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Great Trek 1835-1846

The Great Trek was a movement of Dutch-speaking colonists up into the interior of southern Africa in search of land where they could establish their own homeland, independent of British rule. The determination and courage of these pioneers has become the single most important element in the folk memory of Afrikaner Nationalism. However, far from being the peaceful and God-fearing process which many would like to believe it was, the Great Trek caused a tremendous upheaval in the interior for at least half a century.

The Voortrekkers

The Great Trek was a landmark in an era of expansionism and bloodshed, of land seizure and labour coercion. Taking the form of a mass migration into the interior of southern Africa, this was a search by dissatisfied Dutch-speaking colonists for a promised land where they would be 'free and independent people' in a 'free and independent state'.

The men, women and children who set out from the eastern frontier towns of Grahamstown, Uitenhage and Graaff-Reinet represented only a fraction of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the colony, and yet their determination and courage has become the single most important element in the folk memory of Afrikaner nationalism. However, far from being the peaceful and God-fearing process which many would like to believe it was, the Great Trek caused a tremendous social upheaval in the interior of southern Africa, rupturing the lives of hundreds of thousands of indigenous people. But this time the reports that reached the chiefs of the Sotho clans on the northern bank were more alarming: the white men were coming in their hundreds.

Threatened by the 'liberalism' of the new colonial administration, insecure about conflict on the eastern frontier and 'squeezed out' by their own burgeoning population, the Voortrekkers hoped to restore economic, cultural and political unity independent of British power. The only way they saw open to them was to leave the colony. In the decade following 1835, thousands migrated into the interior, organised in a number of trek parties under various leaders. Many of the Voortrekkers were trekboers (semi-nomadic pastoral farmers) and their mode of life made it relatively easy for them to pack their worldly possessions in ox-wagons and leave the colony forever.

After crossing the Orange River the trekkers were still not totally out of reach of the Cape judiciary - in terms of the Cape of Good Hope Punishment Act (1836), they were liable for all crimes committed south of 25 deg latitude (which falls just below the present-day Warmbaths in northern Transvaal).

The trekkers had a strong Calvinist faith. But when the time came for them to leave they found that no Dutch Reformed Church minister from the Cape was prepared to accompany the expedition, for the church synod opposed the emigration, saying it would lead to 'godlessness and a decline of civilisation'. So the trekkers were forced to rely on the ministrations of the American Daniel Lindley, the Wesleyan missionary James Archbell, and a non-ordained minister, Erasmus Smit.

The trekkers, dressed in traditional dopper coats (short coats buttoned from top to bottom), kappies (bonnets) and hand-made riempieskoene (leather thong shoes), set out in wagons which they called kakebeenwoens (literally, jawbone wagons, because the shape and sides of a typical trek wagon resembled the jawbone of an animal).

These wagons could carry a startling weight of household goods, clothes, bedding, furniture, agricultural implements, fruit trees and weapons. They were ingeniously designed and surprisingly light, so as not to strain the oxen, and to make it easier to negotiate the veld, narrow ravines and steep precipices which lay ahead. Travelling down the 3500 metre slope of the Drakensberg, no brake shoe or changing of wheels could have saved a wagon from hurtling down the mountain were it not for a simple and creative solution: the hindwheels of wagons were removed and heavy branches were tied securely underneath. So the axles were protected, and a new form of brake was invented.

The interior represented for the trekkers a foreboding enigma. The barren Kalahari Desert to the west of the highveld, and the tsetse fly belt which stretched from the Limpopo River south-eastwards, could not have been a very inviting prospect. Little did they realise that neither man nor animal would escape the fatal malarial mosquito. Yet the Voortrekkers ploughed on through treacherous terrain, eliminating all obstacles in their path, and intent on gaining access to ports beyond the sphere of British control, such as Delagoa Bay, Inhambane and Sofala. In order for their new settlement to be viable, it was crucial that they make independent links with the economies of Europe.

Trek and the 'empty lands'

The Empty Land Myth The Empty or Vacant Land Theory is a theory was propagated by European settlers in nineteenth century South Africa to support their claims to land. Today this theory is described as a myth, the Empty Land Myth, because there is no historical or archaeological evidence to support this theory. Despite evidence to the contrary a number of parties in South Africa, particularly right-wing nationalists of European descent, maintain that the theory still holds true in order to support their claims to land-ownership in the country.  Read article

Reconnaissance expeditions in 1834 and 1835 reported that Natal south of the Thukela and the central highveld on either side of the Vaal River, were fertile and largely uninhabited, much of the interior having been unsettled by the ravages of the Mfecane (or Difaqane as it is called in Sotho). The truth of these reports - many of them from missionaries - has long been a source of argument among historians, and recent research indicates that the so-called 'depopulation theory' is unreliable - the devastation and carnage by African warriors is exaggerated with every account, the number of Mfecane casualties ranging between half a million and 5-million.

This kind of historical inaccuracy strengthens the trekkers' claim that the land which they occupied was 'uninhabited and belonged to no-one', that the survivors of the Mfecane were conveniently spread out in a horseshoe shape around empty land. Probably in an attempt to justify their land seizure, the trekkers also claimed to have actually saved the smaller clans in the interior from annihilation, and defeated the 'barbarous' Ndebele and Zulu warriors.

Africans did indeed move temporarily into other areas, but were soon to reoccupy their land, only to find themselves ousted by Boer intruders. For example, in Natal the African population, estimated at 11000 in 1838, was increased by 'several thousand refugees' after Dingane's defeat at the hands of his half-brother Mpande two years later. In 1843, when the Republic of Natalia was annexed by the British, the official African population was put at 'between 80 000 and 10 0000 people'. But even this may have been an underestimation.

Trekker communities and technology

Military prowess was of paramount importance to the trekker expedition. It had to be, for they were invading and conquering lands to which African societies themselves lay claim. Bound by a common purpose, the trekkers were a people's army in the true sense of the word, with the whole family being drawn into military defence and attack. For instance, the loading of the sanna (the name they gave to the muzzle-loading rifles they used) was a complicated procedure and so the Boers used more than one gun at a time - while aiming and firing at the enemy with one, their wives and children would be loading another.

Armed with rifles on their backs and a kruithoring (powder horn) and bandolier (a bullet container made of hartebeest, kudu or ox-hide) strapped to their belts, formidable groups of trekkers would ride into battle. Bullets were often sawn nearly through to make them split and fly in different directions, and buckshot was prepared by casting lead into reeds and then chopping it up. Part of every man's gear was his knife, with a blade about 20 centimetres in length. When approaching the battlefield, the wagons would be drawn into a circle and the openings between the wheels filled with branches to fire through and hide behind. When they eventually settled down, the structure of many of the houses they built - square, with thick walls and tiny windows - resembled small fortresses.

The distinction between hunting and raiding parties was often blurred in trekker society. Killing and looting were their business, land and labour their spoils. When the trekkers arrived in the Transvaal they experienced an acute labour shortage. They did not work their own fields themselves and instead used Pedi who sold their labour mainly to buy arms and ammunition.

During commando onslaughts, particularly in the eastern Transvaal, thousands of young children were captured to become inboekselings ('indentured people'). These children were indentured to their masters until adulthood (the age of 21 in the case of women and 25 in the case of men), but many remained bound to their masters for much longer. This system was akin to child slavery, and a more vicious application of the apprenticeship laws promulgated at the Cape in 1775 and 1812.

Child slavery was even more prevalent in the northern Soutpansberg area of the Transvaal. It has been suggested that when these northern Boers could no longer secure white ivory for trade at Delagoa Bay, 'black ivory' (a euphemism widely used for African children) began to replace it as a lucrative item of trade. Children were more amenable to new ways of life, and it was hoped that the inboekselings would assimilate Boer cultural patterns and create a 'buffer class' against increasing African resistance.

Dispossession and land seizure

The trekkers' first major confrontation was with Mzilikazi, founder and king of the Ndebele. After leaving the Cape, the trekkers made their first base near Thaba Nchu, the great place of Moroka, the Rolong chief. In 1836 the Ndebele were in the path of a trekker expedition heading northwards and led by Andries Hendrik Potgieter. The Ndebele were attacked by a Boer commando led by Potgieter, but Mzilikazi retaliated and the Boers retreated to their main laager at Vegkop. There in October, in a short and fierce battle which lasted half an hour, 40 trekkers succeeded in beating off an attack by 6000 Ndebele warriors. Both sides suffered heavy losses - 430 Ndebele were killed, and the trekkers lost thousands of sheep and cattle as well as their trek oxen. But a few days later, Moroka and the missionary Archbell rescued them with food and oxen.

Gert Maritz and his party joined these trekkers in Transorangia (later the Orange Free State) and in January 1837, with the help of a small force of Griqua, Kora, Rolong and Tlokwa, they captured Mzilikazi 's stronghold at Mosega and drove the Ndebele further north. The trekkers then concluded treaties of friendship with Moroka and Sekonyela (chief of the Tlokwa).

When Piet Retief and his followers split away and moved eastwards to Natal, both Potgieter and Piet Uys remained determined to break the Ndebele. At the end of 1837, 135 trekkers besieged Mzilikazi 's forces in the Marico valley, and Mzilikazi fled across the Limpopo River to present-day Zimbabwe. He died there, to be succeeded by Lobengula, who led a rather precarious life in the area until he was eventually defeated by the forces of the British South Africa Company in the 1890s.

Meanwhile, Retief and his followers continued marching towards Port Natal (later Durban). After Retief's fateful encounter with Dingane, chief of the Zulu, and the ensuing Battle of Blood River, the trekkers declared the short-lived Republic of Natalia (1838). They formed a simple system of goveming, with Pretorius as President, assisted by a volksraad (people's assembly) of 24 members, and local government officials based on the traditional landdrost and heemraden system. In 1841, an adjunct council was established at Potchefstroom, with Potgieter as Chief-Commandant. The trekkers believed that at last they had found a place in the sun....

But the British would not recognise their independence. In December 1838, the Governor, Sir George Napier, a determined military man who had not allowed the loss of his right arm in battle to ruin his career, sent his military secretary, Major Samuel Charters, to occupy Port Natal, which effectively controlled Voortrekker use of the harbour. Three years later, when the Natal Volksraad resolved to drive all Africans not working for the whites southwards beyond the Mtamvuna River (later the border between Natal and the Transkei), Napier again intervened. He was concerned that this would threaten the eastern frontier of the Cape, and so instructed Captain Thomas Charlton Smith to march to Port Natal with 250 men. Smith, who had joined the Royal Navy at the age of nine and was a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo, tried to negotiate with Pretorius, but to no avail.

On the moonlit night of 23 May 1842, Smith attacked the Boer camp at Congella but Pretorius, who had been alerted, fought back. The trekkers proceeded to besiege the British camp. One of their number, Dick King. who became known as the 'saviour of Natal', evaded the siege and rode some 1000 kilometres on horseback to seek reinforcements in Grahamstown. In June a British relief force under Lieutenant-Colonel Abraham Cloete arrived on the scene and Boer resistance was crushed. On 15 July the volksraad at Pietermaritzburg signed the conditions of submission.

Although most trekkers had travelled into Natal or into the far north with the main expeditions, some had remained on the fertile land above the junction of the Caledon and Orange rivers, and gradually began to move north-eastward.

The trekkers' pioneer in this area was Jan de Winnaar, who settled in the Matlakeng area in May-June 1838. As more farmers were moving into the area they tried to colonise the land between the two rivers, even north of the Caledon, claiming that it had been abandoned by the Sotho people. But although some of the independent communities who had lived there had been scattered, others remained in the kloofs and on the hillsides. Moshoeshoe, paramount chief of the Sotho, when hearing of the trekker settlement above the junction, stated that '... the ground on which they were belonged to me, but I had no objections to their flocks grazing there until such time as they were able to proceed further; on condition, however, that they remained in peace with my people and recognised my authority'.

The trekkers proceeded to build huts of clay (instead of reed), and began planting their own food crops (no longer trading with the Sotho). This indicated their resolve to settle down permanently. A French missionary, Eugene Casalis, later remarked that the trekkers had humbly asked for temporary rights while they were still few in number, but that when they felt 'strong enough to throw off the mask' they went back on their initial intention.

In October 1842 Jan Mocke, a fiery republican, and his followers erected a beacon at Alleman's drift on the banks of the Orange River and proclaimed a republic. Officials were appointed to preside over the whole area between the Caledon and Vaal rivers. Riding back from the drift, they informed Chief Lephoi, an independent chief at Bethulie, that the land was now Boer property and that he and his people were subject to Boer laws. They further decided that the crops which had been sown for the season would be reaped by the Boers, and they even uprooted one of the peach trees in the garden of a mission station as indication of their ownership. In the north-east, they began to drive Moshoeshoe's people away from the springs, their only source of water. Moshoeshoe appealed for protection to the Queen of England, but he soon discovered that he would have to organise his own resistance.

Land seizure and dispossession were also prevalent in the eastern Transvaal where Potgieter had founded the towns of Andries-Ohrigstad in 1845 and Soutpansberg (which was later renamed Schoemansdal) in 1848. A power struggle erupted between Potgieter and Pretorius, who had arrived with a new trekker party from Natal and seemed to have a better understanding of the political dynamics of southern Africa. Potgieter, still anxious to legitimise his settlement, concluded a vredenstraktaat (peace treaty) in 1845 with Sekwati, chief of the Pedi, who he claimed had ceded all rights to an undefined stretch of land. The precise terms of the treaty are unknown, but it seems certain that Sekwati never actually sold land to the Boers.

Often in order to ensure their own safety, chiefs would sign arbitrary treaties giving away sections of land to which they in fact had no right. Such was the case with Mswati, chief of the Swazi, who, intent on seeking support against the Zulu, in July 1846 granted all the land bounded by the Oliphants, Crocodile and Elands rivers to the Boers. This angered the Pedi, who pointed out that the land had not even been his to hand over.

There was no uniform legal system or concept of ownership to which all parties interested in the land subscribed. Private land ownership did not exist in these African societies, and for the most part the land which chiefs ceded to the Boers was communally owned. Any document 'signed' by the chiefs, and its implications, could not have been fully understood by them. Misunderstandings worked in the favour of the Boers.

Large tracts of land were purchased for next to nothing. For example, the northern half of Transorangia went to Andries Potgieter in early 1836 for a few cattle and a promise to protect the Taung chief, Makwana, from the Ndebele. The area between the Vet and Vaal rivers extended about 60 000 square kilometres. This means that Potgieter got 2000 square kilometres per head of livestock! Also the 'right of conquest' was extended over areas much larger than those that chiefs actually had authority over. After Mzilikazi 's flight north in November 1837, the trekkers immediately took over all the land between the Vet and Limpopo rivers - although Mzilikazi's area of control covered only the western Transvaal.

But it was only after the Sand River Convention (1852) and the Bloemfontein Convention (1854) that independent Boer republics were formally established north of the Vaal and Orange rivers respectively.

Reader’s Digest. (1988). Illustrated History of South Africa: the real story, New York: Reader’s Digest Association. p. 114-120.

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What was the Great Trek?

The Great Trek was a perilous exodus of pioneers into the heart of South Africa, looking for a place to call home.

When the British took control of Cape Town and the Cape Colony in the early 1800s, tensions grew between the new colonizers of British stock, and the old colonizers, the Boers, descendants of the original Dutch settlers. From 1835, the Boers would lead numerous expeditions out of the Cape Colony, traversing towards the interior of South Africa. Escaping British rule would come with a host of deadly challenges, and the Boers, seeking their own lands, would find themselves in direct conflict with the people who resided in the interior, most notably the Ndebele and the Zulu.

The “Great Trek” is a story of resentment, displacement, murder, war, and hope, and it forms one of the bloodiest chapters of South Africa’s notoriously violent history.

Origins of the Great Trek

The Cape was first colonized by the Dutch , when they landed there in 1652, and Cape Town quickly grew into a vital refueling station between Europe and the East Indies. The colony prospered and grew, with Dutch settlers taking up both urban and rural posts. In 1795, Britain invaded and took control of the Cape Colony, as it was Dutch possession, and Holland was under the control of the French Revolutionary government . After the war, the colony was handed back to Holland (the Batavian Republic) which in 1806, fell under French rule again. The British responded by annexing the Cape completely.

Under British rule, the colony underwent major administrative changes. The language of administration became English, and liberal changes were made which designated non-white servants as citizens. Britain, at the time, was adamantly anti-slavery, and was enacting laws to end it.

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Tensions grew between the British and the Boers (farmers). In 1815, a Boer was arrested for assaulting one of his servants. Many other Boers rose up in rebellion in solidarity, culminating in five being hanged for insurrection. In 1834, legislation passed that all slaves were to be freed. The vast majority of Boer farmers owned slaves, and although they were offered compensation, travel to Britain was required to receive it which was impossible for many. Eventually, the Boers had had enough of British rule and decided to leave the Cape Colony in search of self-governance and new lands to farm. The Great Trek was about to begin.

The Trek Begins

Not all Afrikaners endorsed the Great Trek. In fact, only a fifth of the Cape’s Dutch-speaking people decided to take part. Most of the urbanized Dutch were actually content with British rule. Nevertheless, many Boers decided to leave. Thousands of Boers loaded up their wagons and proceeded to venture into the interior and towards peril.

The first wave of voortrekkers (pioneers) met with disaster. After setting out in September 1835, they crossed the Vaal River in January, 1836, and decided to split up, following differences between their leaders. Hans van Rensburg led a party of 49 settlers who trekked north into what is now Mozambique. His party was slain by an impi (force of warriors) of Soshangane. For van Rensburg and his party, the Great Trek was over. Only two children survived who were saved by a Zulu warrior. The other party of settlers, led by Louis Tregardt, settled near Delagoa Bay in southern Mozambique, where most of them perished from fever.

A third group led by Hendrik Potgieter, consisting of about 200 people, also ran into serious trouble. In August 1836, a Matabele patrol attacked Potgieter’s group, killing six men, two women, and six children. King Mzilikazi of the Matabele in what is now Zimbabwe decided to attack the Voortrekkers again, this time sending out an impi of 5,000 men. Local bushmen warned the Voortrekkers of the impi , and Potgieter had two days to prepare. He decided to prepare for battle, although doing so would leave all the Voortrekker’s cattle vulnerable.

The Voortrekkers arranged the wagons into a laager (defensive circle) and placed thorn branches underneath the wagons and in the gaps. Another defensive square of four wagons was placed inside the laager and covered with animal skins. Here, the women and children would be safe from spears thrown into the camp. The defenders numbered just 33 men and seven boys, each armed with two muzzle-loader rifles. They were outnumbered 150 to one.

As the battle commenced, the Voortrekkers rode out on horseback to harry the impi . This proved largely ineffective, and they withdrew to the laager. The attack on the laager only lasted for about half an hour, in which time, two Voortrekkers lost their lives, and about 400 Matabele warriors were killed or wounded. The Matabele were far more interested in taking the cattle and eventually made off with 50,000 sheep and goats and 5,000 cattle. Despite surviving through the day, the Battle of Vegkop was not a happy victory for the Voortrekkers. Three months later, with the help of the Tswana people, a Voortrekker-led raid managed to take back 6,500 cattle, which included some of the cattle plundered at Vegkop.

The following months saw revenge attacks led by the Voortrekkers. About 15 Matabele settlements were destroyed, and 1,000 warriors lost their lives. The Matabele abandoned the region. The Great Trek would continue with several other parties pioneering the way into the South African hinterland.

The Battle of Blood River

In February 1838, the Voortrekkers led by Piet Retief met with absolute disaster. Retief and his delegation were invited to the Zulu King Dingane ’s kraal (village) to negotiate a land treaty; however, Dingane betrayed the Voortrekkers. He had them all taken out to a hill outside the village and clubbed to death. Piet Retief was killed last so that he could watch his delegation being killed. In total, about 100 were murdered, and their bodies were left for the vultures and other scavengers.

Following this betrayal, King Dingane directed further attacks on unsuspecting Voortrekker settlements. This included the Weenen Massacre, in which 534 men, women, and children were slaughtered. This number includes KhoiKhoi and Basuto tribe members who accompanied them. Against a hostile Zulu nation, the Great Trek was doomed to fail.

The Voortrekkers decided to lead a punitive expedition, and under the guidance of Andries Pretorius, 464 men, along with 200 servants and two small cannons, prepared to engage the Zulu. After several weeks of trekking, Pretorius set up his laager along the Ncome River, purposefully avoiding geographic traps that would have led to a disaster in battle. His site offered protection on two sides by the Ncome River to the rear and a deep ditch on the left flank. The approach was treeless and offered no protection from any advancing attackers. On the morning of December 16, the Voortrekkers were greeted by the sight of six regiments of Zulu impis , numbering approximately 20,000 men.

For two hours, the Zulus attacked the laager in four waves, and each time they were repulsed with great casualties. The Voortrekkers used grapeshot in their muskets and their two cannons in order to maximize damage to the Zulus. After two hours, Pretorius ordered his men to ride out and attempt to break up the Zulu formations. The Zulus held for a while, but high casualties eventually forced them to scatter. With their army breaking, the Voortrekkers chased down and killed the fleeing Zulus for three hours. By the end of the battle, 3,000 Zulu lay dead (although historians dispute this number). By contrast, the Voortrekkers suffered only three injuries, including Andries Pretorius taking an assegai (Zulu spear) to the hand.

December 16 has been observed as a public holiday in the Boer Republics and South Africa ever since. It was known as The Day of the Covenant, The Day of the Vow, or Dingane’s Day. In 1995, after the fall of apartheid , the day was rebranded as “Day of Reconciliation.” Today the site on the west side of the Ncome River is home to the Blood River Monument and Museum Complex, while on the east side of the river stands the Ncome River Monument and Museum Complex dedicated to the Zulu people. The former has gone through many variations, with the latest version of the monument being 64 wagons cast in bronze. When it was unveiled in 1998, The then Minister of Home Affairs and Zulu tribal leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi , apologized on behalf of the Zulu people for the murder of Piet Retief and his party during the Great Trek, while he also stressed the suffering of Zulus during apartheid.

The Zulu defeat added to further divisions in the Zulu Kingdom, which was plunged into a civil war between Dingane and his brother Mpande. Mpande, supported by the Voortrekkers, won the civil war in January 1840. This led to a significant decrease in threats to the Voortrekkers. Andries Pretorius and his Voortrekkers were able to recover Piet Retief’s body, along with his retinue, and give them burials. On Retief’s body was found the original treaty offering the trekkers land, and Pretorius was able to successfully negotiate with the Zulu over the establishment of a territory for the Voortrekkers. The Republic of Natalia was established in 1839, south of the Zulu Kingdom. However, the new republic was short-lived and was annexed by the British in 1843.

Nevertheless, the Great Trek could continue, and thus the waves of Voortrekkers continued. In the 1850s, two substantial Boer republics were established: The Republic of the Transvaal and the Republic of the Orange Free State . These republics would later come into conflict with the expanding British Empire.

The Great Trek as a Cultural Symbol

In the 1940s, Afrikaner nationalists used the Great Trek as a symbol to unite the Afrikaans people and promote cultural unity among them. This move was primarily responsible for the National Party winning the 1948 election and, later on, imposing apartheid on the country.

South Africa is a highly diverse country, and while the Great Trek remains a symbol of Afrikaner culture and history, it is also seen as an important part of South African history with lessons to learn from for all South Africans.

6 Crazy Facts about Cape Town

By Greg Beyer BA History & Linguistics, Journalism Diploma Greg specializes in African History. He holds a BA in History & Linguistics and a Journalism Diploma from the University of Cape Town. A former English teacher, he now excels in academic writing and pursues his passion for art through drawing and painting in his free time.

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Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe

On-line version  issn 2224-7912 print version  issn 0041-4751, tydskr. geesteswet. vol.49 n.4 pretoria  2009.

Was die Groot Trek werklik groot? 'n Historiografiese ondersoek na die gevolge en betekenis van die Groot Trek

Was the Great Trek really great? A historiographical inquiry into the consequences and significance of the Great Trek

Pieter de Klerk

Vakgroep Geskiedenis, Noordwes-Universiteit (Vaaldriehoekkampus), E-pos: [email protected]

Sedert die laat negentiende eeu het historici die gevolge en betekenis van die Groot Trek bespreek. Daar kan verskillende hooftendense in die interpretasies onderskei word. Daar is eerstens die vroeë beskouing dat die Trek die beskawing in suidelike Afrika uitgedra het. Tweedens is daar die siening van Afrikaanse historici dat die Groot Trek die totstandkoming van die Afrikanervolk moontlik gemaak het. Derdens het lede van die liberale skool van historici die Trek beskou as 'n ontvlugting van progressiewe Britse beleidsmaatreëls in die Kaapkolonie; dit was 'n ramp vir die ontwikkeling van Suid-Afrika. Vierdens is daar die siening van die radikale skool dat die Groot Trek 'n fase was in die uitbreiding van kapitalisme en kolonialisme in Suid-Afrika. Vyfdens is daar die resente opvatting dat die Groot Trek net een van verskeie migrasies in Suid-Afrika was en nie uitgesonder kan word as van besondere betekenis nie. Sesdens beskou latere Afrikaanse geskiedskrywers die Trek as 'n gebeurtenis met uiteenlopende gevolge. Dit blyk dat historici steeds beïnvloed is deur tydsomstandighede in hul beklemtoning van bepaalde gevolge van die Trek. Sommige van hul stellings oor die langtermyngevolge van die Trek is spekulatief en kan moeilik gestubstansieer word. Gesien binne die perspektief van die huidige tydsgewrig was die Groot Trek primer deel van 'n omvattende proses van verwestering en modernisasie in suidelike Afrika. Alhoewel dit nie as dié sentrale gebeurtenis in die geskiedenis van Suid-Afrika gesien kan word, soos vroeër dikwels beweer is nie, is dit tog een van 'n klein aantal sleutelgebeurtenisse in die geskiedenis van die land.

Trefwoorde: Groot Trek, Voortrekkers, Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis, historiografie, Afrikanernasionalisme, Afrikanasionalisme, liberale historici, radikale historici, kolonisasie, kapitalisme, rassebeleid.

Since the late nineteenth century historians have discussed the consequences and significance of the Great Trek. G M Theal, who wrote an authoritative multi-volume history of South Africa, described the Trek as a unique event in the history of modern colonisation. He, together with scholars such as G E Cory and M Nathan, saw the importance of the Great Trek especially in terms of the expansion of Western civilisation and Christianity into the eastern parts of South Africa. During the period between approximately 1900 and 1980 many Afrikaans- speaking historians were strongly influenced by Afrikaner nationalism. They linked the Great Trek to the birth of the Afrikaner nation. Some historians, such as G S Preller and C Beyers, saw the Voortrekkers as people who were already conscious of their identity as a nation and wanted to become free of British dominance. Later historians, such as G D Scholtz, C F J Muller and F A van Jaarsveld, believed that Afrikaner nationalism only developed after the Great Trek, but that the Trek prevented the anglicization of the Boers in the Cape Colony and therefore made possible the development of an Afrikaner nation. W M Macmillan, E A Walker and C W de Kiewiet, three prominent members of the liberal school of historians, also regarded the Great Trek as a very important event in the development of South Africa, but thought that it had mainly negative consequences. In their opinion, the Voortrekkers had escaped from the economic and political changes in the Cape Colony with the aim of preserving an antiquated way of life. In the Boer republics, and later in the Union of South Africa, the racial policies of the Dutch colonial period were continued, instead of the liberal racial policies practised in the Cape Colony under British rule. Some contemporary historians still accept major elements of the early liberal interpretations. Authors with a Marxist viewpoint, such as D Taylor and W M Tsotsi, also regarded the Voortrekkers as representatives of a pre-capitalist economic system, but at the same time saw them as the vanguard of the imperialist advance in Africa; the Voortrekkers were conquerers and the oppressors of the indigenous population. P Delius, T Keegan and others, however, viewed the Voortrekkers as being part of the expanding capitalist system in Southern Africa. Since the 1960s a number of historians argued that the Great Trek should not be seen as a central event in the development of South Africa. A R Willcox and N Parsons emphasized the similarities between the Great Trek and the Mfecane. N Etherington, who is critical of traditional views of the Mfecane as a dispersal of peoples in Southern Africa caused by the rise of the Zulu kingdom under Shaka, viewed the Great Trek as one of a number of "treks" by various groups during the period 1815-1854. According to him the Great Trek was not larger or more significant than the other migrations and therefore does not deserve to be called "great". During the last four decades several Afrikaans historians pointed out that the Great Trek had a number of diverse consequences. From the perspective of the history of the Afrikaners there were various negative consequences. As a result of the Trek, the Afrikaners remained politically divided for many years. Furthermore, the Trek resulted in the cultural and economic isolation of the Boers. The Great Trek increased the conflicts between the Boers and indigenous tribes, but, on the other hand, stimulated trade between black and white groups. It would appear that in their various interpretations of the consequences of the Great Trek historians were influenced by the circumstances of their own time. Consequences which during a certain period seemed very important are now no longer regarded as particularly significant. De Kiewiet, for instance, pointed out in 1941 that the Great Trek connected the future development of the whole of South Africa with the Afrikaners, but today the Afrikaners are no longer the politically dominant group. Interpretations of the signifance of the Great Trek have also been strongly influenced by philosophical and ideological views. Afrikaner nationalists, African nationalists, Marxists and liberal historians have emphasized different consequences. While the view of the liberal school that the Great Trek caused the continuation of non-liberal racial policies had been influential for a long time, it was challenged by later scholars who regarded racism and apartheid as products of capitalism and colonialism. Some statements on the long term consequences of the Great Trek are speculative and cannot be proved or disproved. Among these are the proposition of several Afrikaner historians that the descendants of the Voortrekkers would have been completely anglicized if they had remained in the Cape Colony; and the statement by De Kiewiet that the Great Trek had prevented the development of separate white and black states in Southern Africa. The Great Trek was an important phase in the Western colonisation of South Africa. Early historians such as Theal saw the colonisation process as a positive development. For African nationalist writers, however, colonisation meant primarily the oppression of the indigenous peoples. Political decolonisation did not bring an end to the process of westernisation and modernisation in Africa, and the dominant political and economic system in South Africa today is mainly of Western origin. The Great Trek was a key event in the history of South Africa, comparable with events such as the British conquest of the Cape Colony in 1806 and the transfer of political power to the black majority in 1994.

Key concepts: Great Trek, Voortrekkers, South African history, historiography, Afrikaner nationalism, African nationalism, liberal historians, radical historians, colonisation, capitalism, racial policy

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1  Vergelyk Etherington (2008:323-324, 332). 2  Vergelyk Saunders (1988:9); Smith (1988:31). 3  Vergelyk Theal (1887:357); Van Jaarsveld (1963:52). 4  Vergelyk Muller (1963:54-55); Van Jaarsveld (1974:55); Smith (1988:47-48). 5  Vergelyk Muller (1963:53-54); Thompson (1985:180); Van Jaarsveld (1992: 28). 6 Majeke, Introduction, ongenommerd; vgl. Van Jaarsveld (1974:101); Muller (1974:37); Saunders (1988:137). 7 Vergelyk Van Jaarsveld (1984:58-65); Saunders (1988:154-161); Smith (1988:139-144). 8 Vergelyk die kritiek van Saunders (2002:300-307). 9 Vergelyk ook Muller (1974:20-21; Visagie (2005:2).

Pieter de Klerk is professor in Geskiedenis aan die Vaaldriehoekkampus van die Noordwes-Universiteit. Hy het aan die Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir CHO (tans bekend as die Noordwes-Universiteit) en aan die Vrije Universiteit van Amsterdam gestudeer, voordat hy in 1971 die graad D.Litt. in Geskiedenis aan eersgenoemde inrigting verwerf het. Hy is in 1968 as junior lektor in Geskiedenis op die Potchefstroomkampus van die PU vir CHO aangestel en is sedert 1983 aan die Vaaldriehoekkampus verbonde. Hy is die outeur van 'n aantal boeke en artikels op, hoofsaaklik, die volgende terreine: die teorie en filosofie van geskiedenis, historiografie en vergelykende geskiedenis. Hy het verskeie voordragte op internasionale en binnelandse vakkonferensies gelewer en was redaksielid van enkele akademiese tydskrifte.

Pieter de Klerk is professor of History at the Vaal Triangle Campus of North-West University. He studied at the Potchefstroom University for CHE (presently called Northwest-University) and at the Free University of Amsterdam, before he obtained the degree D.Litt. in History in 1971 at Potchefstroom University. In 1968 he was appointed as junior lecturer in History at the Potchefstroom Campus of the PU for CHE, and since 1983 he has been a staff-member at the Vaal Triangle Campus. He is the author of a number of books and articles focusing largely on the following fields of expertise: the theory and philosophy of history, historiography and comparative history. He has presented several papers at international and national academic conferences and has served on the editorial boards of a number of scholarly journals.

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The Great Trek

The Great Trek was the emigration of the Cape of Good Hope colonists in the 1830’s. This followed previous isolated treks of Dutch colonists who moved inland almost from the beginning of European Settlement in South Africa .

There were a number of reasons that caused the colonists who were mainly of Dutch origin to leave their homes and settle themselves inland and away from British rule.

One of the causes was that the British Colonial Office and their representatives did not have any understanding of the difficulties and problems of the Frontier farmers .  These farmers were also disgruntled by the inadequate compensation paid for the slaves that had been liberated under the Emancipation Law . They were also dissatisfied about the return to the local Native tribes of the buffer territory called the “Province of Queen Adelaide” and of course their dislike of the tax laws that had been set up. Many British settlers sympathized with the Voortrekkers protests symbolized by the bible presented to a Voortrekker leader Piet Retief by the British colonists of Grahamstown.

One of the first organized parties of Voortrekkers to leave the Cape was that of Louis Trichardt who led a party together with a group under Jan Van Rensburg (about 30 wagons in all), across the frontier and moved north. Along the way Van Rensburg’s party separated from the original group and moved east and disappeared.  Louis Trichard’s party after many hardships reach Lourenco Marques in Mozambique but most died from fever and the survivors returned back to Natal by ship.

In spite of dire warnings by Dutch Reformed clergy and Government officials other groups also began the long Trek to find a new home in the hinterland of South Africa. Among the chief leaders was Andries Hendrik Potgieter who reached what is present day Potchefstroom. Other groups settled in what is now the Free State where they established the town of Winburg.

P ieter Retief and Gerrit Maritz were leaders of the most important groups. In April 1837 Retief reached Thaba N’chu where he was elected Commander of 1000 emigrants and 6 months later he led an advance party across the Drakensberg into what is now Kwazulu-Natal and signed a treaty with Dingaan the Zulu chief at the time. They were invited to Dingaan’s Kraal where his party were murdered and an attempt was made by the Zulu’s to kill the survivors of his party at Blaauwkranz.

In December of 1838 the Voortrekkers defeated the Zulu warriors at the Battle of Blood River when Andries Pretorius defeated a Zulu army of 10,000 with a force of 460 Boers. After that the Great Trek would have ended if it were not for the fact that the British dispatched a force from the Cape and asserted British authority which resulted in further treks being undertaken by the Boers which led them to establish independent republics in the Free State and Transvaal .  When the British Colony of Natal was set up this marked the end of the Great Trek.

Causes of the Great Trek

DISCUSS THE CAUSES AND RESULTS OF THE GREAT TREK (25)

The Great trek

The Great Trek was the movement of the Boers from the Cape up into the interior of South Africa in search of land where they could establish their own homeland, independent of British rule. The Great Trek came as a result of varied and complex factors. The Dutch colonists were unhappy with British interference in their own life, especially the result of Britain’s abolition of slavery, which led to a labour shortage for which they felt they could be compensated. Also of significance was the pressure over the land and the influence of various missionary bodies had on the British policies on religion. The Dutch also felt that their identity was being threatened due to a series of laws which were proclaimed between 1823 and 1828 which substituted the official use of Dutch to English. The Retief manifesto finally marked the beginning of the great Trek which had so many effects on the Dutch themselves and other surrounding states which are going to be explained in detail as the essay unfolds.

The causes behind the vast movement of the Dutch were an accumulation of grievances with British rule and the desire of the Dutch to preserve their own way of life. Throughout the British rule the colony had gradually adopted British institutions at the expense of the Dutch. The English language had been the official language of the courts and the government. Notices were sent to the old colonist that all documents addressed to the government were to be written in English. The traditional form of local government was now replaced by magistrates and civil commissioners. This angered the Dutch because they denied to speak in English and therefore wanted to maintain their own language as official. Thus this contributed to their movement from the cape as they started looking for better places to live where they could maintain their own tradition.

Another important factor which forced the Boers’ movement was the establishment of the British native policy. According to Parker and Pfukani, the missionaries who began to arrive at the cape, sponsored by the various missionaries and philanthropic organisations, were firmly against slavery, believing in the equality of man. They came to put their beliefs and ideas into practice by converting the African natives and teaching them to accept the moral and judicial principles of Christian Europe. The circuit courts placed servant and master on an equal footing. British policies appeared to favour the bantu over the Dutch and these actions highlighted the fundamental differences between the Boers and the British. In the eyes of the Boers the bantu were inferior and could not be placed on an equal footing with the Boers. This the boers felt threatened by these policies and then decided to move to other places which were not affected by these policies.

More so, due to the introduction of the British policies, the system of slavery was abolished. This greatly affected the white Boer farmers who used the Bantu as their cheap source of labour. The Dutch were no longer allowed to use the Africans on their farms. Parker and Pfukani asserted that it was not just the freeing of the saves that drove the Boers to make the final break as much as the kaffir being placed on an equal footing with Christians contrary to the laws of God and the natural distinction of race and religion so that it was intolerable for any decent Christian to bow beneath such a York. Whereof the Boers would rather withdrew in order to preserve their own doctrine in purity.in the years that followed many treks set out under local leaders each headed north for the promised land driven on by the belief that they were God’s chosen people.

Furthermore the loss of slaves led to the reduction of productivity on the Boer’s land. They were no longer able to produce more due to the fact the farms were left with no one to work on their farms. The loss of labour hurt the Boers but their protest were countered by the voice of the missionaries who saw this as a major step forward. This grew Boer discontent and in 1833, the British passed an act ending slavery throughout the empire. In 1834, Sir Benjamin D’Urban arrived at the cape as the new governor with new instructions to cut back the expenses, introducing more representative administration, carry out emancipation of slaves and to try to find a solution that would bring peace. This brought the Boer optimism of change but stills their farms had no one to work on and this resulted in a great loss for the Boer farmers.

However the Boer optimism to be compensated for their loss of slaves did not last long. Reports had reached London from the missionaries criticising D’Urban’s annexation. He had to therefore reverse his policy and to outspoken criticism of the Boers. This was not only a blow to the Boers hopes for an improvement in British policy. The frontier was with the Bantu had also destroyed crops and depleted cattle herds. Many of the farmers in debt, having borrowed money on the strength of the slave compensation payments that were due. In June 1836 the list of compensation payments was completed but in November news came that the British government would only be able to pay half the money available and it was to be paid in London partly in cash and partly in stock. The Boers were stunned, many were ruined, others found their wealthy suddenly halfed and no one could afford to go to London and claim their due. The country suddenly swarmed with agents offering to buy up the farmer’s claims and the Boers sold their land at very low prices to those agents who then sailed to England, cashed the claims and made huge profits.

The fact that the Boers lost their land forced them to leave the Cape because they had nowhere to stay. Before the reversal of D’Urban policies, the land policies had changed soon after the British conquest of the Cape. Boers discontent arose over a change in the system of land tenure.in the past the loan foam system had given the trekboer the freedom to move and stay where they wished. Many had settle on land without bothering with registration or the payment of the annual loan fee. In theory the government would assume the ownership of the land at a year’s notice but in practice this never happened and the free access to land came to be looked upon as a God given right. The orderly administrative mind of the British government could not allow such a haphazard system to continue and in 1813 the government began the reform by allowing the conversion of loan farms into permanent holdings.

To add more, the land would be surveyed, boundaries defined and title deeds issued. It would become a permanent property of the farmer in return of an annual rent payment. No more loan farms would be granted and land would be bought and sold by auction. Sensible though these reforms may appear, they robbed the Boer of his long cherished freedom and looked upon as an attempt to rob him of his birth right. The laws again tightened in 1832 and became a continual cause for resentment against the interfering of the British. Thus the Boers no longer had the freedom to move around and choose to stay where ever they deemed necessary due to the boundaries that had been set by the government. This angered them to such an extent that they felt their freedom being threatened. The situation was worsened when the British government indicated that they will not be able to compensate them for this and their loss of slaves thus this resulted in the Boer farming activities being distorted thus they opted to leave.

One of the factors which contributed to the Great Trek was the fifteth ordinance which was issued by Richard Bourke. This ordinance gave the khoi-khoi freedom of movement, the right to purchase land and own land. Dr Philip managed to obtain the inclusion of a clause which forbade any change in the ordinance without the British consent. The khoi-khoi could do little to take advantage of the opportunity to buy the land. They had no land of their own and could not afford to buy any. The government saw this and in 1828 two to three thousand khoi-khoi and Griquas were settled in the Kat river. To the Boers, the whole idea of equality between the races was heretical while the grant of well watered land to their former slaves was an act of the devil . This embarrassed the Boers to such an extent that they saw leaving the Cape as the best solution.

Boer anger to all this was clearly expressed in an article by Piet Retief. His words became the manifesto of the frontier farmers. He highlighted that the Boers will quit the colony under full assurance that the English government has nothing more to require of them and will not allow them to govern themselves. Farmers from all over the frontier packed their belongings into their wagons, inspanned their ox and trekked north not in just search of fresh pasture but determined to establish their own states based on the laws of God where their way of life would be free from British rule and interference.

In the decade following 1835, thousands migrated into the interior, organised in a number of trek parties under various leaders. On their way they were confronted by the Nguni groups such as the Ndebele under Mzilikazi and the zulu ander Dingane which resulted in a blood shed and great loss of life. They were also attacked by the British under Abraham Cloete and the Boer resistance was crushed. On 15 July the Boers signed the conditions of submission with the British. The Boers settled in the Transvaal where they seized land from the Africans. Some of the Africans ended up signing agreements with the Boers in which they gave their potion of land to them. After the battle with dingane the Boers defeated dingane who opted to run away with his people from the Boers who then later on occupied the land and their own.

The consequences of the Great Trek during the 1830s included the formation of the republic. There were three treks and these combined and drew up a simple constitution which provided for a volksraad of seven elected members the volksraad was both legislature and court of law, and laws could also be made by a mass meeting of burghers. However there was no time for law making. so the formation of the republic was of the consequences of the Great Trek.

When the Boers settled in Natalia. In Natalia they could never feel secured until Dingane’s power had been eliminated. The subject was never far away from their thought. Lindeley wrote that the Boers are more afraid of his treachery (Dingane) than of all his worriers, and on his account are perhaps more uneasy now than when they were at open war with him. For his part Pretorious confided in his journal that he was anxious to give the last death blow to the now humbled hound. This show that another result of the Great Trek was that the Boers began to be involved in conflicts with Dingane and his people.

Also, it is believed that by many historians that the year 1838 was even more important for the ultimate success of the Boers and for the symbolic meaning. This shows the positive result of the Great Trek. The Trek was to gain in January and February of that year Piet Retief met with the Zulu King Dingane in order to negotiate a contract for the settlement of the Boers controlled by Zulu what may have looked like a hopeful development turned to a disaster when Retief and his delegation were killed by Dingane’s kraal and the Boers attempt to retaliate in April 1838 was beaten off. This also shows negative side of the Great Trek since the Boers were being involved in conflicts with the Zulu under Dingane and some of its members died during that time.

Another result of the Great Trek was that there was the blood river battle which changed the political power structures in the region and both the battle and the preceding “Covenant” with God were to be considerable importance in the creation of the myth of the Great Trek since they had won the battle. The Trek was thus transformed into a “political myth” that was foundational for Afrikaner identity construction and white minority rule. This also shows the positive results of the Great Trek of the 1830s.

Moreover, the Boers created independent states in what is now South Africa and the Orange Free State. This shows a positive result of the Great Trek of the 1830s. The British also annexed these territories which led to two Boer wars one of which resulted in the death of Dingane.

When the Boers managed to defeat Dingane the state became an independent state. This shows another positive result of the Great Trek of 1830s. The Boers attributed the victory to a vow they had made to God before the battle if victorious they and future generations would commemorate the day as a Sabbath. Thus 16 December was celebrated by Afrikaners as public holiday colloqually and ironically called “Dingane’s Day”. This show another great positive result of the Great Trek in 1830s.

In conclusion there are many intertwined factors which contributed to the great Tek in 1835. These include the British occupation of the cape who later on introduced their policies which were against the Boers. These policies resulted in the loss of labour, slaves and freedom by the Boers which are the factors which contributed them to bandon the Cape and migrated north. However, the migration of the Boers did not prove to be simple to the Boers as they faced so many challenges. These challenges include the great bloodshed and loss of life due to the wars against the Nguni groups and the British. They were also affected by the tsetse flies which claimed their relatives and their cattle to such an extent that when they later on settled down in the Natal region, they had suffered a great loss.

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The Great Trek Facts & Worksheets

The great trek was the mass emigration of dutch, german and french huguenot (boers) colonizers of cape colony in south africa from cape colony towards the interior areas of the continent that took place from 1835 until 1840., search for worksheets.

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Table of Contents

The Great Trek was the mass emigration of Dutch, German and French Huguenot (Boers) colonizers of Cape colony in  South Africa from Cape Colony towards the interior areas of the continent that took place from 1835 until 1840. The trek was done as a form of resistance against the British government and as an attempt to live independently from British rule.

See the fact file below for more information on the Great Trek or alternatively, you can download our 25-page The Great Trek worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Leading to the great trek period.

• Boers were the Dutch, German and French Huguenots who were the first colonizers of Cape Colony. They arrived in the area during the early 1650s.
• The Boers disagreed with policies the British government implemented. Policies minimizing slavery of native Africans and land colonization for white settlement were some policies implemented that the Boers protested against.
• Boers believed that British authorities favored protecting the rights of native Africans instead of theirs. As a result, rebellions were staged against British authority and in 1815,  British authorities hanged 5 rebel Boers because they attempted to start an uprising against the British government for its bias towards African rights.
• The Boers believed that they would find land on the interior parts of the continent and be able to establish their own colonies that would be free from British rule.
• January 1832 Dr. Andrew Smith, a British zoologist sent to Cape Colony, and a Boer farmer went on an expedition to scout Natal as a potential colony. Natal, along with the other land areas in its radius, was portrayed as a promising area to colonize due to its topography and nearly complete absence of inhabitants.
• Around 12,0000 Boers of Cape Colony , predominantly the Dutch, decided to leave the area as a result of the rising tension with British authority
• The first group of Boers who left Cape Colony were recognized as Voortrekkers meaning early migrants. These Voortrekkers left Cape Colony in 1835 and migrated to the interior Highveld north of the Orange River. Their movement led them to be recognized as the pioneers of the mass emigration of the Boers from Cape Colony or The Great Trek.

THE GREAT TREK PERIOD

• Boers were emigrating from Cape Colony from 1835-1840.
• The Voortrekkers traveled by oxen-drawn wagons.
• Piet Retief, a prominent Voortrekker leader and commander, published a manifesto that stated reasons as to why the Boers were emigrating from Cape Colony. It  was published on February 1837 in  Grahamstown’s Journal
• Boers who left Cape Colony always traveled in groups consisting of families, servants, and livestock. They brought with them cases of water, dried food, clothing, some brought weapons such as spears and guns. These groups traveled under the guidance of a leader
• Some well-known leaders were Andries Potgieter, Gert Maritz, Piet Retief, and Piet Uys.
• The expedition was harsh not only because of the geographical obstacles such as the Orange and Vaal rivers that intercepted their path and the Limpopo river delta that was infested with Malarial Mosquitoes,  but also because of native African kingdoms they came in contact with such as the Zulus, Matebeles, and Xhosas. The Boers and leaders of African states disagreed about land ownership and settlement resulting in several battles.

BATTLES OF THE GREAT TREK PERIOD

• On October 20, 1836 as a group of Voortrekkers led by Hendrik Potgieter made their way out of the Tarka area, they were attacked by roughly 5,000  Ndebele warriors. Under the command of Potgieter, the Voortrekkers retreated and left their livestock, specifically their cattle, behind. This is known as the Battle of Vegkop.
• Piet Retief, one of the most important leaders of the Great Trek, struck a deal with with Dingane, the Zulu king, that stated that an area of land in Natal will be given to the Voortrekkers in exchange of Retief and his troops recovering the herd of cattle stolen by  Sekonyela (the chief of the Tlokwa). Despite agreement on the settlement, Dingane killed Retief and all of his comrades on February 1838
• April 1838, because of the massacre of Piet Retief and his group of trekkers, assistance from Piet Uys and Hendrik Potgieter were called for. Uys and Potgieter led their parties for battle against the Zulu to the capital of the Zulu king, Umgungundlovu. Potgieter’s troops retreated from the battlefield immediately, leaving Uys uncoordinated and alone. This led to their defeat. This is known as the Battle of Italeni.
• December 16, 1838, after several defeats from the Zulu kingdom and to end the disparity, Voortrekker forces led by Andries Pretorius entered Zululand. Positioned near the Ncome River, Pretorius’s troops were able to successfully attack the Zulu warriors. The Ncome river was red with the blood from Zulu warriors, coining the name Battle of Blood River.

The Great Trek Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Great Trek across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use The Great Trek worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Great Trek which was the mass emigration of Dutch, German and French Huguenot (Boers) colonizers of Cape colony in South Africa from Cape Colony towards the interior areas of the continent that took place from 1835 until 1840. The trek was done as a form of resistance against the British government and as an attempt to live independently from British rule.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

• The Great Trek Facts
• You’re Out of Here
• Backpacking Through Time
• The Ultimate Match
• You Give Me Meaning
• Lead the Way
• Get in Line
• The Outcome
• Compare and Contrast

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History Hit Story of England: Making of a Nation

• South Africa

Voortrekker Monument

Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria commemorates South Africa’s Boer pioneers.

Peta Stamper

05 jul 2021.

About Voortrekker Monument

The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, South Africa, commemorates the exodus of the Boers – Voortrekkers meaning ‘pioneers’ – from the Cape Colony from 1835 and 1854. This enormous granite structure on a hilltop was declared a National Heritage Site in 2011 and features as one of our top Tourist Attractions of South Africa .

Voortrekker Monument history

Sparked by the British abolition of slavery in all their colonies in 1834, the ‘Great Trek’ resulted in the creation of several republics and laid the foundations for the modern layout of South Africa. The Great Trek also resulted in conflicts between the Boers and the Zulus, particularly the Battle of Blood River , which the Voortrekker Monument also commemorates.

An idea for a monument was first raised in 1888, yet it would not be until 1931 when the Sentrale Volksmonumentekomitee (SVK) was formed and organised construction. The cornerstone for the monument was laid in 1938 by three descendants of the Voortrekker leaders.

Voortrekker Monument today

Reaching 40 metres high and sharing features with the French Dome des Invalides and the German Volkerschlachtdenkmal, the Voortrekker Monument is comprised of a vast granite structure surrounded by 64 ox-wagons – a symbol of Voortrekker practices – and is flanked by numerous statues of historic figures such as Boer leader Piet Retief.

Inside the Voortrekker Monument is its large Hall of Heroes housing a historical frieze depicting not only the history of the Trek but references to everyday life and culture of the Voortrekkers. The building also houses a small museum of Voortrekker history. Those who are keen to climb to the top of the monument are rewarded with fantastic views across the surrounding nature reserve.

Getting to the Voortrekker Monument

Just outside of Pretoria, you can easily find the Voortrekker Monument by car off the R101 (Pretoria Main Road) heading south. Alternately, get the Centurion, Valhalla or Voortrekkerhoogte buses to Monument Gate 2 on Trichardt Road.

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Republicans close to Mr. Trump have expressed concern that he and his allies risk alienating women, Black voters and moderate swing-state voters if they continue to use racist and sexist attacks against Ms. Harris, the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to accept a major party’s presidential nomination. Mr. Trump last week acknowledged that some of his advisers have urged him to move away from personal attacks, a shift he said he did not plan to take.

Last month, Mr. Trump questioned Ms. Harris’s identity as a Black woman, suggesting at a convention of Black journalists that Ms. Harris had used her racial profile as a way to gain a political advantage.

The Trump campaign did not initially respond to a request for comment. But after this article was published online, Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, complained about The New York Times and said that Mr. Trump, in his reposts about Ms. Harris, “rightfully calls to question her ability to be commander in chief.” The campaign did not respond to questions about the content of these posts and whether Mr. Trump intends to continue such attacks on Ms. Harris. Ms. Leavitt added, “The Failing New York Times spends more time airing negative stories about President Trump than writing about the negative consequences of Kamala Harris’s policies as vice president.”

Ms. Harris has for decades been subject to attacks like the ones Mr. Trump amplified, though they became more frequent during the 2020 presidential campaign, when she was President Biden’s running mate. Critics pointed to her relationship with Mr. Brown as a way to question her qualifications. And after the right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh suggested falsely, quoting from a conservative website, that Ms. Harris had “slept her way up,” T-shirts with the slogan “Joe and the Hoe” were worn by Mr. Trump’s supporters.

The slogan remained popular throughout Mr. Trump’s third presidential bid, and T-shirts bearing the phrase were frequently seen at Mr. Trump’s rallies up until Mr. Biden suspended his presidential bid.

Ms. Harris and her allies have over the years dismissed the claims that her relationship with Mr. Brown was central to her political rise, calling such attacks sexist and saying that she was qualified for positions she has held, including two state posts that Mr. Brown appointed her to, as well as winning elections as district attorney of San Francisco and California attorney general .

Mr. Trump frequently deployed gender-based attacks against Mrs. Clinton in his successful 2016 campaign. Faced with criticism over his treatment of women and the release of the “Access Hollywood” recording in which he crudely boasted about grabbing women’s genitals, Mr. Trump repeatedly pointed to the sexual indiscretions of Mrs. Clinton’s husband.

Throughout his political career, Mr. Trump has made a habit of sharing others’ divisive or offensive social media posts, then dismissing criticism by arguing he was simply reposting.

Last year, a jury found that Mr. Trump had sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room in the mid-1990s, then defamed her in a Truth Social post. Earlier this year, Ms. Carroll was awarded an $83.3 million judgment for continued attacks in social media posts.

Ken Bensinger contributed reporting.

Michael Gold is a political correspondent for The Times covering the campaigns of Donald J. Trump and other candidates in the 2024 presidential elections. More about Michael Gold