Great Trek

Great Trek (1835-1843), migration of Boers, or Afrikaners, from the Cape of Good Hope into what is now the northern part of South Africa. The Boers, most of whom were of Dutch descent and spoke Afrikaans, became restless under British rule, which had been imposed on them in 1806. When their African slaves were emancipated by British law in 1833, and when recently annexed land on the eastern border of the Cape Colony was returned to African tribes by the British in 1836, Boer families began moving north in large groups to escape British control. This migration by the Voortrekkers (Afrikaans, “pioneers”) came to symbolize the independent spirit of the Afrikaners, and they regarded it as one of the most significant events in their history. In 1838 Zulu resistance provoked them to kill some 3,000 Zulu at the Battle of Blood River in revenge for the death of their leader, Piet Retief. Some of the Voortrekkers, led by Andries Pretorius, settled in Natal, on the east coast, which they took from the Zulu in 1838 and 1839. When the British annexed Natal in 1843, they moved inland to join other Boers who had settled north of the Orange and Vaal rivers. There they eventually established two self-governing provinces, Transvaal and the Orange Free State.