Great Trek

The Great Trek (Afrikaans: Die Groot Trek [di ˌχruət ˈtrɛk]; Dutch: De Grote Trek [də ˌɣroːtə ˈtrɛk]) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial administration.^[1] The Great Trek resulted from the culmination of tensions between rural descendants of the Cape's original European settlers, known collectively as Boers, and the British Empire.^[2] It was also reflective of an increasingly common trend among individual Boer communities to pursue an isolationist and semi-nomadic lifestyle away from the developing administrative complexities in Cape Town.^[3] Boers who took part in the Great Trek identified themselves as voortrekkers (/ˈfʊərtrɛkərz/,^[4] Afrikaans: [ˈfuərˌtrɛkərs]), meaning "pioneers", "pathfinders" (literally "fore-trekkers") in Dutch and Afrikaans.

The Great Trek led directly to the founding of several autonomous Boer republics, namely the South African Republic (also known simply as the Transvaal), the Orange Free State, and the Natalia Republic.^[5] It also led to conflicts that resulted in the displacement of the Northern Ndebele people,^[6] and conflicts with the Zulu people that contributed to the decline and eventual collapse of the Zulu Kingdom.^[3]

^ Laband, John (2005). The Transvaal Rebellion: The First Boer War, 1880–1881. Abingdon: Routledge Books. pp. 10–13. ISBN 978-0582772618.
^ Lloyd, Trevor Owen (1997). The British Empire, 1558–1995. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 201–206. ISBN 978-0198731337.
^ ^a ^b Greaves, Adrian (2013). The Tribe that Washed its Spears: The Zulus at War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. pp. 36–55. ISBN 978-1629145136.
^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
^ Arquilla, John (2011). Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits: How Masters of Irregular Warfare Have Shaped Our World. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. pp. 130–142. ISBN 978-1566638326.
^ Bradley, John; Bradley, Liz; Vidar, Jon; Fine, Victoria (2011). Cape Town: Winelands & the Garden Route. Madison, Wisconsin: Modern Overland. pp. 13–19. ISBN 978-1609871222.

[Laband-1] Laband, John (2005). The Transvaal Rebellion: The First Boer War, 1880–1881. Abingdon: Routledge Books. pp. 10–13. ISBN 978-0582772618.

[Lloyd1-2] Lloyd, Trevor Owen (1997). The British Empire, 1558–1995. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 201–206. ISBN 978-0198731337.

[Greaves-3] Greaves, Adrian (2013). The Tribe that Washed its Spears: The Zulus at War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. pp. 36–55. ISBN 978-1629145136.

[4] Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.

[Arquilla-5] Arquilla, John (2011). Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits: How Masters of Irregular Warfare Have Shaped Our World. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. pp. 130–142. ISBN 978-1566638326.

[Kaap1-6] Bradley, John; Bradley, Liz; Vidar, Jon; Fine, Victoria (2011). Cape Town: Winelands & the Garden Route. Madison, Wisconsin: Modern Overland. pp. 13–19. ISBN 978-1609871222.

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