Gerhardus Jacobus Rudolph (1797–1851) was the grandson of the South African Rudolph progenitor, Johan Bernhard Rudolph. He was a member of a scouting expedition, set up by Piet Uys, which left the Eastern Cape

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port E ...

and Albany area on 8 September 1834. Gert, as he was affectionately known, farmed together with Piet Uys in the Lower Bushmans River area of the Eastern Cape. Amongst the approximately 21 whites that made up the group were: the scout J.H. (Hans Dons) de Lange, Johannes Stephanus Maritz and two brothers of Piet Uys, the thirty-four-year-old Jacobus Johannes and the fifteen-year-old Johannes Zacharias. The expedition wanted to establish if it was possible to acquire arable areas in Natal that could have been successfully farmed. At the same time it would also have been an adventurous hunting expedition that could have returned profitable gains. Gert later was the leader of one of the

Voortrekker 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 beyo ...

groups to have left the

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

to escape the British Colonization of the Cape of Good Hope as well as the continual cross border raids by the

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

to their north. He was the first cousin of Gert Maritz, a well known

leader in early

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

history. Shortly after leaving the Eastern Cape his trek joined up together with that of Gert Maritz. Fiery of character, he became a renowned

leader and fighter. He led the Voortrekkers in many skirmishes against the natives of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

during their trek into the unknown. He became the leader of their combined trek after Gert Maritz died at Zaailager, Natal on 23 September 1838. In January 1840, Rudolph and

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 ...

helped

Mpande kaSenzangakhona Mpande kaSenzangakhona (1798–18 October 1872) was monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872. He was a half-brother of Sigujana, Shaka and Dingane, who preceded him as Zulu kings. He came to power after he had overthrown Dingane in 1840. ...

in his revolt against his half-brother Dingane, who was then killed on an expedition north in the Hlatikhulu Forest. In gratitude for his help in overthrowing Dingane, the new king Mpande gave Gert Rudolph a concession to farm in this area. He later became a

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and served as the last head of state of Natalia between 1842 and 1843.

External links

Die Groot Trek
Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent 1797 births 1851 deaths {{KwaZuluNatal-politician-stub

See also

External links