''Boerehaat'' is an
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
word that means "
ethnic hatred
Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in varying degrees.
There are multiple origins for ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflic ...
of
Boer
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...
s" or
Afrikaner
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
s as they became known after the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
.
The related term ''Boerehater'' ( en, "Boer-hater" or "Boer hater") has been used to describe a person who hates, prejudices or criticises Boers or Afrikaners.
These terms were initially applied to
British people
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mo ...
perceived as prejudiced against the Boers, in the context of political conflict between the British and the Boers in southern Africa which culminated in the British defeat of the Boers in the Second Boer War. Accusations of ''Boerehaat'' have subsequently been made by numerous
Afrikaner nationalists
Afrikaner nationalism ( af, Afrikanernasionalisme) is a nationalistic political ideology which created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afri ...
to exploit historical British prejudice against the Boers for political gain. They have applied the term ''Boerehater'' to anyone who criticised them or opposed their interests in the Cape Colony, including English-speaking
white South African
White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settlers, ...
s,
dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and ...
Afrikaners and
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
South Africans.
Etymology and origin
![An AD MISERICORDIAM appeal - Lantern - 13 March 1880](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/An_AD_MISERICORDIAM_appeal_-_Lantern_-_13_March_1880.jpg)
''Boerehaat'' is an
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
word meaning hatred of the
Boer
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...
s,
[ or ]Afrikaner
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
s as they became known after the Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
.[ The related term ''Boerehater'' ( en, "Boer-hater" or "Boer hater") has been used to describe a person who hates, prejudices or criticises the Boers, or Afrikaners.][
Anti-Boer sentiments among the British were recorded as early as the 18th century. Boers were frequently portrayed in ]British literature
British literature is literature from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. This article covers British literature in the English language. Anglo-Saxon (Old English) literature is inc ...
and editorial cartoon
A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine a ...
s as uncivilised and cruel, with many of these depictions being used in order to obtain the support of the British public for annexing
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
the South African republics during the Second Boer War. The English term ''Boer-hater'' was used in a political context in the British Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...
as early as 1889, referring to individuals who opposed Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch, also commonly known as Cape Afrikaners, were a historic socioeconomic class of Afrikaners who lived in the Western Cape during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The terms have been evoked to describe an affluent, apolitical se ...
interests, the use of their language in Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in particular.
Second Boer War
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
politician James Bryce, writing about the attitude of uitlander
Uitlander, Afrikaans for "foreigner" (lit. "outlander"), was a foreign (mainly British) migrant worker during the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in the independent Transvaal Republic following the discovery of gold in 1886. The limited rights granted to ...
s (English-speaking immigrants) towards the Boer authorities in the independent South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
during the Witwatersrand Gold Rush
The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a part of the Mineral Revolution.
Origins
In the modern day province of Mpumalanga, gold miners in the alluvial mines of B ...
following the discovery of gold in 1886, states: "English became the general spoken tongue not only of Johannesburg, but of the mining districts generally. Hearing nothing but English spoken, seeing nothing all round them that was not far more English than Dutch, though English with a half-colonial, half-American tinge, it was natural that the bulk of the Uitlanders should deem themselves to be in a country which had become virtually English, and should see something unreasonable or even grotesque in the control of a small body of persons whom they deemed in every way their inferiors."
Animosity between the British and the Boers intensified in the run-up to the Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
fought from 1899 to 1902, and continued thereafter.[ One British soldier sent home a letter detailing his hatred of the Boer forces: ''"The Cape Dutch and Boers are a dirty treacherous lot and as soon as the Transvaal is subdued and the beggars (those that survive) trek farther out of our way the better. We do hate them down here like poison. The rascally dirty varmints, they must be exterminated; the country swarms with them and their dirty compatriots the ]German Jew
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
The sight of them and their mean tricks is enough to make the mildest mannered man a demon. God pity the poor white or black under them when they have the power.''[
During the war, Lord Kitchener began a policy of putting all Boer civilians in the South African republics in ]concentration camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
, with 27,000 of those interned dying primarily due to infectious diseases. This resulted in a long-lasting legacy of bitterness towards the British from Afrikaners. The British won the war, but persisting anti-British sentiments contributed to the rise of Afrikaner nationalism
Afrikaner nationalism ( af, Afrikanernasionalisme) is a nationalistic political ideology which created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afrik ...
and the pro-Afrikaner National Party became the ruling party of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
from 1948 until 1994, the apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
era.[
]
Apartheid era
During the apartheid era, the Afrikaners dominated in number of voters, politics and civil service, while English-speaking white South Africans dominated economically.[ The Afrikaners separated themselves from the rest of the population, both black people and English-speaking whites.][ In 1971 sociologist ]Heribert Adam
Heribert Adam (born 1936) is a German-Canadian university professor and author. Adam is professor emeritus of political sociology at Simon Fraser University, specializing in human rights, comparative racisms, peace studies, Southern Africa, and ...
writes "the historical friction between the English and Afrikaans-speaking populace is gradually being replaced by class contradictions within the two groups." Historical friction was revived and exploited by the ruling National Party for political gain however.[ In 1973 Edward Feit, professor of ]political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
at the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, writes in the ''American Journal of Sociology
The ''American Journal of Sociology'' is a peer-reviewed bi-monthly academic journal that publishes original research and book reviews in the field of sociology and related social sciences. It was founded in 1895 as the first journal in its disci ...
'': "Recent political campaigns have shown that the old bogey of ''Boerehaat'' still has its charms for an Afrikaaner majority."[
The National Party, under the leadership of ]B. J. Vorster
Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presid ...
, appealed to the emotions of Afrikaner voters by depicting English-speaking white citizens as being guilty of ''Boerehaat''. The National Party and its political mouthpiece ''Die Burger
''Die Burger'' (English: The Citizen) is a daily Afrikaans-language newspaper, published by Naspers. By 2008, it had a circulation of 91,665 in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa. Along with ''Beeld'' and ''Volksblad'', it is ...
'' waged a "Boerehaat campaign" during a by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865– ...
in 1972, depicting their United Party opposition, once supported by the majority of English-speaking voters,[ as ''Boerehaters'', and won. The ]Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
also used the term to censure members of the Progressive Federal Party
The Progressive Federal Party (PFP) ( af, Progressiewe Federale Party) was a South African political party formed in 1977 through merger of the Progressive and Reform parties, eventually changing its name to the Progressive Federal Party. For it ...
opposition party formed in 1977. After interviewing various South Africans including government officials during the early 1980s, American historian Otto Scott
Otto Scott (May 26, 1918 – May 5, 2006) was a journalist and author of corporate histories who also wrote biographies on notable figures such as the abolitionist John Brown, James I of England and Robespierre.
Early life
Otto Joseph Scott ...
writes: "This sort of xenophobic solidarity perceived the opposition as Boer haters."
White South African critics of apartheid, such as liberal politician Alex Boraine
Alexander Lionel Boraine (10 January 1931 – 5 December 2018) was a South African politician, minister, and anti-apartheid activist.
Early life
Alex Boraine was born in Cape Town and grew up in a poor white housing estate. He would leave hi ...
and Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist Beyers Naudé
Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (10 May 1915 – 7 September 2004) was a South African Afrikaner Calvinist Dominee, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist. He was known simply as Beyers Naudé, or more colloquially, ...
, were labelled unpatriotic ''Boerehaters'' by Nationalists and the Afrikaans press in an attempt to discredit them. White dissidents were also associated with the ''rooi gevaar
''Rooi gevaar'' () is an Afrikaans phrase, sometimes translated into English as "Communist danger". The term gained popularity in South Africa during the Cold War and was associated with the perceived threat of international communism to religiou ...
'' ("communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
threat").[ South African poet and writer Guy Butler was called a ''Boerehater'' by Afrikaners for his promotion of English-language literature and his opposition to ]Afrikaner nationalism
Afrikaner nationalism ( af, Afrikanernasionalisme) is a nationalistic political ideology which created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afrik ...
and the National Party.
English-speaking film critics were more lenient towards Afrikaans-language films lest they be accused of ''Boerehaat''. According to ''The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' film critic Robert Greig, "An apology situation developed with the English-language newspapers who tended not to slam Afrikaans films because they didn't want to be accused of ''boerehaat'' (Boer-hater)." According to film critic Barry Ronge, "The cries of ''boerehaat'' come from the industry itself when they feel they are not getting 'support'."
Post-apartheid era
In 1995 ANC
The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
politician Zola Skweyiya was accused of ''Boerehaat'' by ''Die Burger'' for disrespecting the Afrikaans official language in Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. In 1998 Jaap Marais, Afrikaner nationalist leader of the right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
Herstigte Nasionale Party
The Herstigte Nasionale Party (Reconstituted National Party) is a List of political parties in South Africa, South African political party which was formed as a Far-right politics, far-right splinter group of the now defunct National Party (So ...
, described the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission
A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
as an exercise in ''Boerehaat''.
In 2011 South African politician Julius Malema
Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician and activist who is a Member of Parliament and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party which he founded in 2013. He was formerly the President of ...
was found guilty of hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
in the High Court in Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
for repeatedly singing the anti-apartheid protest song "Shoot the Boer" at political gatherings. Civil rights organisation AfriForum
AfriForum is a South African non-governmental organisation focused mainly on the interests of Afrikaners, a subgroup of the country's white population. AfriForum has been frequently described as a white nationalist, alt-right, and Afrikaner nation ...
accused Malema of inciting violence against white South Africans, citing the ongoing spate of farm attacks (the literal meaning of ''Boer'' is "farmer"). Judge Colin Lamont ruled that Malema's singing of the song in a post-apartheid South Africa was "derogatory, dehumanising and hurtful" to the Afrikaner minority group
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
. Lamont said "People must develop new customs and rejoice in a developing society by giving up old practices which are hurtful to members who live in that society with them."
In an incident reminiscent of the National Party's ''Boerehaat'' propaganda campaign during apartheid, ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa
Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...
urged disgruntled residents of the Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...
province to vote in the 2014 general election otherwise "the Boers will come back to control us". Freedom Front Plus
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include ab ...
leader Pieter Mulder
Pieter Willem Adriaan Mulder (born 26 July 1951) is a South African politician and the former leader of the Freedom Front Plus. He served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Cabinet of President Jacob Zuma from ...
described his remarks as "primitive scare tactics" and "racist and polarising".
Sociologist Michael Neocosmos
__NOTOC__
Michael Neocosmos is a Marxist philosopher. He is an emeritus professor in humanities at Rhodes University, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute and a fellow at the Centre for Humanities R ...
notes that critics of the ruling ANC can similarly be labelled as "standing outside the state-defined national consensus", with for example ''ad hominem
''Ad hominem'' (), short for ''argumentum ad hominem'' (), refers to several types of arguments, most of which are fallacious.
Typically, this term refers to a rhetorical strategy where the speaker attacks the character, motive, or some other ...
'' accusations of racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
and disloyalty replacing accusations of ''Boerehaat'' and communist sympathies which are hard to defend.
See also
*Jingoism
Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inte ...
*Race card
Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the exploitation by someone of either racist or anti-racist attitudes in the audience in order to gain an advantage. It constitutes an accusation of bad faith directed at the person or ...
*'' Schwabenhass''
References
{{Political history of South Africa
Anti-national sentiment
Afrikaner nationalism
Afrikaans words and phrases
Boer Wars
British colonisation in Africa
Ethnic and religious slurs
Political terminology in South Africa
Propaganda in South Africa
Propaganda in the United Kingdom
Racism in South Africa