Hermanus Potgieter was extremely cruel to wards blacks. He captured their cattle and kidnapped their children as “inboekelinge”. He also murdered the brother of Makapan. The wagon track from Zoutpansberg was the main route for ivory as well as “black Ivory” or child slaves. The amaNdebele chiefs took revenge and murdered 23 Boers near the track in 1854. The Boers took revenge and starved some 900 amaNedebele to death in Makapans Cave in October-November 1854. THIS IS THE TRUTH.

Yes, one might call sending out an army armed with gatlings, to mow down the locals or avenge the death of an English general as an “anti-slavery commitment”, however Newbolt certainly made no mention Her empire’s noble cause in Vitaï Lampada and neither should we.

Too suggest the Anglo-Boer wars were about slavery is naive — you only have to look at the crown jewels. The only reason the British made such a commitment was that they got such a hiding. They got taught lessons in fieldcraft and marksmanship, lessons which they failed to learn going into WWI & II, if we are to believe the likes of Field-Marshall Wavell. Eventually it took Kitchener, fresh from Afghanistan, to implement his system of concentration camps — for which the Afghan’s still hate him, however Afrikaners remain alot more ambivalent and philosophical.

For the closest correlation to an apartheid system in a western democracy you need look no further than Northern Ireland. The Catholic Human Rights demonstrators of ’69, were treated to internment – detention without trial, an oppressive minority occupying force, curfews, state sanctioned executions against citizens. This continued into the eighties, at a time when Apartheid was being denounced by the UK. There has still been no TRC or even regret on the part of the UK government.

It is clear from Chief B. Mokhonoana’s comments that an oral history for this event does exist, and has in this instance been overlooked in Esterhuysen’s paper, sadly. As to the veracity of that history well …

Stephanie Z writes “The standards of evidence for a lawyer are “Whatever they’ll let me include that supports the case I’m trying to make.” I can think of many open minded lawyers who are more interested in truth and the facts, and would use there powers for this pursuit. These may in fact be of the ilk who might write, dare I say it those “creationism books”.

Far be it from this commentator to cast aspersions on ones fore fathers both black, white and in between, even in the last 15 years our world has changed radically particularly in how we view it, to judge those who lived 200 years ago both black and white is very much to throw stones at glass houses.

You might also want to think very hard about any source that calls the Trekboers “pioneers.” Pioneers are the first people to do something. Any source that calls people talking over populated land “pioneers” is displaying a significant bias against treating the natives as people.

That’s obviously the case here as well. It took very little effort on my part to find out that the Trekboers traveled with slaves. This makes them part of the industry, even if slavery was not a primary industry for them.

Are you a politician or a scientist?

What reference do you have that the Trekkers were involved in the slave trade?

From what I have read, these Pioneers were simple but God fearing people. They had to survive the pressures of living in the African bush, pushed by the English in the south and opposed by the black tribes in the north.

In my view they are being unjustly vilified by you.

Regards,

Jaco

Are you a politician or a scientist?

What reference do you have that the Trekkers were involved in the slave trade?

From what I have read, these Pioneers were simple but God fearing people. They had to survive the pressures of living in the African bush, pushed by the English in the south and opposed by the black tribes in the north.

In my view they are being unjustly vilified by you.

Regards,

Jaco

Are you a politician or a scientist?

What reference do you have that the Trekkers were involved in the slave trade?

From what I have read, these Pioneers were simple but God fearing people. They had to survive the pressures of living in the African bush, pushed by the English in the south and opposed by the black tribes in the north.

In my view they are being unjustly vilified by you.

Regards,

Jaco