great trek in south africa

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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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Cameron, T. (ed) (1986) An Illustrated History of South Africa. Johannesburg, pp.258-259.|

Gilliomee, H. & Mbenga, B. (2007)  New History of South Africa . Cape Town, pp.290-291.

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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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Van Jaarsveld, F.A. 1962. Die tydgenootlike beoordeling van die Groot Trek, 1836-1842. Pretoria: Universiteit van Suid-Afrika.         [  Links  ]

Van Jaarsveld, F.A. 1963. Die beeld van die Groot Trek in die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedskrywing, 1843-1899. Pretoria: Universiteit van Suid-Afrika.         [  Links  ]

Van Jaarsveld, F.A. 1974. Geskiedkundige verkenninge. Pretoria: Van Schaik.         [  Links  ]

Van Jaarsveld, F.A. 1982. Van Van Riebeeck totP.W. Botha; 'n Inleiding tot die geskiedenis van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika. Johannesburg: Perskor. (Derde uitgawe).         [  Links  ]

Van Jaarsveld, F.A. 1984. Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse verlede; geskiedenisideologie en die historiese skuldvraagstuk. Johannesburg: Lex Patria.         [  Links  ]

Van Jaarsveld, F.A. 1992. Afrikanergeskiedskrywing; verlede, hede en toekoms. Johannesburg: Lex Patria.         [  Links  ]

Venter, C. 1985. Die Groot Trek. Kaapstad: Don Nelson.         [  Links  ]

Visagie, J.C. 2005. Etherington oor die Afrikaner en die Groot Trek. Historia, 50(1):1-21.         [  Links  ]

Voigt, J.C. 1899a. Fifty years of the history of the republic in South Africa (1795-1845), volume 1. London: Fisher Unwin.         [  Links  ]

Voigt, J.C. 1899b. Fifty years of the history of the republic in South Africa (1795-1845), volume 2. London: Fisher Unwin.         [  Links  ]

Walker, E.A. 1930. The frontier tradition in South Africa. London: Oxford University Press.         [  Links  ]

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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 South African Trek

C.H.N. Routh records the travels and travails of the Boer pioneers

Heresies in history die hard; and the worst kind of school text-book, oversimplified and written down to the intelligence of the weakest pupils, helps to perpetuate popular errors. “Palmerston (we learn) fought the first Chinese War to force opium on to China,” or “The object of the Continental System was to starve out Great Britain. ...” A heresy that bears a charmed life teaches that the Great South African Trek was brought about by the abolition of slavery in 1833. The contention is that fury at the British government’s interference in the Boer way of life by this attack on their cherished system of slave labour, resentment at the financial losses incurred through inadequate compensation, and irritation at the inefficient machinery by which that compensation was to be paid, moved the frontier Boers to leave the colony in order to preserve slavery. Evidence is wholly against this reading. No doubt abolition increased the general irritation and added its quota to the growing resentment against the British government, but abolition itself would never have caused the Great Trek, and it cannot be regarded as the primary cause for the emigration.

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The great treks : the transformation of Southern Africa, 1815-1854

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