|
The Voortrekkers (Afrikaans and Dutch for ''pioneers'', literally "fore-pullers", "those in front who pull", "fore-trekkers") were Afrikaner emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony (British at the time, but founded by the Dutch) moving into the interior of what is now South Africa in what is known as the Great Trek. The Great Trek consisted of a number of mass movements under a number of different leaders. Voortrekker Leaders arranged in order by size of party :- 〔 Visagie, Jan C. Voortrekkerstamouers 1835 - 1845. Protea Boekhuis. Pretoria. 2011. Page 15. 〕 *Hendrik Potgieter (19 DEC 1792- 16 DEC 1852), (his party included that of Sarel Cilliers), , *Sarel Cilliers (7 SEP 1801 - 4 OCT 1871), *Piet Retief (12 NOV 1780 - 6 FEB 1838), , *Jan du Plessis, (his party included that of Jacobus Christoffel Potgieter), , *Jacobus Christoffel Potgieter, *Pieter Daniël Jacobs, , *Petrus Lafras Uys (Piet) (1797 - 11 APR 1838), , *Johannes Stephanus Maritz, , *Gerhardus Marthinus Maritz (Gerrit / Gert) (1 MAR 1797 - 23 SEP 1838), , *Karel Pieter Landman, , *Jacob De Klerk, Jr., , *Philippus Albertus Opperman, Sr., , *Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (Andries) (27 NOV 1798 - 23 JUL 1853), , *Gerrit Reynier Van Rooyen, , *Gerhardus Jacobus Rudolph, , *Louis Jacobus Nel, , *Lucas Johannes Meyer, , *Joachim Christoffel Espag or Esbach, , *Johan Hendrik De Lange, , *Hercules Philip Malan, , *Louis Tregardt (10 AUG 1783 - 25 OCT 1838), , *Stephanus Petrus Erasmus, , *Johannes Jacobus (Lang Hans) Janse van Rensburg (12 AUG 1779 - JUL 1836), , *Arie Zacharias Visagie, , *David Stephanus Fourie, , *Jan Matthys De Beer, , *Hermanus Stephanus Lombard, , *Johannes Jacobus Erasmus, . The total number of families that trekked under a trek leader is 1093. From available sources it was found that during the years 1835 to 1845 a total of about 2540 families took part in the Great Trek. 〔 Visagie, Jan C. Voortrekkerstamouers 1835 - 1845. Protea Boekhuis. Pretoria. 2011. Page 14 and 15. 〕 ==Origins== The Voortrekkers mainly came from the farming community of the Eastern Cape although some (such as Piet Retief) originally came from the Western Cape farming community while others (such as Gerrit Maritz) were successful tradesmen in the frontier towns. Some of them were wealthy men though most were not as they were from the poorer communities of the frontier. It was recorded that the 33 Voortrekker families at the Battle of Vegkop lost 100 horses, between 4,000 and 7,000 cattle, and between 40,000 and 50,000 sheep. The Voortrekkers were mainly of Trekboer (migrating farmer) descent living in the eastern frontiers of the Cape. Hence, their ancestors had long established a semi-nomadic existence of trekking into expanding frontiers.〔(Brian M. Du Toit. The Boers in East Africa: Ethnicity and Identity. Page 1. )〕 Amongst the Voortrekkers were poor men too belonging to the squatter or bywoner class.〔Ransford, Oliver. The Great Trek. John Murray. Great Britain. 1972. Page 37.〕 The reasons for the mass emigration from the Cape Colony have been much discussed over the years. Afrikaner historiography has emphasized the hardships endured by the frontier farmers which they blamed on British policies of pacifying the Xhosa tribes. Other historians have emphasized the harshness of the life in the Eastern Cape (which suffered one of its regular periods of drought in the early 1830s) compared to the attractions of the fertile country of Natal, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. Growing land shortages have also been cited as a contributing factor. The true reasons were obviously very complex and certainly consisted of both "push" factors (including the general dissatisfaction of life under British rule) and "pull" factors (including the desire for a better life in better country.) Reasons for the Great Trek were many. *During the ten years following 1818, Natal south of the Tugela and most of the great plateau had been emptied of people by a cataclysmic disaster which black Africans still speak of with awe as the Mfecane - "the crushing." 〔Ransford, Oliver. The Great Trek. John Murray. Great Britain. 1972. Page 26.〕 *The revocation of Lord Glenelg of the Province of Queen Adelaide and restoring it to the Xhosa. *The continued chronic insecurity on the frontier. *Being (wrongly) blamed by the (British) Government for provoking an unjust war. *The Colony was perceived as being no place for Christian people to live. *Land was becoming scarce and expensive owing to natural increase in the Afrikaans-speaking population and the advent of 5,000 British settlers during 1820. *Persistent drought. *The advance of the English tongue, especially in official circles, at the expense of the taal (Afrikaans language). *The emancipation of the slaves ordained by the British in 1833. *The inadequate compensation for the freed slaves by the British. * The emancipation of the slaves took effect during harvest season. *Chronic mortification at the way the Boers' actions were so freely criticized by the missionaries. *The official recognition of the equality between colored men and whites.〔Ransford, Oliver. The Great Trek. John Murray. Great Britain. 1972. Pages 21 and 22.〕 *The Commisie Treks returned filled with enthusiasm for the countries (Natal and Zoutpansberg) they had visited. In both places, they said, was land for the taking, land where their countrymen could set up independent states.〔Ransford, Oliver. The Great Trek. John Murray. Great Britain. 1972. Page 23.〕 *The British authorities had stopped ammunition being traded across the Orange, and someone like Jan Pretorius, the sub-leader of the Tregardt trek, wanted to buy gunpowder from the Portuguese in Lourenco Marques, and he thought that joining Tregardt's caravan was the safest way of getting there.〔Ransford, Oliver. The Great Trek. John Murray. Great Britain. 1972. Pages 36 and 37.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Voortrekkers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|