Die Kaapse kerk en die Boereoorlog
Date
2015-04
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LitNet
Abstract
Wat was die houding van die Kaapse kerk en sy leiers jeens die Boereoorlog (Anglo-Boereoorlog / Suid-Afrikaanse Oorlog)? In hierdie artikel word probeer om vier punte te illustreer na aanleiding van die redeneringe van die Kaapse kerkleiers soos dit gerapporteer was in die belangrikste kerkblaaie van daardie tyd, naamlik De Kerkbode (die amptelike blad van die Kaapse kerk) en die Gereformeerd Maandblad (die teologiese blad van die Kerk). Die punte wat ondersoek word, is: (1) die solidariteit van die Kaapse kerk met die Boererepublieke en die maniere waarop aan hierdie solidariteit uiting gegee is; (2) die bestryding van die “rassehaat” tussen Afrikaners en Engelse wat vir die Kaapse kerkleiers verreweg die mees skadelike gevolg van die oorlog was; (3) die lojaliteit van die Kaapse kerk aan koningin Victoria en aan die Britse Ryk; en (4) die verskil in die manier waarop respektiewelik die Republikeinse leiers en die leiers van die Kaapse kerk die Vrede van Vereeniging in 1902 beleef het.
What was the attitude of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Cape Colony towards the Anglo-Boer War (South African War) (1899–1902)? The aim of this paper is not merely to report on the attitude of the Cape church, but to illustrate it with extended quotations from statements made by its leaders as these were published or reported mainly in the two most important journals of the church: De Kerkbode, which was the official weekly journal of the church, and Gereformeerd Maandblad, the monthly theological journal of the church edited by J.I. Marais and C.F.J. Muller of the church’s theological seminary in Stellenbosch. Looking back from a contemporary perspective, the attitude of the church as expressed by its leaders seems remarkably ambivalent. On the one hand their sympathies were obviously with the Boers in the Republics. They shared the same ancestry, the same faith and the same language. On the other hand they were loyal subjects of Queen Victoria and felt at home in the British Empire. They did not, therefore, share the republican ideals of the Boers in the Republics. This paper will illustrate this ambivalence by discussing the following four points: (1) the various ways in which the leaders of the Cape church expressed their solidarity with the Boers; (2) their attempts to counter the growing estrangement between the Afrikaans and the English sections in South Africa as a result of the war; (3) their expressions of loyalty to Queen Victoria and the British Empire; and (4) the way they responded to the Peace of Vereeniging in 1902 and how this differed from the response of the republican Boers.
What was the attitude of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Cape Colony towards the Anglo-Boer War (South African War) (1899–1902)? The aim of this paper is not merely to report on the attitude of the Cape church, but to illustrate it with extended quotations from statements made by its leaders as these were published or reported mainly in the two most important journals of the church: De Kerkbode, which was the official weekly journal of the church, and Gereformeerd Maandblad, the monthly theological journal of the church edited by J.I. Marais and C.F.J. Muller of the church’s theological seminary in Stellenbosch. Looking back from a contemporary perspective, the attitude of the church as expressed by its leaders seems remarkably ambivalent. On the one hand their sympathies were obviously with the Boers in the Republics. They shared the same ancestry, the same faith and the same language. On the other hand they were loyal subjects of Queen Victoria and felt at home in the British Empire. They did not, therefore, share the republican ideals of the Boers in the Republics. This paper will illustrate this ambivalence by discussing the following four points: (1) the various ways in which the leaders of the Cape church expressed their solidarity with the Boers; (2) their attempts to counter the growing estrangement between the Afrikaans and the English sections in South Africa as a result of the war; (3) their expressions of loyalty to Queen Victoria and the British Empire; and (4) the way they responded to the Peace of Vereeniging in 1902 and how this differed from the response of the republican Boers.
Description
CITATION: Brummer, V. 2015. Die Kaapse kerk en die Boereoorlog. LitNet Akademies, 12(1):206-225.
The original publication is available at http://www.litnet.co.za
The original publication is available at http://www.litnet.co.za
Keywords
South African War, 1899-1902 -- Religious aspects, Dutch -- South Africa -- Cape of Good Hope
Citation
Brummer, V. 2015. Die Kaapse kerk en die Boereoorlog. LitNet Akademies, 12(1):206-225.