Afrikaners, Zulus and Englishmen in South Africa The Dutch started to settle in South Africa in the early 17th century. The Dutch East India Company was in charge. By the late 18th century the Dutch settlers came into conflict with the British over control of the Cape Colony.
Eventually some of these Dutch settlers or descendants of Dutch settlers known as Boers chafed under British rule and begin to move inland in a migration known as the Great Trek
The Great Trek The Great Trek took place between 1835 to 1845. The Boers wanted not only to be free of British rule but also to hold slaves.
In moving inland, the Boers also came into conflict with African tribes, including the Zulus. The Battle of Blood River (1838) is an example of a clash between these two groups
Despite the fact that by the mid-19th century the British and Boers have separate territories or states in South Africa, they continue to have disputes, esp. over territory and, later, gold. As a result, they fight two wars, in 1880-1 and 1899-1902. These two wars are called the Boer Wars; the second is the most important.
The Boer War (1899-1902)
The (Second) Boer War = the first modern “total war”
• British vs. Boers (by now also called Afrikaners) • The Boers employ guerilla warfare. • The British, in response, resort to a scorched earth policy, commando raids, and concentration camps • Perhaps as many as 27,000 Boers (mainly women and children) die in these camps. • The British win the Second Boer War. They rule South Africa as a colony until 1931. South Africa then becomes an independent country. The new country is hardly democratic. Although Africans form a majority of the population in South Africa, they suffer discrimination under the country’s apartheid policies, particularly after 1948. Apartheid resembles Jim-Crow Era segregation in the U.S. South Africa is dominated by a white minority during this time.
Apartheid in South Africa
• The South African government maintained the apartheid policy from 1948 until 1991. • Nelson Mandela is given credit for having inspired South Africans to end apartheid. He eventually became President of the Republic of South Africa.