Ancestry24

Hierdie verwerking van Heese se proefskrif  Transvalianos en Estrangeiros  – Afrikaners in Angola 1880 – 1928 (Universiteit van Kaapstad, 1976) omvat die tragiese lot van die sogenaamde Dorslandtrekkers, die verhoudinge met Portugal, inheemse volke, asook die periodieke interne struwelinge wat goed vergelykbaar is met die gebeure rondom die Groot Trek, wat toe bykans ’n halfeeu tevore plaasgevind het. Terselfdertyd kan ons vandag parallelle trek met die groep wat in 1902 na Argentinië is, en die huidige emigrasie-vloedgolf na Australië, Kanada ens., nes ál die Trekkers destyds geïdentifiseer het met die Ou Testamentiese Israeliete. Heese het ekstra gegewens, soos uit sy meesters-tesis (1974, Univ. Kaapstad: Genealogie as hulpwetenskap van Geskiedenis met verwysing na die Boeretydperk in Angola, 1880 – 1928) bygewerk, asook inligting uit resente literatuur.

Kolonisasie was mettertyd ’n bedreiging vir die Trekkers – die spanning tussen Brittanje, Portugal en Duitsland het hulle beïnvloed, net soveel as die gedurige siektes, ongediertes en veerowers. Verdeelde lojaliteite was moontlik die grootste enkele oorsaak van spanning onder die Angola Boere. Ondanks hul Portugese burgerskap het dié mense steeds ’n eenheidsgevoel gekoester met hul volksgenote in die Boererepublieke Vrystaat en Transvaal. Met die uitbreek van die Anglo-Boereoorlog het hulle selfs hulp aan die republieke aangebied en geld ingesamel ten spyte van hulle armoedige bestaan.

Ekonomiese faktore was aanvanklik die belangrikste beweegrede vir enige besluite, soos om te vestig en waar om te vestig – siektes, droogte, rooftogte deur inheemse volke, sprinkaanplae, vloede, die ongeskiktheid van die omgewing vir veeboerdery en ’n gebrek aan markte vir hulle produkte (veral groente) het etlike gesinne na ander woonplekke laat soek. Later het godsdiensgeskille ’n groot impak gehad op die uiteindelike wel en weë van die Angola Trekkers en in die laaste hoofstuk getiteld “Exodus” beskryf Heese die trek terug na Suid-Afrika; die einde van ’n fassinerende, dog relatief onbekende hoofstuk in die geskiedenis van die Afrikanervolk.

Aangesien hierdie boek gebaseer is op ’n akademiese verhandeling, is dit deeglik nagevors en word bronverwysings voorsien, sodat lesers self hierdie bronne kan raadpleeg of aanwend vir kruisverwysings. Heese het die vermoë om sy gekose tema te verryk met intrinsieke kennis en insig wat die gevolg is van jarelange navorsing, terwyl dit maklik lees, eerder as ’n opstapeling van droë feite: bona fide geskiedskrywing was nog nooit blote kroniekskrywing nie en Heese is een van die mees gerespekteerde historici wat hierdie land nog opgelewer het.

Dr. Francois P. Verster, Argivaris van Naspers, voorheen verbonde aan Die Kaapse Argief (1991 – 2007).

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The Chinese in South Africa are caught up between two worlds -the civilised Western world which has adopted this community unofficially and (although tardily) even socially, and the world of its Asiatic origin, which has led to the Chinese being officially classified non-white and subject to certain restrictive legislative measures. Chinese are admitted to White theatres, restaurants and residential sections, and the attitude of most White South Africans toward them is one of sympathetic aloofness. Little contact is made with the Chinese; points of contact are mostly the little corner shop, the laundry or a Chinese restaurant for diversion.

The present Chinese community in South Africa did not originate in the labour force which was recruited in North China in 1904 for the Witwatersrand gold-mines. All those labourers were repatriated four years later by the Transvaal government. The present community has developed from sporadic immigration, which began in 1891 with the arrival from Madagascar and Mauritius of Chinese traders who had originally come from Canton. According to the 1965 returns they number about 7,200 and are distributed as follows: Johannesburg 3,000; the perimeter of the Witwatersrand 450; Pretoria 650; Port Elizabeth 1,800; East London 350; Cape Town 325; Kimberley 275; Durban 175; other centres in South Africa 250. In 1950 a total prohibition was imposed on the immigration of Chinese to South Africa.

The Chinese are mainly traders, and in both wholesale and retail trade they have built up a reputation for honesty and reliability. Bankruptcy seldom occurs. A few practise as doctors, attorneys, architects, engineers or accountants; many are employed in offices of Whites as clerks, typists, computer operators, dispatch clerks or travellers. They mainly belong to the middle income group and their standard of living is far above that prevailing in their country of origin. Very few South African Chinese are in needy circumstances, and one-third may be reckoned among the group of affluent businessmen. Both culturally and socially they are much nearer to the Whites than to the non-Whites, and very few of these Chinese have any connection with other non-White groups with whom they are legally classified. The South African Chinese have even lost contact with Buddhism and have in many cases adopted the Christian faith. In politics they are strongly anti-Communist, and 99 % of them support the Nationalist China of Chiang Kai-shek. Taiwan (Formosa) has full diplomatic representation in South Africa.

The legislation which affects and inconveniences them most is the Group Areas Act. Whenever an area is proclaimed as belonging to some particular racial group, whenever slums are cleared and the residents are required to move, the Chinese fall between two stools. They are neither White nor Indian, nor do they belong among the black or Coloured to whose way of life the area is to be adapted. Although they are mainly a race of traders, their community is too small to support trade among themselves, and they are now seeking an outlet in a greater diversity of occupations. Uncertainty is their greatest problem, but fear of discrimination or humiliation has not been experienced to any appreciable extent.

Mrs. M. KONDILE, of Boksburg, near Johannesburg, was born in the Cape Province. She is one of the foundation members of the Women’s Section of the African National Congress. She was a prominent member of the Women’s League and is one of the best women organisers in the Transvaal. At one time she was in charge of a grocery store and news agency. A real lover of her people, and is highly respected by the residents of Boksburg.

(*Pretoriuskloof, Graaff-Reinet dist., 17.9.1819 – † Potchefstroom, 19.5.1901), president of the Transvaal republic and of the Orange Free State, was the eldest child of Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius, the Voortrekker leader, and his first wife, Christina Petronella de Wit. Because of the pioneering conditions under which he grew up, Pretorius did not receive much formal education, but, nevertheless, was given some elementary schooling, as his earliest correspondence is in very legible handwriting and shows a command of language unusual among his contemporaries. He was continually adding to his store of knowledge and until an advanced age was still receiving tuition, as he did, for example, from J. G. Bantjes, his father’s former secretary. His youth was uneventful, but he learnt to know the native problem at an early age and when he left the Cape Colony at nineteen, he fully realized the underlying motives for the Great Trek.The Pretorius family cannot be regarded as belonging to the first Voortrekkers, for it was only after an exploratory expedition that A. W. J. Pretorius decided to settle in Natal. On 31.10.1838 his party of sixty-eight wagons departed from the colony. After a call for help from Natal , the trek was left behind on the Modder river and, together with his father, P. travelled ahead of the others to the Voortrekker encampments on the Little Tugela. There they arrived on 2.11.1838. Young P. was a member of the commando that took action against Dingane and he also participated in the battle of Blood river, but, while in Natal, he remained in the background.

On 19.12.1841 he married twenty-one-year-old Aletta Magdalena, widow of François Alewyn Smit. Several children were born, but only one daughter, Christina Johanna Petronella (Chrissie) Pretorius, survived, Christiana and Lake Chrissie in the Transvaal are named after her. Pretorius settled on a farm bordering on that of his father and about an hour on horseback (six miles) from Pietermaritzburg. Pretorius must have learnt a good deal from his father, as Andries Pretorius would not have left his son ignorant of the important developments in which he, the father, was involved. Pretorius was aware of the major principles of Voortrekker policy such as economic and political freedom, and relations with Britain and the Bantu.

Believing that some agreement with the British government was possible, Andries Pretorius remained on his farm after the annexation of Natal (1843), but the British native policy created a difficult situation. While Pretorius was attempting to have an interview with the high commissioner, Sir Henry Pottinger, in Grahamstown (September 1847), the position became so serious that the Pretorius family was forced to leave Natal. This exodus took place under the leadership of Pretorius, who proceeded as far as the Tugela river, where his father again joined the family. There, too, the famous interview between Sir Harry Smith and Andries Pretorius took place towards the end of January 1848, shortly before the British annexation of the Transorange. This resulted in some delay and the Pretorius family were able to settle in the Transvaal only during the first months of 1848, Pretorius occupying the farm Kalkheuvel in the vicinity of Magaliesberg, about twenty miles to the west of modern Pretoria, and about twelve miles from his father’s farm, Grootplaas, at the Hartebeespoort.

Pretorius completed his first assignment on behalf of the government in October 1851. By that time the Basuto problem was so acute that the burghers of the Orange River Sovereignty called for the intervention of Andries Pretorius and it was decided to send young Pretorius, together with a certain D. Botha, to the sovereignty to make an opportunity for an interview between Maj. H. D. Warden and Andries Pretorius, who had been outlawed by the British government since August 1848. Warden reacted favourably and undertook to forward any proposal by the Emigrant Boers to the high commissioner in Cape Town. In a sense, this visit of Pretorius’s helped to pave the way for the Sand River convention.

The conclusion in January 1852 of the Sand River convention, by which the independence of the Transvaal was formally recognized by Britain, caused initially some measure of dissatisfaction to the north of the Vaal river. After Andries Pretorius and A. H. Potgieter had become reconciled, however, prospects for the immediate future brightened considerably and for this reason the death of the two leaders in such a short time was so tragic. The death of his father on 23.7.1853 almost immediately involved Pretorius, as his son, in his country’s affairs. On 8.8.1853 he was unanimously nominated commandant-general in his father’s place, pending confirmation by the volksraad. The following day he was sworn in as such by the interim committee of the volksraad and, when he made his appearance in the krygsraad (’military council’) a day later, he was elected its chairman by that body.

From the beginning Pretorius showed an extraordinary ability to deal with national problems. A factor which at this stage hindered national unity was the lack of a central site for the volksraad. When the public and the general assembly of the N.H. Kerk asked for a suitable site, Pretorius acted somewhat hastily and informed the volksraad at its next meeting that he had bought two centrally situated farms for this purpose. To his great disappointment the volksraad did not, however, share his enthusiasm and postponed the matter sine die.

In the same way his attempts to achieve unity with the O.F.S. were impeded by hasty action. From his father he had inherited the desire to combine into one large whole the Boer communities resulting from the Great Trek. In this, too, he succeeded his father at a very critical stage, for towards the end of 1853 Sir George Russell Clerk, the special commissioner, was abandoning the O.F.S., and openly hinted that there would be no objection by Britain to the union of the two Boer states. Pretorius wished to use this opportunity to share in the discussions on the British withdrawal, but this was not granted. His ideals were shared by many in the O.F.S. and were expressed by the provisional government on the day after independence had been declared. The first elected volksraad of the O.F.S. subscribed to the ideal of union by sending Paul Bester and M. Wessels to the Transvaal in June 1854. They were the bearers of a document which they placed before the Transvaal volksraad at Rustenburg and which could be interpreted as indicating that the O.F.S. was thinking in terms of union.

Although this fitted in perfectly with Pretorius’s projects, he was not in a position to carry the matter any further. Within the Transvaal new groups were developing. This not only frustrated Pretorius’s plans for amalgamating with the O.F.S., but also delayed the much more important task he had set himself: to provide a constitution for a Transvaal republic. This is to a certain extent attributable to the arrival in May 1853 of the Rev. Dirk van der Hoff as the Transvaal ’s first minister of religion. Instead of consolidating the republic this event caused internal tension and the formation of dissenting religious groups.

When, initially, the Transvaal succeeded in obtaining a minister, assistance was promised from the Cape Colony on condition that the Transvaal parishes would be incorporated in the Cape synod of the N.G. Kerk. This condition was accepted but scarcely a week later, on the arrival of the Rev. Van der Hoff, the consistory of Potchefstroom decided, with Pretorius’s moral support, to contest incorporation in the Cape synod. This resolution was confirmed by the volksraad at its sitting in Rustenburg (August 1853), in the absence of the representatives from Lydenburg. Scarcely a month later, at a meeting of the full volksraad in Lydenburg, the resolutions of the previous meeting were endorsed, except that renouncing the Cape synod. In this matter the Lydenburg section wished provisionally to temporize. Notwithstanding this, the breach with the Cape synod was ratified (November 1853) in the presence of the Lydenburg representatives. On the surface all seemed well and the Transvaal, as far as church affairs were concerned, was apparently a unified whole.

Unfortunately J. A. Smellekamp made his appearance in Lydenburg at this stage and the personal feud between him and the Rev. Van der Hoff spread so widely that the whole of the Transvaal was involved. Ultimately Smellekamp was reprimanded and fined by the volksraad and, on his failure to pay, was banished from the republic. This, however, happened only after the krygsraad, of which Pretorius was chairman, had stepped in and taken the Rev. Van der Hoff under its protection at the consistory’s request.

Here Pretorius was not a statesman, and allowed himself to be involved in a personal feud. The old Transvaal differences between east and west, already obvious in the days of Andries Pretorius, were revived. The Lydenburg faction headed by H. T. Bührmann, blamed Pretorius for his actions but at the same time held the Rev. Van der Hoff responsible for Smellekamp’s banishment. It was contended that the best way of demonstrating disapproval was for Lydenburg to call its own minister and again to seek its inclusion in the Cape synod. Thus the authority of the volksraad was challenged and the unity of the state destroyed.

During these troubles (September 1854) Pretorius was paying the O.F.S. a friendly visit, and although in certain quarters this visit was associated with sinister motives, it proved a success. On his return, and before he could consider the grievances of Lydenburg, the shocking murder of Field-Cornet Hermanus Potgieter took place. Throughout the Transvaal native truculence flared up and even the people of the western Transvaal were forced to gather in laers for safety. Because of this and, in February 1855, a serious outbreak of lung sickness which paralysed normal transport, it was impossible to summon the volksraad and, in effect, the country was for some time without a government.

Only approximately a year after the previous meeting of the volksraad, which had ended on a comparatively minor note, was a session arranged (1.6.1855). Again there was dissension because of the presence of Jacobus Stuart, who was seeking only his own advancement, and in this was opposed by Lydenburg. To eliminate Lydenburg’s opposition Stuart formulated a case against the Lydenburg representatives, basing it on their actions in connection with the Cape synod. He skilfully involved Pretorius and succeeded in having the Lydenburg representatives declared unfit to hold any public position. Because of his own actions Pretorius became more and more deeply involved in quarrels that were to make his personal position almost unbearable.

The presence of Stuart was, nevertheless, not without its significance. As a result of his efforts a commission was nominated in September 1855 to prepare a draft constitution for the state. Pretorius, not a member, enthusiastically supported the commission and pleaded for acceptance by the volksraad of the draft bill; this, in fact, took place in Potchefstroom in November 1855. This constitution formed the basis for Pretorius’s election as provisional state president on 15.11.1855. A few days later the volksraad showed further signs of its support by approving the establishment of a village on the two farms that P. had bought more than two years before and stipulating that it should be named Pretoria after his father.

Unfortunately there was as yet no national unity, as the support that Pretorius enjoyed came from only a part of the community. The Lydenburg section displayed a chilly indifference, while Stephanus Schoeman, who was in control at Soutpansberg after the death of Pieter Johannes Potgieter, also rejected the new constitution.

Thus, notwithstanding its constitution, the Transvaal was still more or less without a government in March 1855. The course of events had, however, convinced Pretorius of his blunders and in a spirit of sincere remorse he strove to achieve reconciliation with Schoeman and Lydenburg. Because of his efforts a representative meeting was held at Potchefstroom in December 1856. A new constitution, based on Stuart’s draft, was prepared and provision was made for a state president and an executive council. As prematurely as on the previous occasion, Pretorius was again elected state president and Schoeman, although absent, commandant-general. Pretorius was sworn in on 6.1.1857 and on that same day the new flag, the Vierkleur, designed by the Rev. Van der Hoff, was officially hoisted for the first time.

In this way a major ambition of Pretorius’s was realized: the state had a constitution and, theoretically, had sound foundations. Feelings were, however, mixed at this time, as Lydenburg broke away from the republic on 17.12.1856 and Schoeman ignored the resolutions of the national assembly.

With this as the background Pretorius committed the greatest political blunder of his career. In the O.F.S. Pres. J. N. Boshof. accepted the so-called citizenship act to consolidate his country against the rest of the world but at the same time he embarrassed Transvaal burghers with property in the O.F.S. The interim volksraad committee of the western Transvaal consequently sent M. A. Goetz and Pretorius to the O.F.S. amicably to discuss the matter with the government. Pretorius hastily left for Bloemfontein without making an effort at reconciliation with Schoeman, who was declared a rebel during Pretorius’s absence and, in turn, blockaded the whole of the northern Transvaal.

Pretorius’s visit to the O.F.S. developed into an awkward attempt at amalgamating the two republics. Encouraged by supporters in the O.F.S. he, without justification, claimed the O.F.S., but this claim was contemptuously rejected by Boshof. Pretorius was forced to beat a retreat in somewhat humiliating fashion, but not before dangerous threats had been made on both sides.

After a hasty return to Potchefstroom Pretorius visited Natal to negotiate common boundaries, but his absence did not calm ruffled feelings. Boshof, in particular, was nervous and did everything in his power to isolate Pretorius while he himself tried to contact Pretorius’s enemies, Schoeman and the Lydenburg section. During Pretorius’s absence his lieutenants compromised him through their clumsy and dangerous handling of Boshof, acting without Pretorius’s knowledge or assistance. In this way they made an awkward situation even more difficult. This quarrel almost led to an armed clash when burghers were called to arms on either side of the Vaal and two commandos faced each other on the Renoster river (25.5.1857). Sound common sense, however, won the day and the breach was healed when, on 1.6.1857, Pretorius recognized the O.F.S. government and territory.

Peace between Pretorius and the O.F.S. to some extent checkmated his Transvaal opponents and left the political initiative in his hands. During the following few months Pretorius for the first time showed signs of diplomatic skill. The blockade of Soutpansberg was raised, the proclamation against Schoeman was revoked, and an agreement was entered into with him (1.7.1857) whereby all disputes would be referred to an independent court which would sit at Rustenburg in November 1857. When, in spite of the agreement, Schoeman sought the active support of Lydenburg in connection with the court case, Pretorius acted quickly and four days before Schoeman and Lydenburg reached an agreement he proposed a compromise with Lydenburg to the volksraad. As the volksraad was enthusiastic, Pretorius invited Lydenburg to a discussion that would coincide with the court session. When, at Schoeman’s request, the session was postponed until the following year, Pretorius took the opportunity of sending a delegation to Lydenburg and subsequently receiving a Lydenburg deputation at Potchefstroom (21.2.1857). There Pretorius was contrite; he admitted complicity in the Smellekamp case and in the condemnation of the Lydenburg members of the volksraad. In this way he cleared the air and managed to effect a reconciliation. Instead of being an enemy Lydenburg was more likely to be an ally against Schoeman at the pending session of the court. At court developments proved unsatisfactory. Both parties clearly indicated that they would not accept an unfavourable verdict, the court was dissolved, and the respective military councils took over. A commission of twelve was nominated to review the laws of the land. The outcome of the commission’s work, which was completed on 13.2.1858, was a complete victory for Pretorius Practically unaltered, the 1856 constitution was accepted as the law of the land. For the third time Pretorius was elected as state president, while Schoeman on this occasion accepted the post of commandant-general.

After this major success it was a suitable time for Pretorius to continue with his plans for reunion with Lydenburg. Before this could be achieved, however, clashes between the O.F.S. and the Basuto compelled Pretorius to visit the O.F.S. once again. The O.F.S. was in such a predicament that amalgamation with the Transvaal could have followed Pretorius’s approaches, if, as Britain’s representative, Sir George Grey had not prevented it by threatening the possible suspension of the conventions of Sand river and Bloemfontein.

While Pretorius was away in the O.F.S. relations with Lydenburg deteriorated because of the divided loyalty of Utrecht. While the territory as a whole joined Lydenburg (8.5.1858), a group of inhabitants remained loyal to Pretorius He initiated a meeting between the executive councils of Lydenburg and the T.R. on the farm Onspoed (26.2.1859). A joint commission under his leadership was sent to Utrecht and satisfactorily solved the difficulties there.

Thus reunion was only a question of time. At Onspoed a basis had been initiated and was completed on 24.11.1859. Pretorius was the leading figure in these negotiations and was generous enough to admit past mistakes and to correct them. Although he made concessions on numerous points, Lydenburg joined the unified state on the basis of his constitution and took part in the session at Pretoria, on 4.4.1860, of the first combined volksraad.

Meanwhile, on 12.12.1859, Pretorius was also elected state president of the O.F.S. by an overwhelming majority, after the resignation of Boshof. The Transvaal volksraad granted Pretorius six months’ leave, but on 9.4.1860, after a report that Pretorius had been sworn in as state president of the O.F.S., decided to suspend him as state president until September. Pretorius took umbrage at this and concluded that the dual presidency was not supported by the Transvaal. Convinced that the O.F.S. needed his assistance more, he, on 15.9.1860, requested his honourable discharge as president of the T.R. and left for Bloemfontein. As president of the O.F.S. for almost three years he did splendid work. With great skill he brought several rebellious native chiefs to heel, and, with Moshweshwe especially, he ratified a boundary advantageous to the O.F.S. He examined the critical financial position of the O.F.S. and introduced limited, but profitable reforms. As a result of his interest education also benefited. The complete political chaos which developed in the Transvaal after his departure, however, prevented him from giving his undivided attention to the O.F.S.

Things came to such a pass in the Transvaal that he resigned as president of the O.F.S. on 1.10.1862, but subsequently allowed himself to be persuaded to withdraw his resignation and to proceed to the Transvaal on two months’ leave. But he arrived too late to avert a clash between the Staatsleger (’state army’) and Volksleger (’people’s army’), though he did his utmost to calm their feelings. As Pretorius had identified himself with the rebels in this civil strife he was, however, not acceptable to the Staatsleger as a mediator. Because of rumours that his life was threatened, he retired to the O.F.S. with the rebel leader, Stephanus Schoeman. Following an urgent request he returned to the Transvaal, where, on 24.11.1862, he acted as chairman at a meeting between the warring factions. There it was decided to refer all disputes to a special court. When hostilities broke out once again after the temporary peace, Pretorius again resigned as president of the O.F.S. (5.3.1863), but allowed himself to be persuaded a second time to withdraw his resignation. On being granted special leave he left for Potchefstroom, where he finally resigned as state president of the O.F.S. (15.4.1863).

Pretorius’s desire for a calm, quiet life was not to be granted. The extraordinary court session of January 1863 ruled that a state president should be elected. Pretorius was nominated, but W. C. Janse van Rensburg was elected. As irregularities had, however, occurred, another election was held on 1.10.1863. Van Rensburg again obtained a majority, but continued rumours of tampering with the ballot papers moved Comdt. Jan Willem Viljoen, of the western Transvaal, to advance with a commando that clashed with the Staatsleger on the Crocodile river (5.1.1864). Blood was shed; this catastrophe brought all the parties to their senses, and peace was made, a new presidential election was announced, and on 29.3.1864 Pretorius was again elected.

On his readmittance to the government of the T.R. he found many problems awaiting him. The most urgent was undoubtedly the dismal economic position, which had been gravely damaged by the civil strife. To improve the country’s financial position it had, in 1855 and 1857, been considered, under Pretorius’s leadership, whether, with state-owned land as its backing, paper money should be issued. Nothing, however, came of this idea. At the time of the civil war, when the treasury was quite empty, Schoeman was compelled to issue mandaten , which, without security, had no value as currency. To save the situation Pretorius persuaded the volksraad in June 1865 to issue paper money and to recall all mandaten. The appearance of paper money did not solve the problem as the security was insufficient and forgeries often occurred. In April 1866 the volksraad decided to issue new notes in British currency, while it was decided in 1870 to have these banknotes printed on proper banknote paper in Britain. The issuing of paper money was, to a great extent, only a temporary measure to save the national economy, and more constructive measures were considered under Pretorius’s leadership. Because of his ignorance of economic matters the initiative usually came from others, but he seized on new possibilities for development with surprising comprehension. Alexander McCorkindale’s schemes played an important part in this connection. Since 1864 the government had concluded with him arrangements such as the settlement of immigrants in Nieuw Schotland (New Scotland) in the eastern Transvaal, industrial development, a river route to the East coast, a harbour and a commercial bank, but these projects had not yet come to anything by 1871. Pretorius exerted himself to get citizens of the republic to take the lead in economic matters. He set an example when he suggested the possibility of coffee production to the volksraad after he had paid a visit to the Soutpansberg. Because of his zeal a large number of concessions were granted, but not much was effected. In 1866 several agreements were entered into between Pretorius and burghers of the republic, the intention being to establish an agricultural and animal husbandry company, a mining company, and a land and immigration company.

Internationally Pretorius was successful in getting the republic recognized as an independent state by Holland (29.10.1869), France (29.11.1869), Belgium (17.12.1869), the United States of America (19.11.1870) and Germany (29.1A 871). In return Pretorius appointed representatives abroad with well-disposed powers. Consulates were established in Britain, Ireland and Antwerp. Pretorius also strove for peaceful relations with neighbouring states and for this purpose consuls were appointed in Natal and the Cape Colony.

With Britain, however, no permanent peace appeared to be possible. The convention policy of 1852 was, in course of time, regarded in Britain as a mistake and pressure was exerted to bring the British government to change its views. The accusation that slavery was being practised in the Transvaal Pretorius successfully refuted, but could not free himself from the economic stranglehold of the British colonial harbours in Natal and in the Cape Colony. His claim to part of the customs duties on goods going to the Transvaal was blandly refused. Because of this the Transvaal began to turn to its Portuguese neighbour and tried to find its own harbour. In 1861 an unsuccessful effort had been made to obtain St Lucia bay for this purpose. When McCorkindale’s ambitious scheme of 1867 came to nothing, Pretorius himself acted. Convinced that the southern section of Delagoa bay, into which the partly navigable Maputa river flowed, was no man’s land, he, on 29.4.1868, extended the boundaries of the Transvaal so as to include the Maputa river up to where it flows into the Indian ocean. By proclamation he extended the boundaries of the republic as far as Lake Ngami in the west.

These annexations immediately roused Britain and Portugal, but with totally different results. Britain maintained that Pretorius’s actions menaced her supremacy and replied with threats and counter-demonstrations which weakened a relationship already strained. Discussions with the Portuguese were, on the contrary, quite friendly, and a permanent agreement was reached on 29.7.1869: a ‘treaty of peace, friendship, trade and frontiers’ was concluded between the republic and Portugal.

The demands created by these circumstances became, in the long run, too exacting for Pretorius. At times he was autocratic, but easily became the victim of any selfish adviser. When his administration was sharply criticized in 1867, he proved touchy, impatient and so unwilling to listen to criticism that he resigned as president on 29.11.1867. This elicited a half-hearted response from the volksraad and Pretorius quickly seized an opportunity of withdrawing his resignation. Although the volksraad showed increasing signs of indifference towards the president, the burghers still supported him. At the usual five-yearly election in 1869 Pretorius gained an overwhelming majority, securing more than double the number of votes gained by the other thirteen candidates.

But the writing was on the wall. Pretorius’s inability effectively to control national affairs is proved very clearly by the diamond dispute which arose in 1870. The Transvaal had, as an interested party, to deal with many intrigues which proved too much for Pretorius. On his own, moreover, he signed an act of submission wherein provision was made for arbitration on claims to the diamond-fields. In 1871 the lieutenant-governor of Natal, R.W. Keate, who was appointed the final arbiter, passed judgement against the Transvaal and, by so doing, roused a storm of opposition against Pretorius. In his absence the volksraad discussed whether he could remain president of the republic any longer. In seemingly bewildered fashion Pretorius concurred in this doubt and admitted that, because of altered circumstances ‘his capabilities were now quite inadequate’. This confession marks the temporary disappearance of Pretorius from public life (20.11.1871). He had shown himself to be a man devoted, enthusiastic and conscientious, but with too many limitations to be a statesman.

After his resignation he disappeared into the background, but after the annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 he, surprisingly quickly, returned to prominence. During the period of passive resistance he was elected chairman of the committee of Boer leaders; he was also a member of the committee that negotiated with Sir Bartle Frere at Hennops river (12.4.1879), and acted as chairman of the national assembly at Wonderfontein on 15.12.1879. For his share in these proceedings he was accused of treason by the British and imprisoned, but was almost immediately released on bail. On 13.12.1880, when the Transvaal burghers challenged Britain, and the restored government was placed in the hands of a triumvirate, Pretorius was a member of it, together with P. J. Joubert and S. J. P. Kruger. In this capacity he was a fellow signatory of the peace terms at Laingsnek, at the conclusion of the war on 21.3.1881, and also of the Pretoria convention (3.8.1881).

Although relatively young and physically strong, he retired from political life and went to live at Potchefstroom. He married the widow Hartog(t) on 26.11.1890.

During the final years of the republic’s existence he was appointed acting historian and received an annuity of £300. In a way the appointment was recognition of services rendered and his emolument was more of a pension. He, however, took his work seriously, moved temporarily to Pretoria and managed to collect a large number of valuable documents. Of these, few have been preserved for posterity; a valuable manuscript consisting of information from him was lost in A. D. W. Wolmaran’s house during the Second Anglo-Boer War, when the British occupied Pretoria, Pretorius’s personal documents were damaged by British troops on the farm of his son-in-law when, to keep him under surveillance they took the ex-president to Pretoria.

In his old age he was staying with a friend when, on a cold night in May 1901, he was aroused from sleep by suspicious British troops who, on the stoep, interrogated him for two hours in the cold. This proved too much for the constitution of this veteran of eighty-one; the next morning he said he felt ill and he died a few days later.

He is not one of South Africa’s greatest figures. Every unbiased observer will admit that many limitations made him increasingly incapable of being the head of a state under more advanced conditions. Both mentally and intellectually he was inadequately fitted to take an independent stand and for this very reason he, on the one hand, was imposed on by others, while, on the other, he offended his own people by his touchiness and alienated whole groups through impulsive and injudicious decisions. Nevertheless a place of honour has at all times to be allotted to him in the history of the Transvaal. In pioneering conditions he had an almost instinctive sense of duty and this compelled him to become a leader because he realized that there was work to be done. He never lacked patriotism and a dutiful spirit of self-sacrifice. With the limited means at his disposal he laid stronger foundations, both politically and otherwise, than any of his contemporaries.

A memorial in honour of Pretorius was erected by the state on his grave in the Potchefstroom cemetery and on 4.12.1913 this was unveiled by Gen. Louis Botha, prime minister of the Union of South Africa.

Even in old age Pretorius was an imposing figure with clear blue eyes, a well-formed head and strong features. There are quite a number of portraits of him, dating from the sixties to his more advanced years; they are, for example, to be found in the collections of the Pretoria city council, the S.P. Engelbrecht collection in the N.H. Kerk archives, Pretoria, and in the Transvaal archives, Pretoria. An oil-painting of Pretorius standing in the volksraad, which was in the Raadsaal, Pretoria, until 1900, became the possession of the Transvaal museum until, in 1964, it was returned to the Raadsaal after Jacobina van Tilburg had made a copy for the National Museum of Cultural History, Pretoria. There is a bronze bust in the possession of the city council of Pretoria. In front of the Pretoria city hall a statue (by Coert Steynberg) was unveiled in November 1955 at the time of the Pretoria centenary celebrations.

Marthinus Wessel Pretorius

Source: Dictionary of South African Biographies (Volume I)

Rev. FORBES CUMMING BOTA was born at Gildon, Baviaans River in the District of Bedford, Cape Province, on the 11th April, 1874. His father was an elder in the United Presbyterian Church at Glenthorn in the same district. He died in 1881 leaving four sons including the Rev. F. C. Bota. In 1891 Rev. Bota went to Lovedale where he qualified as a teacher. He was one of the brightest students. at Lovedale at that time. In 1897 he went to teach at Gillton, Tyumie, Cape Province, later going to Macfarlane. In 1905 he entered the Transvaal and went to teach at Zoutpansberg. In 1916 he joined the South Africa Native Labour Contingent going to France, and after the Great War he returned to South Africa and resumed teaching. In 1924 he went to Tiger’s  Kloof Institution to study theology, and in 1929 he was ordained minister of the Congregational Church. He is now stationed at 30, Doran Street, Jeppestown, Johannesburg. He is a descendant of the royal stock of the Tembus. Is married and has two daughters and one son.

Mrs. M. BOBOJANE, of Boksburg, who is a younger sister of Mrs. M. Kondile, was born in the Cape Province. Like her sister, she was a foundation member of the Women’s Section of the African National Congress. She did much work in organising the women in the Transvaal. Was a delegate to many conferences of the African National Congress. She is very prominent among the residents of Boksburg.

Rev. C. TWALA was a Swazi and lived for many years in Natal where he received his early education. He joined the Wesleyan Ministry and for many years was stationed in Johannesburg and did good work. He was a good preacher and an eloquent debater. He was very progressive in all his ideas and took a very keen interest in the social, educational and political life of his people. He was married and one of his sons is now Supervisor of Native Schools in the Transvaal.

PRINCE GWAYI TYAMZASHE was ! born at Blinkwater in the district of Fort Beaufort on the 22nd of January, 1844. He was the eldest son of Tyam. zashe; Tyamzashe, the son of Mejana, son of Oya, of the Rudulu clan, cornmonly known as the Mangwevu. Gwayi as a boy saw all the horrors of the early Kaffir Wars, and was with his mother, Nontsi, during the terrible Nongqause cattle-killing episode, while his father Tyamzashe was a head councillor at the King’s Court. At that time Sandile was the Paramount Chief of the Xosa Tribe.

After the great armed protest of the Xosas, under Sandile and his brother Anta, Gwayi and his parents became detached from the main fighting body and eventually fell into the hands of the missionaries at Dr. Love’s mission station-now known as Lovedale. The late Mr. Goven was then in charge of the mission and he soon induced the raw native fugitives to be converted. Govan actually went so far as to pay those natives who attended infant classes. Gwayi Tyamzashe liked these classes. He was followed by many other natives. The signs of progress moved quickly. Messrs. Smith and James Stewart came to Lovedale, and Gwayi and his friends soon found themselves on the highway to civilisation and education. At all times Lovedale was open to all classes of pupils, and Gwayi found himself rubbing shoulders with European pupils, amongst whom were William Henry Solomon (late Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa), his brother, Richard Solomon, Schreiner, Grimmer and others.

Soon Gwayi qualified as a teacher and taught for some years at Gqumahashe, a village just across the Tyumie River. Just at that time Tiyo Soga was reading for theology in Scotland. This caused Gwayi to leave teaching and return to Lovedale for theology. Before doing so, however, he went in for a University examination in which Latin, Greek and Hebrew were essential subjects. This examination was above the ordinary matriculation. It was a red-letter day at Lovedale when Gwayi Tyamzashe passed this examination; flags were hoisted and the day was proclaimed a exam holiday.

Gwayi completed his Theological Course in 1874 and was immediately called to the Diamond Fields. In 1884 Gwayi and his family, consisting of his wife and three children, James, Henry and Catherine, left Kimberley for the wild north-Zoutpansberg. His journey to that part of the country was a heart-breaking one; the story of which would fill a volume. Leaving Kimberley with two ox-wagons, several milch cows and a pair of horses, he slowly made his way north. There were no roads to speak of; the country was unexploed as yet; the drifts across the rivers were mere sluits and no bridges existed anywhere; the country was still wild, and, worst of all, the Dutchmen, who occupied the Transvaal, were hostile towards the black races. When Gwayi and his caravan arrived on the Witwatersrand-as Johannesburg was then called-he was arrested for having no ” pass.” He was handcuffed behind his back and hurried off to Pretoria in front of four fiery horses of the “Zarps” (Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek Poliese). His wife, however, hurried over to Pretoria and personally interviewed Oom Paul (President Paul Kruger) whereupon Gwayi was not only released, but also given a free pass to his destination.

At Zoutpansberg Gwayi Tyamzashe opened a number of mission stations which exist to this day. He lived at Zoutpansberg for six years, and on being called back to Kimberley, he returned to the Diamond Fields. It was, however, a different Gwayi that arrived at Kimberley. He was physically a mere shadow of the former Gwayi, owing to a relentless attack of asthma which he contracted in the damp and marshy country of the Zoutpansberg. He lingered for six years in Kimberley and died on the 25th October, 1896. Prior to his death he had a serious case against the European Church Union which culminated in victory for him in the Supreme Court at Capetown.

Mrs. A. TEMBA is a Mokhatla by birth. She was born, educated and married in the Transvaal. She was a woman of character and did much to help her people. Took a keen interest in the political and social life of the Africans. She was one of the women who were elected by the African National Congress to be arrested by the police during the Women’s Pass Test Case. Later she was appointed president of the Women’s Section of the African National Congress. Mrs. Temba died in Johannesburg in 1928.

Chief Sebele I. was the son of Sechele I., head of the Bakwena Tribe, whose country extended from Bechuanaland to the Transvaal. He was a kind and just man, Very much respected by his people. His appearance commanded respect. He did not countenance quarrels and disliked strife. He was a friend of the missionary of the London Missionary Society. The Bakwena and the Bangoakwetsi Tribes belong to the same stock. Thev originally came from Loc. They are of the same family with the Basuto, Bahurutsi, Bamangoato and the Baphalane. These people are now resident in various parts of Bechuanaland, Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Basutoland.