Carel Willem Hendrik Boshoff (9 November 1927 – 16 March 2011) was a South African professor of theology and Afrikaner

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

Biography

Boshoff was born in

Nylstroom Modimolle, also known as Nylstroom, is a town located near the southern edge of the Waterberg Massif in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is a medium-sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming (citrus, grapes and cattle) as well ...

in the

Transvaal Province The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...

as the second child of Willem Sterrenberg Boshoff and Anna Maria "Annie" Boshoff. Boshoff's mother, Anna, was the second wife of his father; together they had 7 children in addition to the six from his father's first marriage. Carel Boshoff spent much of his youth at his father's ranch in the Waterberg District in the northern Transvaal, attended the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

and attained his doctorate in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in 1951 after doing missionary work throughout the old Transvaal Province. He spoke the Sepedi (

Northern Sotho Northern Sotho, or as an endonym, is a Sotho-Tswana language spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes referred to as or , its main dialect, through synecdoche. According to the South African National Census o ...

) language fluently and served as Secretary of Missions for the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

. Boshoff's wife (also named Anna), whom he married in 1954, was the daughter of

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966) was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of '' Die Transvaler'' newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect ...

who served as prime minister of South Africa (1958-1966) and became known as the architect of

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 ...

. They had seven children; she died in 2007. Boshoff led the Voortrekker movement from 1981 to 1989. Further, he served as chairman of the

Afrikaner Broederbond The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, ...

from 1980 to 1983. He had to leave the Broederbond in 1983, when members of the newly formed Conservative Party were not welcome any more. He chaired the

Freedom Front 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 ...

in Northern Cape from 1994. Boshoff established the ''Afrikaner Volkswag'' in May 1984 with the ostensible purpose of defending Afrikaner culture, although in practice it was mainly involved in opposing the liberalising of some racial laws under P.W. Botha. Boshoff had attempted to affiliate his group to the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge soon after its foundation but the application was rejected due to the political nature of the ''Volkswag''. The following year he was involved in the setting up of the ''Vereniging Bybel en Volk'', an opposition group within the

Reformed Churches in South Africa The Reformed Churches in South Africa () is a Christian denomination in South Africa that was formed in 1859 in Rustenburg. Members of the church are sometimes referred to as ''Doppers''. History of the Gereformeerde Kerke in South Africa In ...

established after the church leadership endorsed a motion of condemnation of apartheid passed by the

Reformed Ecumenical Synod The Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) was an international organization of Calvinism churches. It had 39 member denominations from 25 countries in its membership, and those churches have about 12 million people together. It was founded August 14, 1 ...

. In 1988 he founded AVSTIG or ''Afrikaner Vryheidstigting'', although he is mainly known as the founder in 1990 of

Orania Orania () is an Afrikaner separatist town founded by Afrikaners in South Africa. It is located along the Orange River in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province. The town is split in two halves by the R369 road, and is from Cape Tow ...

, an Afrikaner settlement intended as the beginning of a

volkstaat The concept of a Volkstaat (, "People's State"), also called a Boerestaat, is a proposed view to establish an all-white Afrikaner homeland within the borders of South Africa, most commonly proposed as a fully independent Boer/Afrikaner natio ...

. Boshoff admitted his disappointment that it Orania had only 810 residents rather than the 60,000 he had anticipated. In 2004 Orania issued its own currency, the Ora. The area is noted for its

Koeksister A koeksister is a traditional Afrikaner confectionery made of fried dough infused in syrup or honey. There is also a Cape Malay version of the dish, which is a fried ball of dough that is rolled in desiccated coconut called a koesister. The ...

monument. Boshoff was the president of the Orania movement ('Orania beweging') until 2007. After he became disabled due to illness, his son, Carel Boshoff IV, took over all the above positions.

Death

Boshoff died aged 83 from cancer at his home on 16 March 2011.

Chairmanships

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boshoff, Carel 1927 births 2011 deaths People from Modimolle Local Municipality Afrikaner people South African Protestant missionaries Members of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) Freedom Front Plus politicians Dutch Reformed Church missionaries Protestant missionaries in South Africa University of Pretoria alumni University of Pretoria faculty Deaths from cancer in South Africa Orania, Northern Cape

Biography

Death

Chairmanships

See also

References

External links