DOCSLIB.ORG

Col F.F. Pienaar's Boer War Diary (Part I)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Col F.F. Pienaar's Boer War Diary (Part I) COL F.F. PIENAAR'S BOER WAR DIARY (PART I) BRIG J.H. PICARD, SM* In 1902, Filip Pienaar, a young Boer of- EARL Y CAMPAIGNS ficer in exile at the Monastery of Tomar in Portugal, recorded his Boer war ex- After the expedition made by the Zuid- periences, These were published by Afrikaansche Republiek Politie (ZARP)in Methuen in 1902, under the title With 1897, to arrest King Bunu on a charge Steyn and De Wet, The book was of murder,l young Pienaar, a member banned one month after publication, of the commando serving the warrant, The author, Lt Col F,F, Pienaar, later was transferred by the ZA Republiek joined the Union Defence Force, Telegrafiedienst from Johannesburg to served in the German South West Af- Pilgrim's Rest, Pilgrim's Rest was a rica Campaign and later became quaint little one-street village near the South Africa's first ambassador to Por- Portuguese border, one of the oldest tugal in 1939, from where he also con- alluvial diggings of the early days and ducted correspondence with his cousin now the centre of an important mining General Dan Pienaar, As a son-in-law district. of the late F,F. Pienaar, it is my privi- lege to reproduce part of his Boer War The Second Anglo-Boer War broke out experiences. Pienaar's account is one on 11 October 1899, At Pilgrim's Rest, of the first books on the Boer War and Pienaar heard that "our commandos covers several eye-witness accounts at had invaded the enemy's territory in that time, every direction", and news of the pre- FF Pienaar, officer of ZAR mounted commando during arrest of Bunu, Swazi paramount chief Swaziland expedition (1879). Picard,1993, Militaria 23/3 7993 21 The Swazi paramount chief Bunu appears before the court at Bremersdorp (now Manzini) in /897. F.F. Pienaar, officer of the ZAR (back to the camera) walks between the court building and the Post Office to send a signal to the authorities concerning Bunu. (Photograph taken by A.M. Miller snr, Swaziland Expedition.) Swaziland e.\pedition; mounted ZAR Commandos (J 897) Pienaar fourth frol11 right in front. liminary engagements were awaited depressed the men gathering around with breathless interest. The male in- the post office in Pilgrim's Rest. Name habitants of the village often spent en- after name, friend after friend. The tire nights under the verandah of the fallen included Pienaar's uncle, Gen- telegraph office, and, Pienaar wrote, eral J.H.M. Kock (1834 - 1899), Major "the importance of the telegraphist Hall and Advocate Lt Dr H.J. Coster suddenly grew almost too great to (1865 - 1899), the Commander of the bear with becoming modesty". On 21 "Hollander Corps". October 1899, the battle of Elands- laagte took place. The Lancers and Within a week, reinforcements were Dragoons under the overall command dispatched from the district and young of General White, charged the unpre- Flippie Pienaar, having obtained a few pared Boers. The long list of the fallen weeks leave of absence, accompa- 22 Militaria 23/3 7993 nied them. He found himself in an in- the night, they dismounted and two teresting band. Two hundred strong, men went forward on foot to reconnoi- they were farmers, clerks, schoolmas- tre. After a while they brought back ters, students, an Irishman, a Hollander, the news that the enemy was ap- a German and a Jew. Every mess pos- proaching in force, After having been sessed one or two ox-wagons, carrying sent out again for confirmation, they a water tank, portmanteaux, trunks, returned, saying there could be no foodstuffs and ammunition. They doubt about the matter: "We heard made about twenty miles daily, pass- the rumble of an approaching train, ing through Lydenburg, Machadodorp, the march of cavalry, and saw the Carolina, and Ermelo, and reached glint of arms between the trees!" Volksrust on the fourteenth day. They followed the general line of the Boer A man was instantly despatched to invasion of Natal. alarm the main laager, the rest follow- ing slowly. He returned with a further During the march they learnt that twenty-five men and an order that heavy fighting had taken place in Na- they were to return instantly to their tal. Dundee was taken and Ladysmith posts. besieged, and a strong commando had actually made reconnaissance as Pienaar and his group felt that there far south as Estcourt. was no fun in attacking massed troops with fifty men. They retraced their Pienaar, after recuperating from sad- steps to a kraal where they had helped dle bruises at Volksrust, approached to feed a sick Black man. Two men General Piet Joubert for a special pass- crept up close and came back to say port enabling him to return when his the place was full of English. Leaving leave expired. Joubert said: the horses in charge of a few men, the "Others want leave to go home; others crept forward and surrounded you ask for leave to come to the the kraal. Each sought a suitable shel- front. But your time is so short, it is ter and laid himself down to await the hardly worth while. Still, I am glad to dawn, It was then about midnight. see such a spirit among you young The next four hours passed ver~1slowly; people". lying there in the cold in expectation Then he signed the document and of a desperate struggle in the morning. shook Pienaar by the hand. Pienaar entrained that afternoon, slept in the "We thought how brave we were", carriage at Newcastle, reached the Pienaar wrote, " ... and how sorry our station nearest Ladysmith the following general would be when he heard how day, detrained, rode into the camp we had all been shot down to a man and reported for duty. The same night and how in after years this night attack he went on outpost duty. of ours would rank with the charge of the Light Brigade. We hoped Cham- His chief concern was whether he, as a berlain would die soon after us, so that novice, would conduct himself well in we could meet his soul in the great Be- the first encounter. An old cam- yond to drag it through a sieve". paigner asked him: "Tell me, how do you feel" "Well, rather nervous". "Ah, When it grew light, to their surprise, Now I can tell you that a man who they found that there was not an Eng- feels nervous before a fight is all right, lishman near. It had been a false because he has some idea of what he alarm and all their valour had been for is going to meet. It is the reckless re- nothing! This kind of alarm became cruit that often proves a coward. He rather frequent, fancies it a mere bagatelle, and finds out his mistake too late". This encour- A burger woke up one night to find aged Flip because he felt anything but himself being shaken roughly and some reckless. one shouting in his ear: "What are you doing? Get up! Don't you hear the A few days later, when Pienaar and a alarm?" "Yes, another false one, I few companions reached the spot daresay," turning over for another where they were to stand guard during nap. Happening to open his eyes, he Militaria 23/3 7993 23 became aware for the first time that he "If only we had some cigarettes," they was speaking to none other than Gen- said, "how happy we shouid be! Last eral Joubert himself! The poor fellow week we got some sugar, enough for did not argue the point any further, two days; we are so sick of black, bit- but fled into the night, glad to get off ter coffee!"2 at that price, They had no tents and had to find the Pienaar and his companions remained best possible shelter under tarpaulins in the vicinity of Ladysmith for some stretched out between the rocks. time. One morning, having heard that Pienaar went back in the pouring rain, a serious engagement had taken The flap of the tent was opened and place on Lombard's Kop, he rode in he was ordered to turn out and stand that direction and met two Boers on guard, Drawing on a soaking pair of horseback. heavy corduroy breeches in the middle "More, nefies," of the night and sitting in these on an "More neef, Where are you from?" antheap for a couple of hours, with a "The Telegraph service, and nefies?" chilly rain falling, is a sobering experi- "Of the Artillery." ence, "Something happened up there last night?" In the morning Pienaar's new friends, "Yes, The English came and blew up the young cadets, came riding into the our Long Tom!" camp, Their howitzer had been blown That incident was blamed on the ab- up, The state of their ragged uniforms sence of the guard but there was a showed the hand-to-hand nature of strong suspicion of treason, During the the struggle that had taken place, ensuing court martial two officers were One of them told the story: only suspended from duty, "We heard someone climbing the hill in the night, and challenged, It was A few days later Pienaar went to see the British, They shouted 'Rule Britan- his brother who was stationed on nia!' and rushed up to the top, We Pepworth Hill, some miles to their right. fired into them but we were too few He belonged to the Artillery Cadets, all and were forced aside by sheer of whom were dispersed amongst the weight of numbers, One of the artil- various guns at the beginning of the lery men was dragged by the leg war, in order to give them practical ex- from his sleeping-place, He shook perience.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Click Here to Download
    The Project Gutenberg EBook of South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I, by J. Castell Hopkins and Murat Halstead This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I Comprising a History of South Africa and its people, including the war of 1899 and 1900 Author: J. Castell Hopkins Murat Halstead Release Date: December 1, 2012 [EBook #41521] Language: English *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA AND BOER-BRITISH WAR *** Produced by Al Haines JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, Colonial Secretary of England. PAUL KRUGER, President of the South African Republic. (Photo from Duffus Bros.) South Africa AND The Boer-British War COMPRISING A HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE WAR OF 1899 AND 1900 BY J. CASTELL HOPKINS, F.S.S. Author of The Life and Works of Mr. Gladstone; Queen Victoria, Her Life and Reign; The Sword of Islam, or Annals of Turkish Power; Life and Work of Sir John Thompson. Editor of "Canada; An Encyclopedia," in six volumes. AND MURAT HALSTEAD Formerly Editor of the Cincinnati "Commercial Gazette," and the Brooklyn "Standard-Union." Author of The Story of Cuba; Life of William McKinley; The Story of the Philippines; The History of American Expansion; The History of the Spanish-American War; Our New Possessions, and The Life and Achievements of Admiral Dewey, etc., etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Campaign Against Hinza with Sir Benjamin D'urban
    + r \t DECEMBER ft); 1929. EARLY DAYS OF SHEPSTONE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HINZA WITH SIR BENJAMIN D’URBAN FIRST PUBLICATION OF LETTERS AND DIARY ENTRIES By C. J. UYS. Below is published the first of an important series of articles compiled from the letters and diaries of Sir Theophilus Shepstone. The articles will appear daily in these columns, and will become more and more absorbing as the interests and importance of the young Shepstone developed. In this article the story is told of the great Natalian’s first command. Under Sir Benjamin d’Urban he served with Colonel Harry Smith against Hinza. His know- ledge of the native and his language ivas even then such that he was chosen to organise a force of 6,000 Fingos. This he did to the satisfaction of his commander and the surprise of the enemy. To-morroiv’s article deals with the acquisition to the Empire of “ Queen Adelaide’s Province,” and dramat­ ically describes the attempted escape and death of Hinza. It describes the establishment of a military post at Kingwilliamstown, of which the Governor said: “ There never was a site more perfectly prepared by nature for a splendid provincial town.” SOUTH AFRICA’S TALLEYRAND IR John Robinson, the first promotion, for the entry wag made S Premier of Natal, who was casually iu the margin. Many a Xosa intimately associated with the iinpi had to bite the dtist before the late Sir Theophilus Shepstone for swiftly delivered attacks of the de­ over thirty years, once stated that spired Amafengo under Shepstone, and while much had been said and lieard it was not long before Hinza realised about the building up of a South that 'he must give in.
    [Show full text]
  • “Men of Influence”– the Ontology of Leadership in the 1914 Boer
    Journal of Historical Sociology Vol. 17 No. 1 March 2004 ISSN 0952-1909 “Men of Influence” – The Ontology of Leadership in the 1914 Boer Rebellion SANDRA SWART Abstract This paper raises questions about the ontology of the Afrikaner leader- ship in the 1914 Boer Rebellion – and the tendency to portray the rebel leadership in terms of monolithic Republicans, followed by those who shared their dedication to returning the state to the old Boer republics. Discussions of the Rebellion have not focused on the interaction between leadership and rank and file, which in part has been obscured by Republican mythology based on the egalitarianism of the Boer commando. This paper attempts to establish the ambitions of the leaders for going into rebellion and the motivations of those who followed them. It traces the political and economic changes that came with union and industrialization, and asks why some influential men felt increasingly alienated from the new form of state structure while others adapted to it. To ascertain the nature of the support for the leaders, the discussion looks at Republican hierarchy and the ideology of patri- archy. The paper further discusses the circumscribed but significant role of women in the Rebellion. This article seeks to contribute to a wider understanding of the history of leadership in South Africa, entangled in the identity dynamics of mas- culinity, class and race interests. ***** Man, I can guess at nothing. Each man must think for himself. For myself, I will go where my General goes. Japie Krynauw (rebel).1 In 1914 there was a rebellion against the young South African state.
    [Show full text]
  • History 1886
    How many bones must you bury before you can call yourself an African? Updated December 2009 A South African Diary: Contested Identity, My Family - Our Story Part D: 1886 - 1909 Compiled by: Dr. Anthony Turton [email protected] Caution in the use and interpretation of these data This document consists of events data presented in chronological order. It is designed to give the reader an insight into the complex drivers at work over time, by showing how many events were occurring simultaneously. It is also designed to guide future research by serious scholars, who would verify all data independently as a matter of sound scholarship and never accept this as being valid in its own right. Read together, they indicate a trend, whereas read in isolation, they become sterile facts devoid of much meaning. Given that they are “facts”, their origin is generally not cited, as a fact belongs to nobody. On occasion where an interpretation is made, then the commentator’s name is cited as appropriate. Where similar information is shown for different dates, it is because some confusion exists on the exact detail of that event, so the reader must use caution when interpreting it, because a “fact” is something over which no alternate interpretation can be given. These events data are considered by the author to be relevant, based on his professional experience as a trained researcher. Own judgement must be used at all times . All users are urged to verify these data independently. The individual selection of data also represents the author’s bias, so the dataset must not be regarded as being complete.
    [Show full text]
  • 19Th Century Tragedy, Victory, and Divine Providence As the Foundations of an Afrikaner National Identity
    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Theses Department of History Spring 5-7-2011 19th Century Tragedy, Victory, and Divine Providence as the Foundations of an Afrikaner National Identity Kevin W. Hudson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Hudson, Kevin W., "19th Century Tragedy, Victory, and Divine Providence as the Foundations of an Afrikaner National Identity." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2011. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses/45 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 19TH CENTURY TRAGEDY, VICTORY, AND DIVINE PROVIDENCE AS THE FOUNDATIONS OF AN AFRIKANER NATIONAL IDENTITY by KEVIN W. HUDSON Under the DireCtion of Dr. Mohammed Hassen Ali and Dr. Jared Poley ABSTRACT Apart from a sense of racial superiority, which was certainly not unique to white Cape colonists, what is clear is that at the turn of the nineteenth century, Afrikaners were a disparate group. Economically, geographically, educationally, and religiously they were by no means united. Hierarchies existed throughout all cross sections of society. There was little political consciousness and no sense of a nation. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century they had developed a distinct sense of nationalism, indeed of a volk [people; ethnicity] ordained by God. The objective of this thesis is to identify and analyze three key historical events, the emotional sentiments evoked by these nationalistic milestones, and the evolution of a unified Afrikaner identity that would ultimately be used to justify the abhorrent system of apartheid.
    [Show full text]
  • Makhado, Venda and the South African Republic (1864-1895) '
    New Contree, No. 45 (September 1999) 101 RIDING THE STORM OF CHANGE: MAKHADO, VENDA AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC (1864-1895) ' Johann Tempelhoff and Henry Nemudzivadi (Department of History, Potchefstroom University for Higher Education, Vaal Triangle Campus) Ach ja! Manchen Sonnenschein habe ich gesehen, aber auch manchen Sturm....( J)etzt weiss ich nicht: was war haufiger, der Sonnenschein oder der Sturm? Fast glaube ich - der letztere. Adolf Schiel Opsomming Aan die stuur in die storm van verandering: Makhado, Venda en die Zuid- Afrikaansche Republiek (1864-1895) Die Venda regeerder Makhado (?-1895) was een van die mees suksesvolle swart leiers in die Zuid-AfrikaanscheRepubliek gedurende die tweede helffe van die negentiende eeu. Sy regeringstyd is gekenmerk deur 'n fyn interaksie wat gehandhaaf is tussen strategiese politieke onderwerping en verset teen blanke heerskappy. Terwyl die swart samelewing elders op die noordelike grensterrein aan spontane ineenstorfing blootgestel was, as gevolg van blanke nederseffing, het die Venda staat onder Makhado gefloreer. Hy het as skerpsinnige en onverslane leier in 'n tydperk van intense verandering bly voortbestaan. In die voordrag word gepoog om tydgenootlike sienings aan beide swart en blanke kant van Makhado weer te gee. Daar word aandag gegee aan sy sty1 van leierskap. Ook word gepoog om vas te stel watter faktore daartoe aanleiding gegee het dat hy vir meer as dertig jaar (1864-1895) aan die bewind kon bly. 1. Introduction: Riding the storm In his autobiography Adolf Schiel tells the story of a lively Basuto pony - Fanny - he received as a gift from the Venda ruler, Makhado.' Schiel, a civil servant of the South ' Paper presented at the sixteenth biennial conference of the South African Historical Society.
    [Show full text]
  • The South African War As Humanitarian Crisis
    International Review of the Red Cross (2015), 97 (900), 999–1028. The evolution of warfare doi:10.1017/S1816383116000394 The South African War as humanitarian crisis Elizabeth van Heyningen Dr Elizabeth van Heyningen is an Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town. Abstract Although the South African War was a colonial war, it aroused great interest abroad as a test of international morality. Both the Boer republics were signatories to the Geneva Convention of 1864, as was Britain, but the resources of these small countries were limited, for their populations were small and, before the discovery of gold in 1884, government revenues were trifling. It was some time before they could put even the most rudimentary organization in place. In Europe, public support from pro-Boers enabled National Red Cross Societies from such countries as the Netherlands, France, Germany, Russia and Belgium to send ambulances and medical aid to the Boers. The British military spurned such aid, but the tide of public opinion and the hospitals that the aid provided laid the foundations for similar voluntary aid in the First World War. Until the fall of Pretoria in June 1900, the war had taken the conventional course of pitched battles and sieges. Although the capitals of both the Boer republics had fallen to the British by June 1900, the Boer leaders decided to continue the conflict. The Boer military system, based on locally recruited, compulsory commando service, was ideally suited to guerrilla warfare, and it was another two years before the Boers finally surrendered.
    [Show full text]
  • A979-Ad6-3-3-03-Jpeg.Pdf
    Europe, Mackenzie was making agreements with Bechuanaland chiefs, proclaiming their lands as under the Queen's protection, and hoisting the Union Jack. His admitted partiality to the Bechuana and his prGnounced imperialism soon angered the Dutch-Afrikaners in the Cape ~ tl~~stry andASir Hercules Robinson recalled him and replaced him in August by Cecil Rhod~s, thus unwittingly jumping from the i;perialisti frying pan into the ~perialistic fire. 2. The Pest of Commandant-General. d. In August Commandant Piet Joubert was commissioned by the Volksra to proceed to the seat of disturbance on the south•western Transvaal border, to restore order, and to find a solution favourable to the South African Republic. He proceedad to the Land of Goshen, negotiated individually with Gey van Pittius, then with Rhodes and then with Montshiwa. He partially restored order and partially found a solution and was developing it, when, as if to imitate Sir Hercules Robinson, President Kruger suddenly ordered him to return to Pretoria in September (1884), and replaced him by the Rev. ..IDC Stephanus J. du Toit. "In Pretoria was er een gewildige intrigue aan de gang, eene intrigue waar-van zonder twijfel de oorsprong te zoeken is bij -' den Transvaalschen Superintendent van Ond~wijs gesteund door eenige anderen . Deze partij schijnt op de eene of mandere wijze President Kruger een gat in den kop gepraat te hebben, en hem te hebben verleid tot het nemen ~ an een zeer onpelitieken en gevaarlijken stap die de hachelijkste gevelgen voor de Republiek had kunnen hebbe;;lcoopa van ~ . F .: Paul Kr~ao~ p.
    [Show full text]
  • The First War of Independence - Paul Kruger Paul Kruger 09 July 2014
    The First War of Independence - Paul Kruger Paul Kruger 09 July 2014 In Chapter VIII of his memoirs exiled President explains how the ZAR won back its independence from British imperial rule CHAPTER VIII Click here to go back to Chapter VII THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE I 1880-1881 THE first sign of the approaching storm was the incident that occurred at the forced sale of Field-Cornet Bezuidenhout's wagon, on which a distress had been levied. The British Government had begun to collect taxes and to take proceedings against those who refused to pay them. Among these was Piet Bezuidenhout, who lived in the Potchefstroom district. This refusal to pay taxes was one of the methods of passive resistance which were now employed towards the British Government. Hitherto, many of the burghers had paid their taxes, declaring that they were only yielding to force. But when this was explained by the English politicians as though the population were contented and peacefully paying their taxes, some asked for a receipt showing that they were only paying under protest and others refused to pay at all. The Government then levied a distress on Bezuidenhout's wagon and sent it to public auction at Potchefstroom. Piet Cronje, who became so well known in the last war, appeared at the auction with a number of armed Boers, who flung the bailiff from the wagon and drew the wagon itself back in triumph to Bezuidenhout's farm. Bezuidenhout and another burgher were sent to me at my farm of Boekenhoutfontein, in the Rustenburg District, to ask me to come at once to Potchefstroom, as the burghers were ready to commence the war of independence.
    [Show full text]
  • JCC First Boer War – Boer Committee] PMUNC 2017
    [JCC First Boer War – Boer Committee] PMUNC 2017 Princeton Model United Nations Conference 2017 JCC First Boer War Boer Committee Chair: Andrea Delgado Director: Alex Fager 1 [JCC First Boer War – Boer Committee] PMUNC 2017 CONTENTS Letter from the Chair……………………………………………………………… 3 Committee Description……………………………………………………………. 4 Topic A:.…………………………………………………………………………. [#] Introduction ……………………………………………………………… [#] History of the Topic………………………………………………………. [#] Current Status………………………………………………………………[#] Country Policy……………………………………………………………... [#] Keywords…………………………………………………………………...[#] Questions for Consideration………………………………………………...[#] Topic B:.…………………………………………………………………………. [#] Introduction ……………………………………………………………… [#] History of the Topic………………………………………………………. [#] Current Status………………………………………………………………[#] Country Policy……………………………………………………………... [#] Keywords…………………………………………………………………...[#] Questions for Consideration………………………………………………...[#] Contents 2 [JCC First Boer War – Boer Committee] PMUNC 2017 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Hello delegates! Welcome to the Boer Committee for PMUNC’s Joint Crisis Simulation on the First Boer War! My name is Andrea Delgado. I’m currently a junior pursuing a major in Public Policy and a minor in Statistics. This will be my third PMUNC, and I'm super excited to be chairing this year. When I’m not staffing conferences, I also compete with the Princeton Model UN team, volunteer as an ESL teacher, and run a graphic design business. Since this committee is a crisis committee, you will be responsible for responding to challenges as they arise. Given the complex nature of this era, these challenges can range from social issues to military conflict to diplomatic crises. Thus, it is imperative to come prepared with talking points and ideas for directives in order to fully participate in our fast-paced simulations. I strongly urge you to conduct research beyond the background guide. If it is hard to find information about your character, infer what your official might think based upon historical events and policies.
    [Show full text]
  • Augustus 2012 Dagsê Al Die Belangstellendes in Die Geskiedenis Van Ou Pretoria
    Augustus 2012 Dagsê al die belangstellendes in die geskiedenis van ou Pretoria, Regstelling Jammer vir die fout in verlede maand se brief. ‘n Hele paar oplettende mense het dit raakgesien en my laat weet. Baie dankie. Die volgende van Prof. Andreas van Wyk: Moskou was en is nog altyd Moskou (Moskwa). Sint Petersburg, in die 17de eeu gestig deur Tsaar Pieter die Grote en ‘n duisend kilometer wes van Moskou, het wel in die 1920’s Leningrad geword en toe in die 1990’s weer Sint Petersburg (of soos sommige Suid-Afrikaners nou spot: Sint Polokwane). Nog ‘n beskrywing van Pretoria [sien ook Mei/Junie 2012 se brief] You might be interested in the following description of Pretoria written by my great great uncle, Frank Oates, in the book "Matabeleland and the Victoria Falls", edited by C.G. Oates (1881). This book is today a very valuable piece of Africana! This description was written in June 1873. "There are orange-trees with fruit on them in the gardens, and high hedges of monthly roses in flower; there are also a few large trees (blue gums), something like poplars in mode of growth, but with dark foliage. These are planted here, for the country does not seem to bear much timber naturally. Here in Pretoria are a great many English. The English keep stores; the Dutch Boers stick to farming. The latter come in with their wagons of grain, wood, and other produce, which is sold by auction at 8 a.m. in the market place. "Mielies" (unground Indian corn) fetch fifteen shillings a muid, which is about 200 pounds.
    [Show full text]
  • The South African Republic: Class Formation and the State, 1850-1900
    THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC: CLASS FORMATION AND THE STATE, 1850-1900 Stanley Trapido Property relationships and the mode of production in the South African Republic present a number of interesting historical and conceptual problems. A market in land existed from the beginning of White Afrikaner occcpation of the territory north of the Vaal river, which led to rapid accumulation among Afrikaner notables and landlessness among their clients. The major source of profit from agriculture (and the source of support for both notables and clients) lay in the various forms of rent paid by African producers who had often been the cultivators of the land prior tc its seizure by Afrikaner settlers. The state which emerged from these property relations was created by the dominant, quasi-feudal notables who, with their functionaries, used their dominant position to acquire more land. In addition to the accumulation of land by Afrikaner notables, speculative land companies owned by South African-based entrepreneurs with European financial connections contributed to the proletarianization of sections of the Afrikaner population. Partly in an attempt to alleviate intra-Afrikaner conflict, Afrikaner notables who controlled the state used their position to make irregular exactions upon the internationally financed deep level gold mining industry which was established in the last decade of the 19th century. Because profits from gold mining investments were delayed, these exactions caused intense anxiety about costs. In addition, the system of land holding (determined by custom or speculative ownership) led to under-utilization and made it impossible to meet the gold mines' need for cheap food. The systems of agricultural production and gold mining production were incompatible, and after the South African War of 1899-1902 property relationships in agriculture swiftly changed.
    [Show full text]