The Boer Republics (sometimes also referred to as Boer states) were independent self-governed republics created by the Dutch-speaking (proto Afrikaans) inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope and their descendants (variously named Trekboers, Boers and Voortrekkers) in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of South Africa. In a broad definition, a republic is a state whose political organization rests on the principle that the citizens or electorate constitute the ultimate root of legitimacy and sovereignty. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia with smaller numbers of speakers in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Zambia. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... The Trekboers were descendents of Dutch settlers, French Huguenot refugees, German Protestants, Friesians and smaller numbers of Belgians, Scandinavians, Scots, also some Indian slaves due to intermarriage, and an a mixture of Khoi and Malay due to absorption into the nascent Boer nation. ... Boer is the Afrikaans (and Dutch) word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the Afrikaans-speaking migrating farmers of the expanding eastern Cape frontier. ... The Voortrekkers (Afrikaans for pioneers, literally those who move ahead or first/forward traveler) were white Afrikaner farmers, then known as Boers, who in the 1830s and 1840s emigrated during a series of mass movements of a number of separate trekking contingents under different leaders in what is called the...

History

Although some of these republics were already founded from 1795 onwards during the period of Dutch colonial rule at the Cape, most of these states were established after Britain took over from the Netherlands as the colonial power at the Cape of Good Hope. Subsequently a number of its Dutch-speaking (proto-Afrikaans) inhabitants trekked inland in 1835 in order to escape their administrative control in a movement that became known as the Great Trek. Several of these states were established after military defeats of the indigenous population by the Voortrekkers/Boers by virtue of their technologically superior weaponry. 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia with smaller numbers of speakers in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Zambia. ... In South African history, the Great Trek was an eastward and north-eastward migration of the Boers, descendants primarily of immigrants from western mainland Europe. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Trekboers on the Karoo. ...

The Voortrekker usually skirted the most densely populated areas, trekking into largely depopulated areas which were the result of the Mfecane or Difaqane initiated by the Zulu King Shaka in the 1820s. When the Voortrekkers encountered locally established groups/nations, they tended to opt to negotiate, turning to warfare only when attacked. Mfecane (isiZulu), also known as the Difaqane or Lifaqane (Sesotho), is an African expression which means something like the crushing or scattering. It describes a period of widespread chaos and disturbance in southern Africa during the period between 1815 and about 1835. ... Shaka Shaka (sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca. ... Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ...

The Voortrekkers under the leadership of Piet Retief obtained a treaty from the Zulu King Dingane to settle part of the lands the Zulus administered or held sway over, but Dingane later changed his mind, killing Retief and 70 members of his delegation. Dingane's impis (Zulu warriors) then went on to kill almost 300 Voortrekkers who had settled in the Natal region. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Dingane kaSenzangakhona (ca. ... This article is about the African ethnic group. ...

After Andries Pretorius was recruited to fill the leadership vacuum created by Retief's and Gerhard Maritz's deaths, he initially offered to negotiate for peace with Dingane if he were to restore the land he had initially offered to Retief [1]. Dingane responded by attacking the Voortrekkers; on 16 December 1838 the battle of Nacome River (later named the Battle of Blood River) occured, during which 300 Voortrekkers survived and won a decisive battle against thousands of Dingane's impis. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Battle of Blood River was fought on 16 December 1838 on the banks of the Blood river in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ...

The Natalia Republic was established in 1839 by the local Boers after Pretorius entered into an alliance with Mpande, the new Zulu king. Map of the Natalia Republic. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Mpande (1798 - 1872) was king of the Zulu nation from 1840 to 1872, making him the longest reigning Zulu king. ...

The territories north of the Vaal River in the Transvaal were officially recognized as independent by Great Britain with the signing of the Sand River Convention on 17 January 1852. The territories and districts of the Transvaal were Potchefstroom, Lydenburg and Zoutpansberg, which united in 1857 to form the South African Republic. The Sand River Convention was a convention whereby Great Britain formally recognised the independence of the Boers living beyond the Vaal River. ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Potchefstroom Flag Potchefstroom is a large academic town with the North-West University, situated on the banks of the Mooi River (literally pretty river), 120 km west-southwest of Johannesburg in the North West Province of South Africa. ... Lydenburg is a town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. ... Zoutpansberg is the north-eastern division of the Transvaal. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

The Orange Free State was recognized as independent by Great Britain on 17 February 1854. The Orange Free State became officially independent on 23 February 1854 with the signing of the Bloemfontein or Orange River Convention. February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Orange River Convention (sometimes also called the Bloemfontein Convention) was a convention whereby Great Britain formally recognised the independence of the Boers in the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers. ...

The New Republic (comprising the town of Vryheid) was established in 1884 on land given to the local Boers by the Zulu King Cetshwayo. This republic was later absorbed into the Transvaal/South African Republic. 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Cetshwayo kaMpande (circa 1826 - February 8, 1884) was the king of the Zulu nation from 1872 to 1879 and their leader during the Zulu War. ...

States were also established by other population groups, most notable the Griqua, a subgroup of South Africa's heterogeneous and multiracial Coloured people. Most notable among these were Griqualand West and Griqualand East. The Griqua (Afrikaans Griekwa) are a subgroup of South Africas heterogeneous and multiracial Coloured people. ... In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogenous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... The Griqua are a subgroup of South Africas Coloured population, descended from an admixture of European settlers and the Khoisan peoples they encountered on their initial arrival at the Cape. ... The Griqua are a subgroup of South Africas Coloured population, descended from an admixture of European settlers and the Khoisan peoples they encountered on their initial arrival at the Cape. ...

While some of these were mini-states which were relatively short-lived some, especially the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, developed into successful independent countries that were also officialy recognized by the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium and the United States. These two countries continued to exist for several decades, despite the First Boer War with Britain. However, later developments, including the discovery of diamonds and gold in these states, lead to Second Boer War. In this war the Transvaal and Orange Free State were defeated and annexed by the overwhelmingly larger British forces and they officially ceased to exist on 31 May 1902 with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. A new British colony, the Union of South Africa, was subsequently established. Flag of Transvaal The Transvaal (lit. ... Capital Bloemfontein Created 1854 Dissolved 1900 Official language Dutch (Afrikaans more common) The Orange Free State (Afrikaans: Oranje Vrystaat) was an independent country in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a province in South Africa. ... The First Boer War also known as the Transvaal War, was fought from December 16, 1880 until March 23, 1881. ... For other uses, see Diamond (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ... The Second Boer War, also known as the South African War, was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902. ... May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Treaty of Vereeniging was a treaty that the Boers signed May 31, 1902 to end the war with Britain. ... National motto: Ex Unitate Vires (Latin: From Unity, strength} Official languages Afrikaans, English. ...

List of the Boer and Griqua states

• Swellendam (1795)
• Graaff-Reinet (1795 - 1796)
• Winburg (1836)
• Potchefstroom (1837)
• Winburg-Potchefstroom, (17 January 1837 - 3 February 1848)
• Goshen (24 October 1882 - 7 August 1883)
• Griqualand East, also known as New Griqualand (1861 December 26 - 1879)
• Griqualand West, also known as Klipdrift Republic, Digger's Republic or Free Republic (1870 July 30 - 1870 December 13)
• Little Republic, also known as Little Free State (1886 March 10 - 1891 May 2)
• Natalia Republic (1838 October 12 - 1843 May 12)
• New Republic (1884 August 16 - 1888 July 20)
• Orange Free State, originally known as Transorangia (1845 - 1902) (Official independence from Great Britain on 23 February 1854.)
• Philippolis, also known as Adam Kok's Land (1825 August 25 - 1861 December 26)
• Stellaland (1882 July 26 - 1883 August 6)
• Transvaal, later known as South African Republic (1838 - 1902) (Official independence from Great Britain on 17 January 1852.)
• United States of Stellaland (1883 August 6 - 1885 September 30)
• Utrecht (1852 - 1858 May 8)
• Waterboer's Land, also known as Griquatown (1813 - 17 July 1871)

Swellendam Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. ... Graaff Reinet, a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 185 miles by rail NW by N of Port Elizabeth. ... Winburg is a small mixed farming town in the Free State Province of South Africa. ... Potchefstroom Flag Potchefstroom is a large academic town with the North-West University, situated on the banks of the Mooi River (literally pretty river), 120 km west-southwest of Johannesburg in the North West Province of South Africa. ... Potchefstroom Flag Potchefstroom is a large academic town with the North-West University, situated on the banks of the Mooi River (literally pretty river), 120 km west-southwest of Johannesburg in the North West Province of South Africa. ... Goshen (named after the biblical Land of Goshen) was a short-lived Boer republic from 24 October 1882 until 7 August 1883; it was located in an area of Bechuanaland, west of the then South African Republic. ... The Griqua are a subgroup of South Africas Coloured population, descended from an admixture of European settlers and the Khoisan peoples they encountered on their initial arrival at the Cape. ... The Griqua are a subgroup of South Africas Coloured population, descended from an admixture of European settlers and the Khoisan peoples they encountered on their initial arrival at the Cape. ... Piet Retief is a town situated in a timber growing region in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. ... Map of the Natalia Republic. ... Vryheid is a coal mining and cattle ranching town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ... Capital Bloemfontein Created 1854 Dissolved 1900 Official language Dutch (Afrikaans more common) The Orange Free State (Afrikaans: Oranje Vrystaat) was an independent country in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a province in South Africa. ... Philippolis is a small town in the Free State Province of South Africa. ... Map of Stellaland and surrounding regions Stellaland was a short-lived Boer republic established in 1882 by David Massouw and 400 followers, who invaded a Bechuana area west of the Transvaal. ... Flag of Transvaal The Transvaal (lit. ... Capital Pretoria Created 1857 - Independence 1881 - Boer Rebelion Dissolved 1877 - 1st British Annexation 1900 - Formal Annexation Official language Dutch (Afrikaans more common) This article is about the former country in Africa. ... Map of Stellaland and surrounding regions Stellaland was a short-lived Boer republic established in 1882 by David Massouw and 400 followers, who invaded a Bechuana area west of the Transvaal. ... Utrecht is a small town in the foothills of the Balele Mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ... Andries Waterboer was a leader of the Griqua people. ... Griquatown is a cattle farming town situated in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. ...

See also

• History of South Africa