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Van
Riebeeck's landing, 1652
painting by Charles Bell (South African Library)
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More Information on the Boers in South Africa
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Although
the Portuguese first reached the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, the
first serious traders were the Dutch, or as they came to be known,
the Boers, or Afrikaners. Boer means farmer, the occupation of most of the settlers. The Fort de Goede Hope was built in
1652 when merchant Jan Van Riebeeck created the first settlement.
He
described in his Journal the difficulties of securing enough food
for the settlement in the first few months:
During
the past wet days about 8 to 10 persons have again gone sick.
We can give them nothing better than a little warm wine, as
to date we have not seen a single head of cattle or sheep. Hope
however in the coming months the people of Saldanha will come
down with their cattle and that we shall then be able to barter
a good number from them for the refreshment of our men on land
as well as those from the ships which are soon expected. --July
1652
The
intention of the company was that the settlers would grow enough
food to supply passing ships, so they hoped to barter with the
natives and avoid fighting with them. However, because the Khoikhoi did not want to sell enough cattle for the settlement to meet
its needs, there began to be conflicts.
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Trekboers
(Cape Archives) |
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the whites moved inland to find the best farmlands they seriously encroached
on Khoikhoi land. The Dutch stole as well as bought cattle from the Khoikhoi. As they moved inland, conflicts grew worse. In 1659, the Khoikhoi fought the Dutch over grazing land south of Able Bay. After losing to the Dutch, the Khoikhoi went into a great decline and their civilization virtually disappeared.
Many of the Dutch became traveling farmers (trekboers), not unlike the Khoikhoi,
herding their cattle and sheep and on the move to better grazing
land.
This
is part of the Bitter Union: The
Story of South Africa exhibit |
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