Boer

Boer (English pronunciation: /ˈboʊ.ər/, /bɔːr/ or /bʊər/;Afrikaans: [buːr]) is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for "farmer." As used in South Africa, it was used to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century. For a time the Dutch East India Company controlled this area, but it was taken over by the United Kingdom.

In addition the term was applied to those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State, Transvaal (which are together known as the Boer Republics), and to a lesser extent Natal. They left the Cape primarily to escape British rule and get away from the constant border wars between the British imperial government and the tribes on the eastern frontier.

History

Origin

The Dutch East India Company had been formed in the Dutch Republic in 1602, and the Dutch had entered keenly into the competition for the colonial and imperial trade of commerce in Southeast Asia. In 1648 one of their ships was stranded in Table Bay, and the shipwrecked crew had to forage for themselves on shore for several months. They were so impressed with the natural resources of the country that on their return to the Republic, they represented to the directors of the company the great advantages to the Dutch Eastern trade to be had from a properly provided and fortified station of call at the Cape. The result was that in 1652, a Dutch expedition led by surgeon Jan van Riebeek constructed a fort and laid out vegetable gardens at Table Bay.

Boer (surname)

Boer, Boere, and variants thereof, are names deriving from the Dutch word for "farmer", boer, and may refer to the Boer people of South Africa, also known as Afrikaners, or to the following individuals:

See also