the history of the Afrikaners including where they originated from, how their society was structured, and what is occurring with them currently.
Afrikaners is the name given to the people who settled in, and colonized, certain regions in South Africa during the 17th Century. Descendents from the Netherlands and France, the Afrikaners, who were also known as the "Boers", were pioneers into Africa from their native Europe. Although they were skilled farmers, most of them were poor and uneducated. Because of this, they spoke a bastardized form of the Dutch language, called Afrikaans, which incorporated elements of English, German, and other native South African languages into its dialect.
In the mid 1600s, the Afrikaners settled into the area of South Africa now known as Cape Province. They were a close-knit group and their religious beliefs were Protestant, with the majority of Afrikaners belonging to the Calvinist sect. The traditional Afrikaners family was self-sufficient and they tended to settle in more rural areas, making their living from farming, trading, and hunting. As the 17th Century approached, they began to clash with the other major European group to settle in Africa, the British. This clash would continue through most of the 17th and 18th Centuries and even up until more recent times.
Contrary to the beliefs of the Afrikaners, the British were more liberal in their ideas about how South Africa should be governed. For example, the British wanted to abolish slavery in South Africa, which had been occurring there for some time. Additionally, they wanted the native African Khoikhoi laborers to be treated more fairly. The Afrikaners felt that these measures were too lenient and that because of this major disagreement between them and the British, the British would not protect the Afrikaners against any raids by African national towards them and their farms. In 1835, the Afrikaners sought-out new lands to move into and to work on, which were located away from current British interests. This event became known as the "Great Trek" and it lasted into the mid 1800s. Because the Afrikaners were a poor people economically, the only land that they could afford to own was land that was located in the interior of South Africa. Therefore, they began their movement inward into the areas of Natal, the Orange Free State, and Transvaal.
Once the Afrikaners settled into the interior, they setup two separate states. One was called the South African Republic and the other was named the Orange Free State. Unfortunately, problems continued with the British and a war occurred in 1899, called the Second South African War, after which the British officially took control of both Afrikaner states. Time progressed with the British remaining in control of the Afrikaners states. Then, in 1910, the Union of South Africa was created with the British holding the majority of political clout in the entire region. Afrikaners, although accepted into the British community somewhat, did not play a dominant role in the politics of South Africa until the 1940s. This was more than 30 years after the Union of South Africa was formed.
While the British retained political control over the Afrikaners during the early 1900s, the Afrikaners were beginning to become a sizable, and influential, force to content with within South Africa. For example, their language was beginning to become recognized as a legitimate language and not as merely a slang form of the Dutch language. By the 1930s, the Bible had even been translated into Afrikaans and cultural pride was beginning to form among the Afrikaner peoples. As cultural pride grew, so did the motivation for the Afrikaners to enter the political arena. In 1948, the Afrikaners were finally able to promote themselves and their cause. For in that year, the Afrikaners National Party won the national elections and took control over South Africa as its governing class. Now, a new era in South African history was ushered in.
While the Afrikaners initially supported the policy of apartheid, which was a system of cultural and economic separation based on race that was instituted to promote white supremacy, as time progressed, many Afrikaners did not feel comfortable supporting such a system. They began to back a reform policy that would abolish apartheid and that would give all of the people who lived in South Africa the same civil rights and opportunities. These Afrikaners saw their visions materialize when in 1994 the first elections were held in South Africa that allowed people of all races to vote. South Africa was on its way to becoming a truly integrated and democratic country.
Today, there are close to three million Afrikaners living throughout South Africa. Additionally, their language is spoken by both the Afrikaners and by the South African natives who are the descendents of a mixed European and African peoples. Most Afrikaners no longer live in rural areas, however, but have moved into more urban areas, most of who reside in the larger cities within South Africa.
With the enactment of equal opportunity employment laws and the reduction of the Afrikaner's main vocation as farmers, many Afrikaners have had to evaluate their present lives to include questioning what careers they want to pursue and where it is that they want to live. Because of this, many Afrikaners have begun to migrate to other parts of the world in search of new work opportunities and the chance to start a new life.
