Pieter Johannes "Piet" Potgieter (1822 – 1854) was a South African
Boer political figure. He was the acting
head of state of Zoutpansberg from 1852 to 1854, and the first son of
voortrekker Andries Potgieter. He married Elsie Maria Aletta van Heerden, who later married
Stephanus Schoeman, a subsequent leader of Zoutpansberg, and
acting president of the
South African Republic. The town
Piet Potgietersrust, now Mokopane, was named in Potgieter's memory in 1907.
Leader of Zoutpansberg
When
Andries Hendrik Potgieter died in 1852, he left his son,
cmdt.genl. Piet Potgieter, in charge of the
Zoutpansbergdorp
Schoemansdal ( Dutch for ''Schoeman's dale''; at first Oude Dorp and Zoutpansbergdorp) was a settlement situated 16 km west of Louis Trichardt (Makhado), which had its origins during the Great Trek. It existed from 1848 to 1867, and functi ...
. Potgieter had a short tenure, as he soon died in a campaign against tribal leader Mgombane ka Gegana.
In September 1854 Piet's uncle,
field cornet
A field cornet () is a term formerly used in South Africa for either a local government official or a military officer.
The office had its origins in the position of ''veldwachtmeester'' in the Dutch Cape colony, and was regarded as being equiv ...
Hermanus Potgieter (Groot Hermaans), was searching for ivory near the
Nyl River
The Nyl River ( af, Nylrivier) is a watercourse in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It flows at the head of the Mogalakwena River, being its southernmost tributary or uppermost section. It is located near Mookgophong (Naboomspruit) in the northern ...
, an area ruled by chiefs Makapan and Mankopane (also: Mapela or Mapele). For reasons imperfectly known, the chiefs decided to massacre them and other unrelated white travellers. The act claimed the lives of 28 white settlers,
and the
Potchefstroom
Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...
governance authorized a punitive commando under the command of Piet Potgieter and
M. W. Pretorius. The tribesmen retreated into
Makapansgat cave, where they were to suffer heavy casualties. One of their snipers however managed to fatally shoot Piet Potgieter.
Potgieter was the only Boer casualty of the campaign, but his death brought an end to his family's hegemony in the north.
Descendants
The family was the starting point of an influential South-Africa lineage. The Potgieters' daughter Elsie Maria Aletta married reverend Ds. J H M Stofberg, the secretary and head of the
NG Church in South-Africa, after ex president Schoeman granted his blessing. They had two children of which one became a political figure through the
South-African Broederbond and a member of the executive committee of the
National Party,
Dr. Pieter Johannes Potgieter Stofberg. National Party Minister Hendrik Schoeman was also closely related to this family.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potgieter, Pieter Johannes
1822 births
1854 deaths
Afrikaner people
South African people of Dutch descent
19th-century South African people