Afrikaners << af ruh KAH nuhrz >> are people of Dutch, German, or French ancestry who live in South Africa. Most Afrikaners are of Dutch descent. The first Afrikaners were colonists sent to South Africa in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company, a trading firm (see Dutch East India Company ). Many of the colonists became farmers in what is now the area around Cape Town. Afrikaners are also called Boers << bawrz >> . Boer is a Dutch term meaning farmer. The language the Afrikaners speak, called Afrikaans, is derived from Dutch.
The British occupied the colony the Afrikaners founded from 1795 until 1803. They seized the land again in 1806 and held it permanently. In 1836, some Afrikaners left the colony to gain freedom from British rule. They moved northeast into lands that became known as Natal, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal. On this “Great Trek,” the Afrikaners faced grave dangers and hardships. Later, they lost to the British in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Today in South Africa, Afrikaners outnumber people of British descent.
