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Weenen Massacre
The Weenen massacre ( af, Bloukransmoorde) was the massacre of Khoikhoi, Basuto and Voortrekkers by the Zulu Kingdom on 17 February 1838. The massacres occurred at Doringkop, Bloukrans River, Moordspruit, Rensburgspruit and other sites around the present day town of Weenen in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. Massacre After killing Piet Retief and about 100 people of his delegation, the Zulu King Dingane sent his impis to kill the remaining voortrekkers who were camped at Doringkop, Bloukrans (Blaauwekrans), Moordspruit, Rensburgspruit and other sites along the Bushman River ( zu, Mtshezi), in the present province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, near the town of Weenen. "Not a soul was spared. Old men, women and babies were murdered in the most brutal manner." Death toll Among the Voortrekkers, 41 men, 56 women and 185 children were killed. In addition another 250 or 252 Khoikhoi and Basuto that accompanied the Voortrekkers were killed, bringing the casualties to 5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Trek
The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial administration. The Great Trek resulted from the culmination of tensions between rural descendants of the Cape's original European settlers, known collectively as ''Boers'', and the British Empire. It was also reflective of an increasingly common trend among individual Boer communities to pursue an isolationist and semi-nomadic lifestyle away from the developing administrative complexities in Cape Town. Boers who took part in the Great Trek identified themselves as ''voortrekkers'', meaning "pioneers", "pathfinders" (literally "fore-trekkers") in Dutch and Afrikaans. The Great Trek led directly to the founding of several autonomous Boer republics, namely the South African Republic (also known simply as the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piet Retief
Pieter Mauritz Retief (12 November 1780 – 6 February 1838) was a ''Voortrekker'' leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he assumed command of punitive expeditions in response to raiding parties from the adjacent Xhosa territory. He became a spokesperson for the frontier farmers who voiced their discontent, and wrote the Voortrekkers' declaration at their departure from the colony. He was a leading figure during their Great Trek, and at one stage their elected governor. He proposed Natal as the final destination of their migration and selected a location for its future capital, later named Pietermaritzburg in his honour. The massacre of Retief and his delegation by the Zulu King Dingane and the extermination of several Voortrekker laagercamps in the area of the present town of Weenen led to the Battle of Blood River on the Ncome River. The short-lived Boer republic Natalia suffered from ineffective government and was eventually annexed to the Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Massacres In South Africa ...
The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in South Africa (numbers may be approximate): See also * Political assassinations in post-apartheid South Africa * Internal resistance to apartheid * 1993 raid on Mthatha References {{massacres South Africa Massacres * Massacres A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutch Language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' is a separate but somewhat mutually intelligible daughter languageAfrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , . Afrikaans was historically called Cape Dutch; see , , , , , . Afrikaans is rooted in 17th-century dialects of Dutch; see , , , . Afrikaans is variously described as a creole, a partially creolised language, or a deviant variety of Dutch; see . spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, evolving from the Cape Dutch dialects of Southern Africa. The dialects used in Belgium (including Flemish) and in Suriname, meanwhile, are all guided by the Dutch Language Union. In Europe, most of the population of the Netherlands (where it is the only official language spoken country ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Blood River
The Battle of Blood River (16 December 1838) was fought on the bank of the Ncome River, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between 464 Voortrekkers ("Pioneers"), led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Zulu. Estimations of casualties amounted to over 3,000 of King Dingane's soldiers dead, including two Zulu princes competing with Prince Mpande for the Zulu throne. Three Voortrekker commando members were lightly wounded, including Pretorius. The year 1838 was the most difficult period for the Voortrekkers from when they left the Cape Colony, till the end of the Great Trek. They faced many difficulties and much bloodshed before they found freedom and a safe homeland in their Republic of Natalia. This was only achieved after defeating the Zulu Kingdom, at the Battle of Blood River, which took place on Sunday 16 December 1838. This battle would not have taken place if the Zulu King had honoured the agreement that he had made with the Voortrekkers to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andries Pretorius
Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa. The large city of Pretoria, executive capital of South Africa, is named after him. Early life and background Pretorius was educated at home and although a school education wasn't a priority on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony, he was literate enough to read the Bible and write his thoughts down on paper. Pretorius had five children, the eldest of whom, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, later became the first President of the South African Republic (Transvaal). Pretorius descended from the line of the earliest Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony. He belonged to the fifth generation of the progenitor, Johannes Pretorius son of Reverend Wessel Schulte of the Netherlands. Schulte in his time as a theology student at the University of Leide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assegai
An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber languages, Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", French language, Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin made up of a wooden handle and an iron tip. Area of use The use of various types of the assegai was widespread all over Africa and it was the most common weapon used before the introduction of firearms. The Zulu people, Zulu, Xhosa people, Xhosa and other Nguni people, Nguni tribes of South Africa were renowned for their use of the assegai. ''Iklwa'' Shaka of the Zulu people, Zulu invented a shorter stabbing spear with a two-foot (0.61 m) shaft and a larger, broader blade one foot (0.3 m) long. This weapon is otherwise known as the ''iklwa'' or ''ixwa'', after the sound that was heard as it was withdrawn from the victim's wound. The traditional spear was not abandoned, but was used to ranged we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johanna Van Der Merwe
Johanna Cornelia van der Merwe (7 March 1825 – 15 January 1888) was a Voortrekker heroine who survived the Weenen massacre, an impi attack on her trekking party on 17 February 1838, despite suffering more than twenty assegai wounds. She later married Hendrik Fredercik Delport with whom she had seven sons (despite being permanently crippled by the attack). She died aged 62 and was buried in Rouxville. An ox-wagon in the historic 1938 Great Trek Centenary commemoration trek as well as a South African Navy submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ... were named in her honour. References Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent 1825 births 1888 deaths {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biggar Family
The Biggar family, Alexander Harvey Biggar (29 October 1781 – 27 December 1838) and his two sons Robert (12 September 1813 – 17 April 1838) and George (20 February 1820 – 17 February 1838), were pioneer traders at Port Natal, in what was to become the Colony of Natal. Subsequent to the massacre of Retief's delegation, they became involved in the exchange of attacks between Zulus and settlers. Although contributing to the overthrow of Dingane, all three lost their lives in the conflicts of 1838. Alexander's grandson John Dunn became a well-known Natal pioneer in his own right. Early life Alexander was born in Kinsale, Ireland in 1781, to parents (Major) Harold Robert Biggar and Ann, née Harvey. On 3 March 1799, he married Mary Straton (1781–1855) in Brechin, Scotland. Alexander first worked as paymaster for the 85th regiment, before fighting in the Napoleonic Wars of 1803–1815, and the War of 1812 in North America. His highest rank was Captain, but he was found guilty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal
Weenen (Dutch for "wept") is the second oldest European settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on the banks of the Bushman River. The farms around the town grow vegetables, lucerne, groundnuts, and citrus fruit. History The plots was laid out in 1839 at the site of a massacre by the Zulus following Voortrekker settlements in the area near the royal kraal of Dingane. The Voortrekkers had arrived in the area a year earlier and the towns Dutch name (place of weeping) originates from the massacre of 100 men and women, 185 children and 200 coloured servants. The settlement was officially surveyed and established in 1841. The Bushman River was bridge by the Jubliee Bridge in 1898. In 1910, it became governed by a local board. A now-closed narrow gauge railway was built in 1907 to connect the town to Estcourt, 47 kilometres to the west until 1983 and provided an outlet for its produce and was thus called the "Cabbage Express'. Weenen Museum The museum (also from 1838) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal Province
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom while the southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
