White South Africans

White South Africans are people whose ancestry can be traced primarily to Europe. Those of Dutch, French, and German origin date to the seventeenth century, while those of English heritage date to the nineteenth century. Afrikaners, the Dutch word meaning “Africans,” refers to the early settlers, in particular the Boers, who mainly originated in Holland. The English were drawn to South Africa because of its strategic location and the discovery of diamonds and gold, while many settlers were encouraged to immigrate because of high unemployment in England. After decades of conflicts between the Boers and English, the latter occupied and controlled the region in the early twentieth century. As of 2021, the white population of South Africa was 7.8 percent and showed steady decline, falling from 9 percent in 2011. Afrikaans is one of eleven official languages of South Africa and was spoken by 12.2 percent of the population in 2018. English, also an official language, was spoken by 8.1 percent.

Background

Some of the earliest evidence of humans in the fossil record have been discovered in southernmost Africa. The earliest significant peoples were the San and Khoikhoi, collectively the Khoisan. Over thousands of years, migrants from other areas of the continent moved to the region. These newcomers primarily spoke languages in the Bantu group and over time developed distinct languages and cultures, including Zulu and Swazi.

European trade with Asia began thousands of years ago. Early traders utilized the Silk and Spice Routes, which involved overland and some water travel, for example through the Mediterranean Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean. Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias established a trade route to Asia via the Atlantic and Indian Oceans by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in modern-day South Africa in 1488. Portuguese and Spanish settlements were soon established along the route.

In June 1598, five Dutch ships sailed from Rotterdam. Those aboard believed they were sailing to Indonesia for spices, but once at sea, the sailors were told they were also under orders to plunder Portuguese and Spanish settlements along the route. Only one ship reached Asia, landing in Japan in 1600. The crew established friendly relations with the military ruler of Japan and secured official trade relations for the Dutch. Other Dutch ships settled in the Cape of Good Hope region in 1652, establishing a way station where ships could take on fresh food and water on the journey between Europe and Asia. The Dutch, German, and French colonists aboard the ships were called Boers, which means “farmers” in Dutch.

The Boers were Calvinist Protestants. In 1685, Louis XIV of France formally revoked a decree of religious tolerance known as the Edict of Nantes, thereby removing all civil and religious freedoms previously granted to French Protestants. Many French Calvinist Protestants fled to the Dutch settlement to escape persecution, rapidly increasing the population and prompting settlers to move farther inland to expand their farms. The Europeans attempted to displace indigenous peoples in often violent confrontations, and by the start of the eighteenth century, controlled most of the land. The Boers employed Africans as farm laborers and imported enslaved persons from Indonesia, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka.

Merchants from Great Britain, like other trading nations, stopped at the Cape of Good Hope on their journeys to and from India. In 1795, Britain sent troops to the Cape, and after six weeks of fighting captured Cape Town. The Dutch briefly regained the colony from 1803 to 1806 before Britain took control again. The British population increased rapidly and took over urban areas, where they controlled finance, politics, trade, and other powerful sectors. Most Boers remained rural farmers and were in perpetual conflict with local African peoples. Eventually, they began migrating inland and established three countries, the Transvaal or South African Republic, the Orange Free State, and Natalia. The British occupied coastal Natalia in 1843, but had little interest in the inland states until diamonds and gold were discovered there. Immigrants from Europe, including Germany and Wales, arrived to work in the mines.

Great Britain abolished slavery in most of the empire in 1833. Soon after, settlers from India, then a British colony, traveled in large numbers to southern Africa. Many worked on sugar plantations as indentured servants or in mines, while others established retail shops. As the Indian population increased, many European settlers pushed for laws that limited Indians.

The British forcefully took more land from African peoples through the nineteenth century, and as the mining interests in Transvaal became increasingly important, the British government launched a bid to retake the region. The Second Boer War, as the British called it, or the Second Freedom War as the Afrikaners interpreted the conflict, began in 1899. When it ended three years later, Britain held Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

The Dutch-speaking peoples had seen themselves as pioneers, Calvinists who were taming a promised land provided to them by God. Their humiliating defeat became central to the Afrikaner identity as a persecuted group in the twentieth century. Widespread destruction of farms by the English during the war prompted many rural Boers to move to the cities, where they competed with immigrants and local people for work in the industrial sector. Others competed with Black South Africans for jobs in the mines.

Afrikaners were resentful after their defeat and many mine owners viewed them as a threat. The owners feared the Afrikaners and Black workers could join forces to demand better wages and working conditions. The English-speaking white South Africans established a racially based labor system in which management and skilled-labor positions were reserved for white individuals, while low-paying heavy labor jobs were held by Black workers. Over time, legislation limited the movements of Black South African workers and established areas in which they were permitted to live. These laws predated apartheid, but laid the ground for the system, which was established in 1948 and endured until 1994.

Overview

The majority of modern white South Africans experience economic privilege. They live in more affluent neighborhoods and have access to better educational opportunities and health care than Black South Africans. Clothing choices, leisure activities, and family life typically adhere closely to those of Western cultures including Europe and the United States. As in many European nations, most students wear school uniforms. Literacy is nearly universal.

English-speaking white South Africans live throughout the country, but the largest population centers are urban areas including Cape Town, Durban, East London, and Port Elizabeth along the coast, and inland cities and towns Bloemfontein, Grahamstown, Johannesburg, Kimberley, and Pretoria. Primarily of English heritage, they continue to observe anniversaries and events of their ancestral homelands. For example, the Christmas holiday involves family gatherings, special dinners, and gift giving. Guy Fawkes Day, which remembers a failed effort to blow up the Houses of Parliament in England, is observed November 5 with bonfires and fireworks. In modern times such observances are less common because fireworks are largely banned to prevent fire.

South African youth become adults at age eighteen, when they are legally permitted to drink alcohol, drive, and vote. After graduation from high school, many English South Africans attend a university or technical school. Many travel internationally about this age, often visiting Europe where they take on jobs to fund their journey. Following high school, many Afrikaners attend one of four primarily Afrikaans universities or a technical school. However, most South Africans are bilingual and English is the common language of business.

Afrikaner culture is based in Dutch identity, and in particular, the Boer culture—pioneers who carved out a community in the South African interior. The education system includes historic figures from the era. Athleticism is celebrated, with many rugby and soccer stars emerging as idols. Afrikaners predominate among rural white people. They commonly are employed in industry.

Afrikaners observe standard Christian holidays including Easter and Christmas. Sunday School for children is essential to many families. Many Dutch Reformed Churches hold a midnight service on December 31 to recall those lost in the year and welcome the new year.

The English language in South Africa has influences of various ethnic and racial groups. It includes some borrowed words and sentence structures. Afrikaans also borrows from other languages and cultures. An unusual feature is the standardization of the double negative. Afrikaans first appeared in print in the early nineteenth century.

Most English white South Africans belong to Christian denominations. A small percentage, primarily in Cape Town and Johannesburg, are of the Jewish faith. Afrikaners are primarily of three denominations of the Dutch Reformed Church.

Because the South African climate is warm year-round, outdoor activities are common. Rugby, soccer, and field hockey are popular in winter. Cricket is most common in summer. Other favorite activities include cycling, golf, swimming, and tennis. Water sports include surfing and yachting. Some Afrikaners continue to participate in a competition that originated during the pioneer era, jukskei, which resembles the game of horseshoes.

The South African government’s migration data indicated white South Africans were leaving the country in increasing numbers. From 1985 to 2021, an estimated 611,500 white South Africans emigrated. Among the most common destinations were England, Australia, and New Zealand.

Bibliography

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