Ghanzi is a town in the middle of the Kalahari Desert the western part of the Republic of Botswana in southern Africa. The region is the country's pride in contributing a large portion towards the beef industry. In fact, Ghanzi farmers provide about 75% percent of beef exports, according to the Botswana Meat Commission, primarily to the United Kingdom and the European Union .
122-526: Dorsland Trek ( Thirstland Trek ) is the collective name of a series of explorations undertaken by Boer settlers from South Africa from 1874 to 1881, in search of political independence and better living conditions. The participants, Trekboers ("migrating farmers"; the singular is trekboer ) from the Orange Free State and Transvaal , are called Dorslandtrekkers . After the Great Trek
244-583: A community arose that comprised a few Voortrekkers spread in different groups across a large geographical area in the Transvaal . However, there was no unity amongst them as there was no leader who could unite the different groups. Serious political and church disputes at some stage even led to a civil war. After the Great Trek had initially impoverished the community, their geographic isolation resulted in further economic and intellectual isolation. Despite
366-554: A disadvantage in almost all aspects when compared to their peers in the rest of South Africa. There was probably not one single reason for this, but rather a combination of reasons why a small group of aggrieved Boers decided to leave the Transvaal. The primary reasons for the Thirstland Trek were religious ones and expostulation against President Thomas Burgers’ progressive policy, specifically his new education legislation,
488-470: A fear of paying more tax could have played an additional, less important, role. It is clear that the so-called “trek spirit” played no role whatsoever during the trek. Opposition to British imperial expansion probably also did not play any significant part in the minds of most trekkers who left before April 1877. By far the majority of the Transvaal population and almost all the members of the other church denominations were not as unhappy as their compatriots with
610-459: A few watering holes to mush. Thereafter they completely lost control and ran off. Most were never found again or eventually died of thirst. The suffering of the trekkers was no less heart-breaking. At times water had to be rationed between them in spoons. Some were so desperate to take in any form of fluid to assuage their thirst that they slit the throats of sheep, goats or even dogs and drank their blood or intestinal fluids. Amazingly enough, none of
732-553: 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 the Liesbeek River for farming purposes in 1657. The two areas which were allocated to
854-687: 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
976-405: A number of other scattered springs. Here they stayed for a period of 18 months until October 1880. At this location they built temporary houses, laid out gardens and lands for cultivation and hunted in the surrounding area. However, deaths from fever continued. While they were staying there, the first clash with an Ovambo tribe on Portuguese territory took place when seven men who were camped beside
1098-663: A number of relief committees were formed in the Cape Colony and the Orange Free State to collect money and supplies for the “destitute trekboers”. The Cape Relief Committee sent the collected goods to Damaraland aboard the schooner Christina. Richard Haybittel was contracted to deliver the consignment to the trekkers and, eventually, the provisions were handed over to the trekkers several months later. Some trekkers, who were so impoverished that they no longer had any draught animals to pull their wagons, availed themselves of
1220-525: 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
1342-467: A result, a position of Special Commissioner for Damaraland was created. In the area around Gobabis, Kaiǀkhauan Kaptein Andreas Lambert on behalf of all leaders of Damaraland threatened to harm them if they did not leave. Boer Boers ( / b ʊər z / BOORZ ; Afrikaans : Boere ; [ˈbuːrə] ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans -speaking Free Burghers of
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#17327795366051464-875: 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
1586-456: A set of beliefs that were a mix between politics and religion which were considered eccentric and fanatical by outsiders. Some of their more characteristic beliefs were: The idea of trekking by land all the way to Jerusalem , (an idea based on their belief that Jerusalem was about as far from Transvaal as the Kaap ) and settling there, an extreme aversion to the cape church (because of their links to
1708-534: A turn for the worst as tsetse fly killed off their oxen and they had hardly any provisions left. Some of them lost hope and turned around, trekking back to the Transvaal. Most of the group trekked westward, directly into the desert to the Debraveld, to escape the double threat of malaria and the tsetse fly while another group continued on their trek along the Okavango because they feared being without water again. It
1830-510: A while. It is unknown what the group who had trekked back to the Transvaal had thought of their failed trek, however, some members of this group still dared to cross through the Thirstland back to Angola again later. After an exploratory expedition identified a “resting place” in a largely uninhabited area – Kaokoland – the trekkers in May 1879 moved to Rusplaas ( Otjitundua ), Kaoko Otavi and
1952-611: Is Shekgalagari and Naro. Though there is no available information as to the current numbers of the Afrikaner population, in 1973, Kalahari Boer made up about 10% of the population in Ghanzi. The district's land surface mainly consists of gently undulating sandveld which lies between 1,100 and 1,230 meters above sea level. The Kalahari is the largest continuous stretch of sand in the world, covering some 2,500 km . Karoo sediments, covered by younger basaltic lavas, underlie most of
2074-596: 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
2196-616: 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
2318-622: Is a stop over point for travellers wishing to visit the Okavango Delta ; there are many lodges in the area and three filling stations. It is the only available fill-up point between Kang and Maun, which is about 500 km, if one are travelling to the Okavango Delta. There is one hotel in Ghanzi town, the Kalahari Arms Hotel which offers accommodation and has a restaurant and bar open to non-residents. Tau Tona Lodge
2440-406: Is another hotel approximately 5 km from the centre of town it also has accommodation and a restaurant and bar open to non-residents. Less formal accommodation, food and drink is available at Thakadu Camp about 6 km from the centre of town. There are other B&Bs and lodges scattered throughout the town. There are some interesting things to see in Ghanzi. Kuru, which is a charity assisting
2562-530: 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) was formed in the Dutch Republic in 1602, and at this time
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#17327795366052684-484: Is the largest in terms of population and geographical measure. Ghanzi District measures 117,910 square kilometres (29,140,000 acres) and is bordered by Ngamiland to the north, Central District to the east, and Kgalagadi and Kweneg Districts to the south. Its western border is shared with Namibia . Other spellings of Ghanzi include "Gantsi" - which is more consistent with Setswana , the national language of Botswana - "Ghansi"; and "Ghantsi". It has also been purported that
2806-652: 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
2928-577: 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
3050-649: 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 the Cape and the British abolition of slavery in 1833. The term Afrikaners or Afrikaans people
3172-569: 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
3294-651: The Kalahari sands and about half of the country of Botswana. The sands of the Kalahari vary in depth from 5m to 200m. The climate is semi-arid. Mean maximum daily temperatures are 33-45 °C in January and around 22 °C in July; mean minimum temperatures are 4 to -5 °C in the winter months. The long-term mean annual rainfall is around 375mm although this can vary by up to 50% year by year. Generally speaking, both
3416-667: The Ngami lake . After a sojourn of two months at Ghanzi , they stayed for two years, from January 1876 to January 1878, at Rietfontein in the Sandveld. In the meantime, William Coates Palgrave , as representative of the Cape government, had discussions with the Herero and Nama-Oorlam captains about possible expansion of the British government’s control in South Africa to Namaland and Hereroland . Palgrave’s interference incited most of
3538-604: 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
3660-577: 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
3782-518: 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
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3904-486: The Boer factions in Transvaal H.T. Bührmann (1822-1890) asked how far Jerusalem was from the Marico . They felt the trek would take no more than six weeks or two months with the oxcart if all went well. The Dutchman tried to make it clear to them that Jerusalem was about seven or eight times as far as Cape Town from Rustenburg , that there were insurmountable difficulties in the way, that they had no Moses , and that Palestine
4026-536: The Boers in Angola took place against the background of the juridical abolition of slavery and attempts by the Portuguese authorities to promote white colonisation of the interior of Angola. In light of the reputation of the Boers as good combatants, the Portuguese authorities believed that the trekkers could support them in fending off the double threat they faced: the indigenous tribes and the possible intervention of
4148-552: 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
4270-599: 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
4392-454: 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
4514-624: 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
4636-640: The British), their view of Britain as one of the horns of the beast in the Biblical Book of Revelation , and their general aversion to the British, even coming as far as to call them the antichrist. There are records of them as far back as 1836 in the Black Mountains between the Great and Little Karoo . Their leader was Johan Adam Enslin (1800-1852), a former blacksmith in the Cape Colony , who
4758-600: The British. They also hoped that the Boers could assist in stimulating trade and developing the country, and therefore the Boers were welcomed with open arms. On 4 January 1881 Humpata was identified as the site of the proposed Boer settlement and later that same month the Boers began to build a dam and an irrigation canal. Once town plots had been laid out and apportioned to the residents, the construction of dwellings began. Years of difficult acclimatisation followed. A group of Boers who had not immediately trekked to Humpata but had instead continued with their hunting endeavours along
4880-415: 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
5002-485: 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,
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5124-704: 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 the same year, one of their ships was stranded in Table Bay near what would eventually become Cape Town , and
5246-518: The Herero and Nama-Oorlam captains against the trekkers before the first trekker even set foot in the area. After the trekkers of the first trek group tried unsuccessfully for two years to obtain land in Namaland and Hereroland, they had to abandon this idea. By this time they were still unsure in which direction they should trek. Shortly after this they would merge with the trekkers of the second and third treks and continue their difficult sojourn through
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
5490-520: The Kunene were attacked by the OvaMbandja. In the course of the subsequent peace negotiations, the trekkers came into contact with the Portuguese. This interaction may well have planted the seed for their eventual trek to Angola a year later. Reports about the disastrous trek and the trekkers’ predicaments eventually reached their compatriots in southern Africa and the Cape authorities. Following this,
5612-589: 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
5734-574: The Meers River. At Sebetwane’s Drift they established that 37 people had already died at that stage of the trek. But the worst was yet to come. Regulations for the trek were drawn up and a new leadership body was elected, with Jan Greyling as commandant. Meanwhile, help had arrived at Rietfontein in the form of some 184 draught oxen from the first trekker party and this speeded up the trek somewhat. It took them 25 days to trek from Sebetwane’s Drift to Lake Ngami, arriving there on 25 September 1877. Here
5856-644: The Okavango and then trekked deeper into Angola, only joined the Boers at Humpata in 1883. The number of Boers in the settlement increased with the further arrival of individuals and small groups who were no longer able to make a satisfactory living in Damaraland after the outbreak of the Second Nama-Herero War. By 1 July 1883 the Boer settlement at Humpata comprised 325 Boers and 43 of their “mak volk”. Eventually approximately 700 individuals (aside from an unknown number of black labourers) had left
5978-570: The San / Bushmen has a small shop selling hand made Bushmen crafts. There are few sightseeing spots in Ghanzi - lions are kept in enclosures at the main gate of TauTona. "Ghanzi gat" is a hole that was made while the tar road was being made in Ghanzi, but while using dynamite to break the rock open, the people accidentally opened a water vein. This filled the 40m deep hole with water. Ghanzi is primarily dominant in cattle farming industry in Botswana. Today
6100-577: 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
6222-419: The Thirstland. The trekkers thought he wanted to divide them into smaller groups because it would then be easier for him to kill them in these groups. Despite an agreement the trekkers reached the previous evening to trek in separate groups a few days apart, complete disorder prevailed when the first trekkers left Letloche on the morning of 7 May 1877 and the rest of the trek party followed them as one group. In
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#17327795366056344-405: The Transvaal between 1874 and 1877 in three separate trek parties. During their epic journey, roughly 230 white trekkers had died and about the same number had returned to the Transvaal. Approximately 130 babies were born during the trek, but nevertheless only 370 individuals reached their promised land. The Jerusalemgangers or Enselin party were a group of Boers originating in Transvaal that held
6466-523: The Transvaal in three different groups. After they trekked from the district Pretoria on 20 May 1874 and camped for a year next to the Limpopo , the first group of trekkers left the Transvaal in May 1875. This group of 10 families, altogether 60 persons besides the “mak volk” travelling with them, trekked with relatively little loss of cattle and people through the Thirstland and in September 1875 reached
6588-417: The Transvaal, while a fourth group was scattered and fell behind. Even though the trekkers initially had good relations with the Kavango tribes, it eventually soured, and the trekkers had no choice but to move on. The Ovambo tribes further along the route were a threat to them, and so the trekkers were forced to deviate from the path and trek to a neutral area south of the Etosha Pan. They set up laager there for
6710-435: The Trek is ignored. In many reminiscences, narratives and statistics about the trek they are not even mentioned. They were descendants of the indigenous people of South Africa of which most of them were taken as children on the battlefield and were then raised by the trekkers. As a result of their shared experiences during the trek, a very close relationship arose between them and the white Thirstland trekkers. The trekkers left
6832-549: 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
6954-419: 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
7076-465: 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
7198-434: 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
7320-420: The activities of the show. However, in recent years crop production exhibition has gained a spot in the show as way of diversifying activities of the show and the agricultural aspect of the region. Stakeholders and government departments like Local Enterprise Authority also exhibits at the show. Actions are also held at the premises and BDF (Botswana Defense Force) usually comes to show their weaponry. Ghanzi
7442-415: 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
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#17327795366057564-404: 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
7686-420: 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
7808-503: The circumstances and chose to remain in the Transvaal. At spiritual level there were huge differences among the Thirstland Trekkers, who had a more conservative character, and their fellow citizens in the Transvaal. In a few instances the mental state of the Jerusalemgangers (a group of Voortrekkers in the Transvaal who wanted to trek overland to Jerusalem in Palestine ) affected the Trekkers. Their conservative outlook on life also affected their level of education detrimentally. Almost all
7930-534: The climate and the soils are unfavorable for arable farming. Small cultivation is spread over the district but is limited to subsistence crops of maize, sorghum, beans, peas, and melons. The record high temperature ever registered in Ghanzi was 42.2 °C (108.0 °F). The lowest temperature registered in Ghanzi was −8.5 °C (16.7 °F). Ghanzi has three banks – Barclays Bank , First National Bank , and Bank Gaborone , all of which have ATMs. Ghanzi now has three shopping centres: Ghanzi Spar, Shoprite and
8052-466: 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
8174-404: 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
8296-410: 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
8418-419: 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
8540-401: The district of Rustenburg . When the trekkers of the first two groups reached the Meers River, they remained there for two and a half months to recover from their disastrous journey and to take back the abandoned wagons to the Meers River. Since they only had 326 oxen left (about 20 teams) to pull roughly a hundred wagons, their progress was laborious. Ever so slowly they trekked further along
8662-432: 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, the term Boeren also applied to those who left
8784-433: 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
8906-466: 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
9028-457: 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
9150-480: The form of a Boerestaat ('Boer State') are being developed as colonies exclusively for Boers/Afrikaners, notably Orania in the Northern Cape and Kleinfontein near Pretoria . Ghanzi At the time of the 2021 census, there are 21,420 people living in the town with another 6,900 nearby. Ghanzi is the administrative center of Ghanzi District and is considered the "capital" of the district, as it
9272-484: 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
9394-460: 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, the Dutch first purchased land from
9516-562: 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
9638-430: 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
9760-597: 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
9882-544: 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
10004-577: The group split up. Ten to eleven families under Louw du Plessis trekked to Rietfontein to join the first trekker party, while the rest trekked northwestwards along the Okavango River . Since October 1877, most of the group who had trekked along the Okavango River had died of malaria. Malaria once again took its toll on the trekkers and from October 1877, most of the group who trekked along the Okavango River, died of malaria. Here things took
10126-475: 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
10248-488: The ivory trade. However, the first substantial Boer migration into Ghanzi began around 1897–1898. The place known today as Ghanzi was first called "Kamp". The Kalahari Arms Hotel and the Barclays bank in Ghanzi were some of the first businesses established in Ghanzi. The town of Ghanzi was the subject of a 1988 LA Times article which described the close-knit relationship between resident Afrikaners and Bushmen . At
10370-501: The lack of wealth or education, the average Transvaal Boer felt very independent. This easily escalated into stubbornness and the reluctance or inability to accept the authority of others. During the Great Trek and settlement afterwards, their education was completely neglected. As a result, the Transvaal Boers on the eve of the Thirstland Trek were a severely divided society, especially in terms of religion. They were therefore at
10492-616: 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
10614-509: 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
10736-485: 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
10858-407: The opportunity to return by ship from Walvis Bay to Cape Town and from there, with the help of charity organisations, returned to the Transvaal. After negotiations, a Boer delegation and colonel Sebastião Nunes da Matta , the governor of Moçâmedes , concluded an agreement on 18 September 1880, in which the conditions were outlined under which the trekkers would be permitted to settle in Angola. Once
10980-418: 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
11102-582: The people who met the Thirstland Trekkers commented on their low level of education. The “mak volk” was a group of labourers who accompanied the Thirstland Trekkers and adapted the way of life and spiritual culture of the Trekkers. Despite the fact that an estimated 130–200 “mak volk” participated in the Thirstland Trek, they were mainly an “invisible” part of the Trek. Often their contribution to
11224-477: The recently opened Choppies, another retailer in Botswana. Ghanzi Airport serves the town. There is currently no scheduled service, only charter and private operations. Ghanzi is well known countrywide for its annual agricultural show usually held in August each year. The show was first held in 1974 with initial aim to exhibit livestock breeds, for the longest time livestock breeds exhibition has dominated part of
11346-624: 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
11468-407: The same period the region was drought stricken while discord among the leaders surfaced. The relations between the trekkers and Khama also deteriorated. Khama withdrew his offer that they could trek across his region, presumably because of the grinding draught that made it impossible. It is estimated that at this stage the group comprised a total of 116 white families with 586 family members, apart from
11590-480: 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
11712-552: 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 the Cape. As a result, the VOC sent a Dutch expedition in 1652 led by Jan van Riebeek , who constructed
11834-492: The time, there was no radio or television in Ghanzi, and the Kalahari Arms Hotel, which was surrounded by a 9 foot high fence to keep lions out, hosted the only bar and discotheque in the area. Ghanzi is a place of different ethnic groups such as Afrikaners, Basarwa , Bakgalagadi and Baherero , who all have a spirit of tolerance. Residents of this place speak different languages such as Afrikaans, English, Sesarwa, Setswana, Sekgalagadi and Seherero, but their standard language
11956-580: The time. The final Boer families to return to South Africa under this repatriation left Angola in 1931. The first "Great trek from Angola" child born on the South West African side was Dirk Hendrik Ackerman (11 December 1928) The Boers were not well received everywhere. As early as 1874, Herero chiefs Maharero , Kambazembi , and Christian Wilhelm Zeraua requested the Cape authorities to intervene with their settlement in Damaraland . As
12078-429: The total absence of leadership there were no order and discipline and the stage was set for the disaster that followed. During the next seven to ten days water spots such as Tlhabala, Inkowane and Lethlakane were the setting for shocking scenes: From the third day on these banks the terrified bellows of the cows and screams of other animals were indescribable. In their distress, some of the oxen stormed ahead and trampled
12200-500: 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
12322-413: The trekkers died of thirst, however malaria still caused deaths. In these dismal circumstances the leader of the trek, Commandant Louw du Plessis, took the blame for the disastrous trek and resigned. After the Transvaal was annexed by Great Britain on 12 April 1877, a third group of trekkers, consisting of eight families of 40 people in addition to the “mak volk”, left that very same month, departing from
12444-490: The trekkers had set off on their trek from Kaokoland to Angola in November 1880, this was followed by a second agreement, signed on 28 December, in which the conditions of settlement were very similar to those in the earlier agreement. Even though by 1880 the coast of Angola had been colonised by the Portuguese for 300 years already, one could hardly regard this as an occupation of the interior of Angola by them. The arrival of
12566-504: The unhealthy conditions of the Debraveld, the trekkers had to continue their journey once again. The different trekker parties united, trekked further north, and then stayed over for a while at Leeupan and the Kaudum. Of the group of ten families under Gert du Preez, comprising 65 individuals (the “mak volk” included), all of the men died and only three women and 19 children survived. When the other trekkers heard of their ordeal, an expedition
12688-600: The unknown number of “mak volk”. The second trek group eventually left the Limpopo on 10 April 1877 and trekked along the Mahalapye River without permission. A delegation from Khama, comprising the missionary Hepburn, the trader Alfred Musson as interpreter, and seven council members tried in vain to convince them not to take on this dangerous journey. There was suspicion about Kham’s motives and his good advice that they should break up into smaller groups to trek across
12810-543: The unknown regions of southern Africa for a further three years. Even before the first trek group had left the Transvaal, the first trekkers of the second trek began to trek from the districts Pretoria and Rustenburg in April 1875. After they reached Limpopo in May 1875, they aimlessly roamed around along the river while hunting to pass the time for two years until 1877. From time to time newcomers joined them. The Ngwato chief Khama, across whose land they had to trek at that stage,
12932-592: The unpleasant circumstances in the Gereformeerde Kerk (Reformed Church) and the search for a New Jerusalem. Consequently, it was mainly the members of the Gereformeerde Kerk who participated in the Thirstland Trek. Political and economic reasons such as the fear of being regarded as equal to black people, uncertain political conditions, the fear of humanisation (in terms of opposition to new ideas), lack of land and population pressure, poverty and
13054-492: The various renderings of Ghanzi actually stem from the Naro language word "Gaentsii", meaning "gigantic swollen buttocks", referring to the body part of an antelope, and later cattle that congregated around a pan in the area. The first Afrikaner to settle in Ghanzi was the flamboyant Hendrik van Zyl , who crossed the Kalahari and set up a small hunting and trading enterprise in the area around 1870 and gained extravagant wealth in
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
13298-540: 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
13420-509: Was at that time a semi-desert and a den of robbers. In 1928 many Boers decided to leave Angola and head south to South-West Africa (then under South African jurisdiction), where settlement was easier and not impeded on by the Portuguese authorities. The repatriation was conducted by the South African government under J. B. M. Hertzog . From August 1928 to February 1929, 1,922 Boers were repatriated to South Africa. 420 trek certificates were issued to families, though only 373 families left Angola at
13542-438: 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
13664-456: 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
13786-503: Was here that the Thirstland trek must have experienced its all-time low, since most deaths because of malaria and loss of livestock occurred during this time. Furthermore, a few people died after eating poisonous wild plants, and one person was murdered by Bushmen. When the first trek party, which had set off northwards from Rietfontein in January 1878, came across this group of trekkers, the indescribable wretchedness and dilapidated circumstances of these trekkers shocked them deeply. Because of
13908-409: 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
14030-421: 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
14152-566: Was known as "the Prophet". They moved from the vicinity of present-day Tarkastad to Natal in 1837 to the Free State and finally the Transvaal after the British annexation in 1844. Because they identified themselves with the chosen Israel on the journey to Jerusalem, they were given the name "Jerusalemites," but many scholars are convinced that the distinctive feature of the Enslin group
14274-417: Was no end to their suffering. After the three trek parties reunited at Leeupan in July 1878, new leadership was elected and regulations for a united trek were drawn up. Great confusion and differences of opinion still prevailed at this point. The majority continued trekking in the direction of the Okavango. Another group started hunting to sell to traders near the Okavango. Another group decided to turn back to
14396-632: Was not religious in nature, but that it rather was their radical dislike of everything English. The Jerusalemites were convinced the Promised land could not be too far since they had observed Arabian horses in the possession of Native tribes. In the South African Biographical Dictionary, J.P. Claasen said the Jerusalemites did make preparations for the trip to Jerusalem. They called the Dutch mediator between
14518-428: 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 ,
14640-399: Was sent to rescue the survivors and bring them to the laager at Leeupan. Up until then, nothing had come of the trekker’s main goal of finding a new and “better land to live in”, and on top of that, the trek had impoverished them even more. They were surrounded either by hostile black tribes or inhospitable areas and the trekkers eventually did not know where to go to from there. And still there
14762-431: Was still sympathetic towards them and gave them permission to trek through the Thirstland. In March 1876 they missed a golden opportunity to trek. It would seem as if this group of trekkers at that stage still did not know in which direction they wanted to trek. By April 1876 the first cases of malaria broke out among them and in July 1876 the first of more than 160 persons who would perish of this disease, passed away. In
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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