areas of Southern Africa is Jacaranda mimosifolia . At the end of the 19th century, the flower and tree grower James Clark imported jacaranda seedlings from Australia and began growing them on a large scale. In November 1906, he donated two hundred small saplings to the Pretoria City Council, which planted them on Koch Street (today Bosman Street). The city engineer Walton Jameson, soon known as "Jacaranda Jim", launched

7644-501: The party joined them and invited Dick King to become their guide. The Boers set up their laager ('wagon fort') camp in the area of the present-day Greyville Racecourse in Durban , chosen because it had suitable grazing for the oxen and horses and was far from the foraging hippos in the bay. Several small streams running off the Berea ridge provided fresh water. Alexander Biggar

7742-626: The population. The largest white ethnic group are the Afrikaners and the largest black ethnic group are the Northern Sothos . The lower estimate for the population of Pretoria includes largely former white-designated areas, and there is therefore a white majority. However, including the geographically separate townships increases Pretoria's population beyond a million and makes whites a minority. Pretoria's Indians were ordered to move from Pretoria to Laudium on 6 June 1958. Pretoria

7840-550: The re-enactment trek passed through the small towns and cities of South Africa. Both participants and spectators participated by dressing in Voortrekker clothing, renaming streets, holding ceremonies, erecting monuments, and laying wreaths at the graves of Afrikaner heroes. Cooking meals over an open fire in the same way the Voortrekkers did became fashionable amongst urbanites, giving birth to the South African tradition of braaing . An Afrikaans language epic called Building

7938-527: The same route that Smith and Berg had taken two years earlier. The trek avoided the coastal route, keeping to the flatter inland terrain. The Kommissietrek approached Port Natal from East Griqualand and Ixopo , crossing the upper regions of the Mtamvuna and Umkomazi rivers. Travel was slow due to the rugged terrain, and since it was the summer, the rainy season had swollen many of the rivers to their maximum. Progress required days of scouting to locate

8036-450: The same rural grievances and considerations as those held by the Boers. In January 1832, Andrew Smith (an Englishman) and William Berg (a Boer farmer) scouted Natal as a potential colony. On their return to the Cape, Smith waxed very enthusiastic, and the impact of discussions Berg had with the Boers proved crucial. Berg portrayed Natal as a land of exceptional farming quality, well watered, and nearly devoid of inhabitants. In June 1834,

8134-430: The settlers, and about 17,000 indigenous Khoisan . Relations between the settlers – especially the Boers – and the new administration quickly soured. The British authorities were adamantly opposed to the Boers' ownership of slaves and what was perceived as their unduly harsh treatment of the indigenous peoples. The British government insisted that the Cape finance its own affairs through self-taxation, an approach which

8232-469: The settlers. This had the effect of further alienating the colony's white population. Boer resentment of successive British administrators continued to grow throughout the late 1820s and early 1830s, especially with the official imposition of the English language. This replaced Dutch with English as the language used in the Cape's judicial and political systems, putting the Boers at a disadvantage, as most spoke little or no English. Britain's alienation of

8330-434: The station's content further afield, while the station is also available on Sentech 's digital satellite platform. Great Trek Battles The Great Trek was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial administration. The Great Trek resulted from

8428-536: The sweltering hot bay of Port Natal in February 1835, exhausted after their long journey. There, the trek was soon welcomed with open arms by the few British hunters and ivory traders there such as James Collis, including Reverend Allen Francis Gardiner , an ex-commander of the Royal Navy ship Clinker , who had decided to start a mission station there. After congenial exchanges between the Boers and British sides,

8526-638: The thousands of jacaranda trees planted along its streets and in its parks and gardens. Pretoria was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius , a leader of the Voortrekkers , who named it after his father Andries Pretorius and chose a spot on the banks of the Apies rivier ( Afrikaans for "Monkeys river") to be the new capital of the South African Republic ( Dutch : Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek ; ZAR). The elder Pretorius had become

8624-495: The trek leaders became more reliant on patriarchal family structure and military reputation to maintain control over their parties. This had a large and lasting impact on Afrikaans culture and society. The celebration of the Great Trek in the 1930s played a major role in the growth of Afrikaans nationalism . It is thought that the experiences of the Second Boer War and the following period, between 1906 and 1934, of

8722-655: The vicinity of Stellenbosch owned slaves at the time, and the size of their slave holdings correlated greatly to their production output. Compensation was offered by the British government, but payment had to be received in London , and few Boers possessed the funds to make the trip. Bridling at what they considered an unwarranted intrusion into their way of life, some in the Boer community considered selling their farms and venturing deep into South Africa's unmapped interior to preempt further disputes and live completely independent from British rule. Others, especially trekboers ,

8820-560: The witches") may indicate that he considered the Boers to wield evil supernatural powers. After killing Retief's delegation, a Zulu army of 7,000 impis were sent out and immediately attacked Voortrekker encampments in the Drakensberg foothills at what later was called Blaauwkrans and Weenen , leading to the Weenen massacre in which 532 people were killed, including 282 Voortrekkers, of whom 185 were children, and 250 Khoikhoi and Basuto accompanying them. In contrast to earlier conflicts with

8918-518: The year. Rain is chiefly concentrated in the summer months, with drought conditions prevailing over the winter months, when frosts may be sharp. Snowfall is an extremely rare event; snowflakes were spotted in 1959, 1968 and 2012 in the city, but the city has never experienced an accumulation in its history. During a nationwide heat wave in November 2011, Pretoria experienced temperatures that reached 39 °C (102 °F), unusual for that time of

9016-414: The year. Similar record-breaking extreme heat events also occurred in January 2013, when Pretoria experienced temperatures exceeding 37 °C (99 °F) on several days. The year 2014 was one of the wettest on record for the city. A total of 914 mm (36 in) fell up to the end of December, with 220 mm (9 in) recorded in this month alone. In 2015, Pretoria saw its worst drought since 1982;

9114-465: Was alien to both the Boers and the Dutch merchants in Cape Town. In 1815, the controversial arrest of a white farmer for allegedly assaulting one of his servants resulted in the abortive Slachter's Nek Rebellion . The British retaliated by hanging at least five Boers for insurrection. In 1828, the Cape governor declared that all native inhabitants but slaves were to have the rights of "citizens", in respect of security and property ownership, on parity with

9212-405: Was also at the bay as a professional elephant-hunter and provided the trekkers with information regarding conditions at Port Natal. Bantjes made notes suggested by Uys, which later formed the basis of his more comprehensive report on the positive aspects of Natal. Bantjes also made rough maps of the bay - although this journal is now missing - showing the potential for a harbour which could supply

9310-474: Was formed by the amalgamation of several former local authorities, including Bronkhorstspruit , Centurion , Cullinan , Hammanskraal and Soshanguve . Some have proposed changing the official name from Pretoria to Tshwane , which has caused some public controversy. Pretoria is named after the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius , and South Africans sometimes call it the "Jacaranda City", because of

9408-472: Was no clear consensus amongst the trekkers on where they were going to settle, but they all had the goal of settling near an outlet to the sea. In August 1836, despite pre-existing peace agreements with local black leaders, a Ndebele (Matebele) patrol attacked the Liebenberg family part of Potgieter's party, killing six men, two women and six children. It is thought that their primary aim was to plunder

9506-451: Was not worth the immediate risk. Some officials were concerned for the tribes the Boers were certain to encounter, and whether these tribes would be enslaved or otherwise reduced to a state of penury . The Great Trek was not universally popular among the settlers either. Around 12,000 of them took part in the migration, about a fifth of the colony's Dutch-speaking white population at the time. The Dutch Reformed Church , to which most of

9604-445: Was one of the first community broadcasters in South Africa to be given an FM licence. It is known for contemporary music and is operated by UP's student base. Radio Pretoria is a community-based radio station in Pretoria, South Africa, whose programmes are aimed at Afrikaners. It broadcasts 24 hours a day in stereo on 104.2 FM in the greater Pretoria area. Various other transmitters (with their own frequencies) in South Africa broadcast

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