Boer

Boer is a term used to describe the descendants of Dutch-speaking settlers who arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century and later became predominantly Afrikaans-speaking rural communities in what is now South Africa. The word means farmer in Dutch, and by the 18th century referred to a social group characterized by frontier farming outside the original colonial settlement. The term is often associated with the broader Afrikaner ethnic group.

In the 1830s and 1840s, many Boers undertook the Great Trek to escape British control and establish independent settlements beyond the British-controlled colonies. They founded two main republican states: the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. The Boers clashed with indigenous peoples and, later, with the British during the Boer Wars of 1880–1881 and 1899–1902.

The Boers developed a distinct rural culture with the Dutch Reformed Church at the center of community life. Their language, Afrikaans, emerged from Dutch and other influences and became a symbol of their identity alongside agrarian traditions.

In 1910 the Boer republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa after British victory in the wars. The Afrikaner population continued to play a central role in South African politics and society throughout the 20th century, including the period of apartheid. The term Boer thus refers to a historical and cultural lineage within the broader Afrikaans-speaking community.