Afrikaners, the white ethnic group that ruled South Africa during apartheid until its end in 1994, have become a buzzing topic since President Trump granted a group of 59 Afrikaners refugee status in the US due to “unjust racial discrimination” in their country. Although Trump’s claims are questionable. Notably, white South Africans still hold 10 times the wealth of their Black counterparts since their descent from rule.
A detailed look at their complex history may explain why.
According to Thought Co, the Afrikaners were descendants of Dutch settlers, with additional roots in German, French, and other European lineages. Their story is one of migration, survival, and complex identity formation shaped by centuries of colonialism, conflict, and cultural resilience.
Origins: Dutch Settlement at the Cape
The history of the Afrikaners begins in 1652, when the Dutch East India Company established a refreshment station at the Cape of Good Hope. The purpose was to supply Dutch ships traveling to and from Asia. Over time, settlers—mainly Dutch, with German and French Huguenot immigrants—began to arrive, forming a distinct community known as the Boers (farmers).
The Dutch and their European allies depended on enslaved workers—mainly from Malaysia and Madagascar—for labor in transport and agriculture, supplying ships on their way to and from Asia with fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and other items, South Africa History noted.
Over time, this cultural blend gave rise to Afrikaans, a language rooted in 17th-century Dutch and shaped by Malay, Khoisan, Portuguese, and other colonial-era languages.
Expansion and Conflict
As the settlers moved inland during the 18th and 19th centuries—often in response to British colonial rule—they encountered and clashed with indigenous African groups. This period, known as the Great Trek (1830s–1840s), saw thousands of Boers leave the British-controlled Cape Colony to establish independent republics like the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
According to Helion & Company, the Great Trek was driven by rising tensions between the rural Boers—descendants of the Cape’s original European settlers—and the expanding British Empire. It also reflected a growing desire among Boer communities to adopt an isolationist, semi-nomadic lifestyle, distancing themselves from the increasing bureaucracy of Cape Town. Those who joined the migration identified as Voortrekkers, meaning “pioneers” or “pathfinders” in Dutch and Afrikaans.
However, these migrations intensified confrontations with indigenous African kingdoms such as the Zulu and the Xhosa, leading to decades of frontier warfare and land dispossession.
British Imperialism and the Boer Wars
In the late 19th century, the discovery of gold and diamonds in Boer territories attracted British interest, sparking the Anglo-Boer Wars (First War: 1880–1881, Second War: 1899–1902). The second war was particularly brutal, with the British establishing concentration camps where thousands of Boer women, men and children died.
Despite military defeat, Afrikaner nationalism grew stronger. By 1910, the Union of South Africa was formed, and Afrikaners began asserting political power through institutions like the National Party, founded in 1914.
Source: Slim Aarons / GettyApartheid and Its Aftermath
In 1948, the National Party came to power and implemented apartheid, a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white minority rule. Afrikaners, especially those in political and economic power, were the chief architects and enforcers of this regime.
Apartheid lasted until 1994, when Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress led South Africa into a new democratic era. Since then their presence in South Africa has been controversial. Notably in January, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act, a law that allows the government to seize unused or privately owned land without compensation in certain cases, when it is deemed “equitable and in the public interest.”
While the South African government says no land has yet been expropriated, the act aims to address deep-rooted land inequality stemming from apartheid with the attempt to bring equality to Black South Africans. Per NBC News, according to Action for Southern Africa, white South Africans—who make up only 7.3% of the population—own 72% of farms and agricultural holdings, while Black South Africans, representing over 81% of the population, own just 4%. President Trump issued his executive order in response to President Cyril’s move.
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