Boer people
Boer family in 1886
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| approx. 1.5 million. | |
| Languages | |
| Afrikaans, Dutch | |
| Religion | |
| Reformed | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
|
Afrikaners Cape Dutch Cape Coloureds Basters Griquas |
Boer (English: /ˈboʊ.ər/, /bɔːr/ or /bʊər/;Afrikaans: [buːr]) is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for "farmer". As used in South Africa, it was used to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century. For a long time the Dutch East India Company controlled this area, but it was eventually taken over by the United Kingdom and incorporated into the British Empire.
In addition the term was applied to those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State, Transvaal (which are together known as the Boer Republics), and to a lesser extent Natal. They left the Cape primarily to escape British rule and get away from the constant border wars between the British imperial government and the indigenous peoples on the eastern frontier.
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