The Voortrekkers

In the 200 years since the first settlement in the Cape, increasing European colonization had pushed the borders of the Cape colony northwards to the Orange River and eastward to the Eastern Cape (Grahamstown).

As the indigenous people were forced from their land by the settlers, pressure to recover it grew and as the frontier pushed ever more eastward, so more fierce did the conflict with these people become.

At the same time in the Cape Colony, attempts at widespread Anglicization, the removal of slavery and the increasing number of convictions of whites for mistreating their black servants caused Dutch settlers to question whether they should remain under British control.

Thus began the Great Treks into little known Africa. Such was the determination of the Dutch farmers that they were prepared to cross waterless deserts and suffer the ravages of the tsetse fly and mosquito to find their promised land.

An additional obstacle was conflict with the indigenous populations with which the trekkers came into contact. To those who had travelled north and then east, the view of the rolling hills of KwaZulu-Natal from the heights of the Drakensberg was milk and honey to their eyes.

However, it was not unoccupied and frequent battles were fought between the Trekkers and the Zulus who had but recently displaced the San people.

In November 1837, favourable news about a possible land deal with the current Zulu king (Dingane) resulted in more than one thousand Voortrekker wagons heading over the Drakensberg to Natal.

On February 14 1838, a 69 man delegation from Piet Retief's trek party meets with Zulu king Dingane to negotiate the granting of land for the trekkers. The exchange of much of Southern Kwazulu-Natal for the return of 700 head of cattle, 63 horses and some rifles stolen by another tribe and eleven rifles is agreed.

On the 17th February, Retief's party returns the cattle and horses (1). On February 6th Dingane gave the party a farewell dance at which the trekkers were requested to leave their firearms outside. At the climax of the dancing, Dingane leapt up and shouted 'Bamabani abathakathi!' - Kill the wizards! The men were overpowered and killed. (Go here for a layout of Dingane's kraal).

Dingane then gave the order to exterminate all trekkers. The execution of the men was watched by an American missionary, the Rev, Francis Owen who had recently established a mission on a hill overlooking the huge kraal. One of the men killed with Retief was George Biggar. His brother Robert, an accomplished Zulu fighter was ambushed and killed the following April.

Their father, Alexander Biggar had arrived with the 1820 settlers but had moved to Durban in 1824, one of the settlement's earliest residents. He was on good terms with the Voortrekkers and was made landdrost (magistrate) by them. He was also killed by the Zulus in a battle the following December. A range of hills near Ladysmith is called the Biggarsberg.

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