Browsing by Author "Stoffberg, Pierre"

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    Die geskiedenis van die Afrikaner-Oorlams : met spesifieke verwysing na die lewe van Jager (Christiaan) Afrikaner, 1760-1822
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1990-03) Stoffberg, Pierre; Pool, G.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to research the history of the Afrikaner family group and then to document it chronologically. The history of the Afrikaner-Oorlams started -during the disintegration period of the Khoikhoi in the West and Northwestern Cape and ended in South West Africa/Namibia, where the Afrikaner-Oorlams settled as an independent Oorlams-Khoikhoi group. First mention of the Afrikaner family group was made in 1761. At this time the disintegration of the Khoikhoi was already in progress - a process which was conciderably aided by the Company's policy of trade in livestock and also the smallpox epidemic of the early eighteenth century. The loss of their livestock presented the Khoikhoi with two alternatives. They would either have to work on the farms of white farmers or they would have to trek to such regions which did not fall under colonial jurisdiction. At this stage, the Afrikaner-Oorlams grouped consisted of only a few people and they had chosen the first option. They became herdsmen on the farm of Petrus Pienaar, a white stockfarmer in the Tulbagh district. Later on they moved to the Calvinia district. When Jager Afrikaner, leader of the Afrikaner-Oorlams before the start of the nineteenth century, was born, this group was an insignificant though independent Khoikhoi family group. At this stage this group wiliness and their ability to use fire arms and their competence as horsemen set them apart from the ordinary Khoikhoi. Their close contact with the white settlers was also reflected in the Company staff, presented to Klaas Afrikaner, father of Jager Afrikaner by the Company. Because of their "oorlamsheid" they progressed from herdsmen to fellow hunters and 'Comrades of Pienaar in commando raids against Bushmen stock thieves. They were commended for their services by the magistrate and also the governor. They also realised that it was the Khoikhoi and Nama relatively easy to raid the stocks of groups who lived on the banks of the Orange river. As their prowess and independence increased, the AfrikanerOorlams rebelled against the master view held by Pienaar. The Afrikaner-Oorlams subsequently murdered Pienaar and then fled to the Orange River region where they settled. These safe river hide-outs enabled them to conduct a reign of terror and plunder against the indigenous groups living their. Their skill as raiders and marksmen assured them an unchallenged power base. Jager Afrikaner was outlawed by governor Charles Somerset in 1799. Round about 1803 Jager Afrikaner left his Orange River hideout and he and his followers settled a day's journey on horseback north of the river at Blydeverwacht. At Jager Afrikaner's request the first missionaries, the brothers Albrecht joined the Afrikaner-Oorlams. Jager Afrikaner was converted twelve years after the Albrecht brothers started their missionary work amongst the Afrikaner-Oorlams. Due to the efforts of the missionary, Robert Moffat, Jager Afrikaner persevered in his new faith. Jager Afrikaner visited Cape Town. At this stage Governor Somerset rescinded the declaration of outlawery. At his death the Afrikaner-Oorlams group split in two. His brothers Hendrik and Jacobus and their followers persisted in their new christian way of ·life. His son Jonker Afrikaner and his followers however returned to a life of plundering and raiding. This group dominated the history of the southern and especially the central areas of South West Africa/Namibia. Indirectly the Afrikaner-Oorlams had influenced the history of the Northwest Cape profoundly. Indigenous groups who had little or no contact with white settlers had to defend themselves continually against the fickle Afrikaner who were in an excellent position as horsemen and marksmen to terrorise them. To protect themselves against marauders these vulnerable groups formed new associations, like the Griquas.