CHAPTER II.

THE OCCUPATION OF THE TRANSVAAL BY THE BOERS.

Dutch settlement in Cape Colony-The ancestors of the Boers of the Transvaal-Cession of the colony to the English-Troubles with the Boers, a legacy of Dutch misrule-The Hayter's Nek affairThe great trek-Reasons for it-Abolition of slavery-Abandonment of the Kei River territory-Reasons alleged in the proclamation of Retief-Reasons alleged by the Transvaal Boers during the war-Wanderings of the Trek-Boers-Their foundation of a republic in Natal, and the annexation of the country by England -The battle of Boomplats-The annexation and retrocession of the Orange River sovereignty-The Boers across the Vaal-Their victories over Selekatse-The annexation by them of the Transvaal-The Sand River Convention.

THE first settlement of white people in South Africa was planted by the Dutch. In 1652, a company of about 100 immigrants landed on the site now occupied by Capetown, under the command of Van Riebeek. They took possession of Table Bay as a place of rendezvous for the ships of the Dutch East India Company, sailing between Europe and the Indies. The company, under whose auspices the expedition had been made, had no idea of creating anything beyond a depôt; and they steadily opposed the efforts of their servants to settle in the back country. They looked upon their employés as mere machines for the supply of water and provisions to the Indian ships, and restricted their intercourse with the natives as

much as possible.

But, despite their endeavours, the immigrants from time to time broke the bounds allotted to them, and gradually overran the greater part of what is now known as Cape Colony.

The present Boers of the Transvaal are descended from the settlers brought over by the East India Company to the Cape. But they are not exclusively of Dutch descent. A considerable portion—at least a thirdof them are the descendants of French Huguenots. When the revocation of the edict of Nantes in France took place, a number of Protestant refugees sought shelter in Holland. Several of them were sent by the Dutch Republic to the Cape. There they came under the stern despotism of the company, which speedily crushed out their distinctive language and religious customs. There is nothing now to distinguish them from their Dutch neighbours except their names, such as De Villiers, Joubert, Du Toit, Théron, Naudé, and the like.

In 1795 the Cape was annexed by England. It reverted to the Dutch for a short period, during the years 1802 to 1806, when it was retaken by England. In 1814 the colony was finally ceded by the King of the Netherlands to Great Britain. Its liberation from the tyranny of the despotic East India Company gave a great impetus to its progress. To use the words of the late Judge Watermeyer, himself of Dutch origin, "Every man in the colony, of every hue, was benefited when the incubus of the Dutch East India

Company was removed." But the progress was not unchequered. Very early after the British occupation the Boers began to be troublesome.

The troubles of the English Government were in a great measure due to their predecessors. For many

years before the cession to England the outlying Boers, under the nominal dominion of the East India Company, had been intolerant of the stern and partial rule of their masters. They had fled into the wilderness in the first instance to escape the domination of the company, and naturally they did not give much heed to its orders. In addition the modes of life of the farmers, and the circumstances by which they were surrounded, fostered habits of independence and disregard of control. The early intolerance of British rule evinced by the Boers does not seem to have been the result of racial animosity, but was due to a reluctance to submit to any government. And this reluctance was in reality a legacy of misrule in the past. The English Government was incomparably better than the old Dutch company; but the Boers disliked all government, especially when it clashed with their ideas about their rights over the natives.

It is remarkable that the first serious collision between the English authorities and the Dutch farmers arose out of the ill-treatment of a native. This was the 'Slagter's Nek Nek" affair, which still rankles in the minds of the up-country Boers. It is alluded to in terms of condemnation in one of the proclamations issued by the insurgents in the Transvaal in 1881. Yet the affair occurred as far back as 1815. A Boer, named Bezuidenhout, ill-treated a Hottentot servant, and was summoned to appear before the Circuit Court to answer for his misdeed. He declined to appear, and a troop of military were sent to arrest him. Bezuidenhout fired upon them, and was shot at in return, and killed. The neighbouring farmers, thinking he had been badly treated, rose in arms. A struggle took place, and they were defeated and dis

persed. The leaders were captured, and arraigned on a charge of high treason. Five of them were found guilty, and hanged.

The Boers never forgot Slagter's Nek, and it was one of the causes which led to the " great trek" or emigration of Boers from Cape Colony, which resulted in the settlement of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. There were, however, many other reasons which brought about the "great trek." In 1833 the act for the abolition of slavery became the law of the empire. At that period there were upwards of 35,000 slaves in Cape Colony, besides a number of Hottentot aborigines held in a state of quasi-slavery. The compensation voted by the Imperial Parliament to the slave-owners only provided for the value of one-fifth of the Cape Colony slaves; and, owing to defective arrangements, many slave-owners in the colony only received a portion of the amount due to them, or were not paid at all. In addition to freeing the slaves, the British Government displayed great anxiety to elevate the condition of the Hottentots, who formed the chief source of labour in the up-country districts. This also led to much conflict of interests.

Another reason for the emigration of the Boers was the abandonment of the territory between the Keiskamma and the Kei rivers to the natives, under the orders of Lord Glenelg, Secretary of State for the Colonies. The tract of country in question had been annexed by Sir Harry Smith at the close of the Kaffir war of 1830. Lord Glenelg, who represented the extreme philosophical-philanthropical phase of our vacillating colonial policy, directed it to be given back to the Kaffirs. He accompanied his orders with a despatch, charging the colonists with systematic in

justice and oppression. His words, addressed to men who had, many of them, been reduced to beggary by the natives, stung both English and Dutch to the quick, and added one more to the list of injuries, real or supposed, which the Boers attributed to the English Government.

The principal emigration took place in the years 1835 and 1836. It is unnecessary to give a history of it, but I shall have to refer to some of the incidents attending the movement, in order to elucidate the motives which actuated the Boer invasion of the Transvaal.'

The ostensible reasons for the great trek are set forth in a manifesto issued by Pieter Retief, one of the leaders, in the name of the emigrant farmers.

The first reason alleged is the prevalence of vagrancy in the colony. This was a result of the emancipation of the slaves.

The next complaint is as follows:

We complain of the severe losses which we have been forced to sustain by the emancipation of our slaves, and the vexatious laws which have been enacted respecting them.

The document then alleges "the continual system of plunder which we have endured from the Kaffirs and other coloured classes ;" and the next ground of bitterness is" the unjustifiable odium" cast on the Boers by "interested and dishonest persons under the cloak of religion" (i.e. the missionaries).

Then follows a declaration of the intentions of the emigrants. They say :—

We are resolved, wherever we go, that we will uphold the first

A concise history will be found in Chapter IV. of "Among the Boers."