Afrikaners are white South Africans of predominantly Calvinist Dutch, German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloon descent who speak Afrikaans. In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ... In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. ... Frisia (or also Friesland) is a region along the southeastern coasts of the North Sea. ... The Walloons (Wallons in French) are French-speaking Belgians from Wallonia. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ...

Afrikaners are also sometimes referred to as Boers, but many Afrikaners now view this as a derogatory term. Some settlers from other parts of Europe (e.g. Scandinavia and the British Isles) also joined the ranks of the Afrikaners. Non-Europeans (including Malay, Indian, Khoi and Bantu) makeup around 5-7% of Afrikaner origins. The Afrikaans language evolved from the Dutch spoken by the first white settlers at the Cape. From the late 17th century, the form of Dutch spoken at the Cape developed differences in pronunciation and accidence and, to a lesser extent, in syntax and vocabulary, from that of Holland. Settlers who arrived speaking German and French soon converted to Dutch. The process of creolisation was influenced by the languages spoken by slaves, Khoikhoi and people of mixed descent, as well as by Cape Malay and Portuguese. While the Dutch of Holland remained the language of officialdom, the new creolized form, often known as Cape Dutch, developed into a separate language by the 19th century. Scandinavia is the cultural and historic region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. ... British Isles is also an old name for the Great Britain, Great Britain Ireland The Isle of Man The Isle of Wight The Northern Isles, including Orkney, Shetland and Fair Isle The Hebrides, including the Inner Hebrides, Outer Hebrides and Small Isles Rockall The islands of the lower Firth of... The Cape Malays are an ethnic group who can claim descent from slaves brought to South Africa from Indonesia starting from 1667. ... The Khoikhoi (men of men) or Khoi are a division of the Khoisan ethnic group of south-western Africa, closely related to the Bushmen (San). ... The Bantu refer to over 400 different ethnic groups in Africa, from Cameroon to South Africa, united by a common language family, the Bantu languages, and in many cases common customs. ...

Afrikaners are principally descended from northwestern european settlers and religious refugees who occupied the Cape of Good Hope during the period of administration (1652-1795) by the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) and the subsequent period of British rule. The original colony at the Cape, which was started as a refreshment station for the VOC, was first settled by the Dutch in 1652. The arrival in 1688 of a small group of French Huguenots who were fleeing religious persecution in France infused new blood and swelled the settlers' numbers. Map of European presence in 1652 The Cape Colony was a part of South Africa under British occupation during the 19th century. ... Events April 6 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope, and founded Cape Town. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the trading company. ...

The term Afrikaner encompasses disparate communities of white Afrikaans speakers. Originally it distinguished those Dutch speakers who saw themselves as local, i.e. "African", from those who still primarily identified with Europe; it was later used to distinguish between Afrikaans speakers and English speakers among the white population. Its earliest use dates from 1707 but was not widely used until after the Anglo-Boer War of the early 20th century. Prior to then, the various white Afrikaans speaking communities were known under different names. A significant number were known as Boers (farmers). The semi-nomadic/migrating farmers of the eastern frontier were known as Trekboers. Those who lived in the western Cape and did not trek eastward were known as the Cape Dutch. The isolated pioneers from the eastern Cape frontier who trekked / migrated into the interior en masse in a series of migrations later known as the Great Trek were known as Voortrekkers. A small number of Voortrekkers came from the western Cape as well. Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Act of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War There were two Boer wars, one in 1880-81 and the second from October 11, 1899-1902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch origin (called Boere, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South Africa that put an end to the two independent... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... The term Cape Dutch was used to describe the Dutch, French, German, and other European descended inhabitants of the Western Cape who from the 17th century into the 19th century who remained loyal subjects of European (first Dutch then later British) powers while their pastoralist trekking cousins: the Trekboers were... 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. ... The Voortrekker Monument built in 1949. ...

In the 1830s and 1840s an estimated 12,000 Voortrekkers penetrated the future Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal provinces to put themselves beyond the reach of British authority, in order to escape relentless border wars, British colonialism and its Anglicization polices, as well as to ease pressure on an overcrowding frontier where land was becoming scarce. While some historians claim that this series of migrations, later known as the Great Trek, was caused because the Boers did not agree with the British restrictions on slavery, most Trekboers did not own slaves, unlike the Cape Dutch, their more affluent cousins in the western Cape who did not trek eastward and migrate or participate in the Great Trek. The vast majority of Voortrekkers were Trekboers from the eastern Cape who engaged in pastoralism. Nevertheless, the British promulgation of Ordinance 50 in 1828, which guaranteed equal rights before the law to all "free persons of color", was indeed a factor in Boer discontent, as is well documented by numerous contemporary sources; the various republics founded by the Voortrekkers while prohibiting slavery itself would all enshrine inequality by race into their constitutions. Events and Trends Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony. ... Events and Trends First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi New Zealand. ... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Wiktionary has a definition of: Slavery Slavery can mean one or more related conditions which involve control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or... 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. ... 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The Great Trek was mainly the result of the "bursting of the dam" of pent up population migration and population pressures, as Trekboer migrations eastward had come to a virtual stop for at least three decades (though some Trekboers did migrate beyond the Orange River prior to the Great Trek). During the Great Trek they fought with the Zulus (after Voortrekker leaders Piet Retief and Gerhard Maritz, along with almost half of their followers, were killed by King Dingane and his warriors after a cultural misunderstanding over a land treaty), who occupied the best land in some of the areas the Boers were attempting to trek into. Although in revenge the forces of Andries Pretorius killed about 3,000 Zulus in the Battle of Blood River in a classic mismatch between guns and spears, Zulu resistance changed the direction of the Trek. The emphasis moved from occupying from the Zulu lands east of the Drakensberg mountains to the west of them and onto the high Transvaal which was occupied by peoples devastated by the Mfecane. The Zulu are an African ethnic group of about 11 million people who live mainly in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. ... Dingane kaSenzangakhona (ca. ... Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (1799 - 23 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who created the Republic of Transvaal (1852 - 1900) as well as the earlier but short lived Republic of Natalia (1839 - 1843) in present-day South Africa. ... The Battle of Blood River was fought on 16 December 1838 on the banks of the Blood river in what is today South Africa. ... This article or section should include material from Drakensberg hiking The Drakensberg (Dragon Mountains in Afrikaans) mountains are the highest in South Africa, ranging up to 3,482 m (11,422 ft) in height. ... Flag of Transvaal The Transvaal was one of the provinces of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. ... Mfecane (isiZulu), also known as the Difaqane or Lifaqane (Sesotho), is an African expression used about chaos and disturbances. ...

The Boers established independent states in what is now South Africa: the Natalia Republic, the Transvaal Republic (the South African Republic) and the Orange Free State. The British wish to appropriate the diamonds mines in the Boer areas led to the two Boer Wars of 1880-1881 and 1899-1902, which ended with the inclusion of the Boer areas in the British colonies. Canada has participated in this war being requested by its motherland. First concentration camps were built for women, the elderly, and children of the Boers and their black allies. A large number of the prisonners died under the British administration of the camps. Following the British annexation of the Boer republics, the creation of the Union of South Africa (1910) went some way towards blurring the division between British settler and Afrikaner. The black majority, however, was excluded from equal participation in the affairs of the State and country, except for the states which were self governed (Qwaqwa, Zululand, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda, Bophutswana) until 1994, owing first to the British colonial policies and then later to an Afrikaner-led political party's policy of apartheid, (the Afrikaans word for "aparthood" or "separation"), particularly under the National Party from 1948. The Natalia Republic was the name of a short lived Boer republic which was established in 1839 by local Afrikaans speaking Voortrekkers shortly after the famous battle at Nacome River. ... Flag of Transvaal The Transvaal was one of the provinces of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. ... The South African Republic (Dutch: Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek), often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, not to be confused with the Republic of South Africa, occupied the area later known as the province of Transvaal, first from 1857 to 1877, and again, after a successful Afrikaner rebellion against British rule... Flag of the Orange Free State The Orange Free State (Afrikaans: Oranje Vrystaat) was the historical precursor to the present day Free State province of the Republic of South Africa. ... Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War There were two Boer wars, one in December 16, 1880-March 23, 1881 and the second from October 11, 1899-May 31, 1902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch origin (called Boere, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South Africa that put... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Republic of South Africa is a large republic located at the southern tip of the continent. ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Apartheid (International Phonetic Alphabet or in English and in Afrikaans) is the policy and the system of laws implemented and continued by White minority governments in South Africa from 1948 till 1990; and by extension any legally sanctioned system of racial segregation. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ... The National Party (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of South Africa from 1948 until 1994, and was disbanded in 2005. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In recent years there has been an attempt by some Afrikaners to encourage the mixed race "coloured" population of South Africa, most of whom speak Afrikaans as their first language, to consider themselves Afrikaners. This has seen some success despite the history of exclusion under apartheid. However, the Afrikaans coloureds feel they have a different culture to other Afrikaans speakers. In the South African context, the term Coloured refers to various people of mixed Bantu, Khoisan, and European descent (with some Malay or Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape) together with some racially pure Khoisans. ...

Recently, some liberal Afrikaans-speaking South Africans have started rejecting the label 'Afrikaner', because they see it as an embarrassing apartheid-era label that wrongly implies a conservative, religious and Afrikaner-nationalist background.

There is a significant number who have continued to refer to themselves as Boers as there were many who were not co-opted or assimilated into the emerging Cape based Afrikaner identity which began emerging after the Anglo-Boer War and the subsequent establishment of the South African State created by the British. The indigenous Boer identity was internationally recognized with the Sand River Convention (which created the Transvaal Republic), the Bloemfontein Convention (which created the Orange Free State), the Pretoria Convention (which re-established the independence of the Transvaal Republic), the London Convention (which granted the full independence of the Transvaal Republic) and the Vereeniging Peace Treaty which formally ended the Anglo-Boer War on May 31, 1902 culminating in the British conquest of the Boer Republics.

The Afrikaner designation was used beginning in the 1930s as a means at "unifying" (politically at least) the white Afrikaans speakers of the Western Cape with their estranged Boer cousins of Trekboer and Voortrekker descent (whose ancestors began migrating eastward during the 1690s and throughout the 1700s and later northward during the Great Trek of the 1830s) in the north where the Boer Republics were established.

These un-reconstructed Boers have tended to view the Afrikaner designation as an artificial political label which usurped their history and culture turning Boer achievements into "Afrikaner" achievements. The western Cape based Afrikaners — whose ancestors did not trek eastwards or northwards and ridiculed the Great Trek of the frontier Boers — took advantage of the Boers' destitution following the Anglo-Boer War and would later attempt to assimilate the Boers into a new politically based cultural label. A feature which distinguished the trekking Boers from those who remained in the Western Cape was the Boers' resistance to colonialism (both Dutch and later British) and their determination to be independent while the Cape Dutch (as they were called) tended to be loyal to the colonial powers.

Notable Afrikaners

• Paul Kruger Statesman
• Breyten Breytenbach Poet (1938 - )
• Christiaan Barnard Heart Surgeon (1922 - 2001)
• Eugene Marais Poet and Scientist
• Jan Smuts Statesman (1870 - 1950)
• Ettienne le Roux Author (1922 - 1989)
• J.M. Coetzee Author, Booker and 2003 Nobel Prize (1940 - )
• Sarel Cilliers Voortrekker Leader
• Andries Pretorius Voortrekker Leader
• Piet Retief Voortrekker Leader
• Sailor Malan Ace War Pilot, (1910 - 1963)
• Braam Fischer Advocate and fugitive leader of the South African Communist Party,
• Laurens van der Post (1906-1996)
• Ernie Els Golfer (1969 - )
• Frederik van Zyl Slabbert Politician
• Athol Fugard Playwright (1922 - )
• Olive Schreiner Author (1855 -1920)
• Beyers Naudé Cleric, theologian and anti-apartheid activist.
• Johan Heynz Theologian
• Johan Degenaar Philosopher
• Antjie Krog Author
• André P Brink Author
• Koos du Plessis Singer Songwriter
• Charlize Theron Actress (1975-)
• Arnold Vosloo Actor (The Mummy, 24)(1962-), naturalized U.S. citizen
• Alan Boesak Clergyman (Coloured)
• Hundreds of Afrikaner South Africans have represented South Africa at rugby union. The most famous include original Springbok captain Paul Roos, Boy Morkel, Boy Louw, Chris Koch, Frik du Preez, widely considered the greatest ever Springbok, Danie Craven, South African rugby supremo, Morne du Plessis, Naas Botha, Francois Pienaar, Joost van der Westhuizen, Corne Krige and current Springbok captain John Smit.

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paul Kruger (October 10, 1825 - July 14, 1904), a. ... Breyten Breytenbach (born September 16, 1939) is a South African writer and painter with French citizenship. ... Christiaan Neethling Barnard (sometimes incorrectly written Barnaard, November 8, 1922 - September 2, 2001) was a heart South Africa, who became known for performing the worlds first human open heart transplantation in 1967. ... Jan Christiaan Smuts, (May 24, 1870 - September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African statesman and soldier. ... J.M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee (pronounced coot-SEE-uh) is a South African author. ... Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (1799 - 23 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who created the Republic of Transvaal (1852 - 1900) as well as the earlier but short lived Republic of Natalia (1839 - 1843) in present-day South Africa. ... Adolph Gysbert Malan (March 24, 1910 - September 17, 1963), better known as Sailor Malan, was a famed World War II RAF fighter pilot who led 74 Squadron during the height of the Battle of Britain. ... Sir Laurens Janvan der Post by Frances Baruch Sir Laurens Jan van der Post (aka Laurens van der Post) December 13, 1906 - December 16, 1996. ... Theodore Ernest (Ernie) Els (born October 17, 1969) is a South African golfer. ... Frederik van Zyl Slabbert (2 March 1940 - ) was a South African politician and is currently a political analyst and businessman. ... Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (born in 1932), better known as Athol Fugard, is a well-known South African playwright. ... Olive Schreiner (Olive Emilie Albertina Schreiner) (March 24, 1855 - December 11, 1920) was a South African writer. ... Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (more commonly known as Beyers Naudé or simply Oom Bey (Uncle Bey) in Afrikaans) (10 May 1915 _ 7 September 2004) was an Afrikaner_South African cleric, theologian and anti_apartheid activist. ... Antjie Krog, born on 23 October 1952 in Kroonstad, a town in the Free State, is a South African poet, novelist, playwright, and journalist. ... Charlize Theron at the Academy Awards ceremony 2005. ... Arnold Vosloo (born June 16, 1962 in Pretoria, South Africa) is an South African actor naturalized American. ... The Mummy is a 1999 movie written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, with Arnold Vosloo as the reanimated mummy of the title. ... 24 is a current U.S. television action/drama series, produced by the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide. ... Reverend Allan Boesak (23 February South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric and was a politician and anti-apartheid activist. ... Frik du Preez (Frederick Christoffel Hendrik du Preez) (born 28 November 1935) is a former Northern Transvaal and Springbok Rugby Union player. ... Danie Craven (Daniël Hartman Craven) (11 October 1910 - 4 January 1994) is a former Western Province, Eastern Province, Northern Transvaal and Springbok Rugby Union player as well as arguably South Africas best and most well-known rugby administrator ever. ... Naas Botha (Hendrik Egnatius Botha) (born 27 February 1958) is a former Northern Transvaal and Springbok Rugby Union player. ... Francois Pienaar (born 25 January 1967) is a South African rugby player (in the flank position), captain and coach. ... Joost van der Westhuizen (born 20 February 1971) was South Africas first choice scrum_half in the late 1990s and was a leading try scorer. ...

See also

• Afrikaner Calvinism
• Culture of South Africa
• Orania

Afrikaner Calvinism is a unique cultural development that combined the Calvinist religion with the political aspirations of the white Afrikaans speaking people of South Africa. ... There is no single Culture of South Africa. ... For the palm genus, see Orania (plant). ...

References

• Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners: Biography of a People, University of Virginia Press, 2003

External links

• Boers (http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/afriquesud.htm)
• http://fr.encarta.msn.com/text_761557321___83/Afrique_du_Sud.html
• Boer soldiers (http://www.geocities.com/history4may/history/h4may/h4may31.html)
• British Policies and Afrikaner Discontent (http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/11.htm)