[Music] hello welcome back to the channel my name is Josh and you're watching our history today we are going to focus on the great track the great Trek in Afrikaans was a northward migration of dutch-speaking settlers who traveled by Wagon Trails from the cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards seeking to live beyond the cape's British colonial Administration the great Trek resulted from the culmination of tensions between rural descendants of the cape's original European settlers known collectively as Burj and the British Empire it was also reflective of an increasing common Trend among individual boor communities to pursue an isolationists and semi-nomatic lifestyle away from the developing administrative complexities in Cape Town [ __ ] took part in the great Trek identified themselves as fuertrackers meaning Pioneers Pathfinders in Dutch and Afrikaans the great trick led directly lead to the founding of several autonomous boor republics namely the South African Republic also known simply as the transfall the orange free state and the Natalya Republic it also led to conflicts that resulted in the displacement of the northern Devale people and conflicts with the Zulu people that contributed to the decline and eventual collapse of the Zulu Kingdom the background before the arrival of Europeans at the Cape of Good Hope area was sparsely populated by koisan tribes the Bantu tribes were still migrating south and east from present-day lesoto the first Europeans settled in the cape area under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company also known by its Dutch initials a VOC which established a victroling station there in 1652 to provide its Outward Bound fleets with fresh provisions and a harbor of Refuge during the long sea Journey from Europe to Asia in a few short decades the cape had become home to a large population of freckieden also denoted as a fresh Burger on free citizens former company employees who remained in the Dutch territories overseas after completing their contracts since the primary purpose of the cape settlement at the time was to stock Provisions for passing Dutch ships the VOC offered grants of Farmland to its employees under the condition they would cultivate grain for the company warehouses and release them from their contracts to save on their wages were granted tax-exempt status for 12 years and learned all the necessary seeds and farming implements they requested they were married to Dutch citizens considered of good character by the company and had to commit to spending at least 20 years on the African continent reflecting the multinational character of the voc's workforce some German Soldiers and Sailors were also considered for freck Burger status as well and in 1688 the Dutch government sponsored the resettlement of over a hundred French Huguenot refugees at the cape as a result by 1691 over a quarter of the colony's European population was not ethnically Dutch nevertheless there was a degree of cultural assimilation through internet marriage and the almost Universal adoption of the Dutch language cleavages were likely to occur along social and economic lines broadly speaking the cape colonists were delineated into Bush who were farmers who settled directly on the frontier and the more affluent predominantly urbanized Cape Dutch following the Flanders campaign and The Batavian revolution in Amsterdam France assisted in the establishment of a pro-french-clined state The Batavian Republic on a Dutch soil this opened the cape to French warships to protect her own prosperous Maritime shipping routes Great Britain occupied the fledgling Colony by force until 1803 from 1806 to 1814 the cape was governed as a British military dependency whose sole importance to the Royal Navy was its strategic relation to Indian Maritime traffic the British formally assumed permanent administrative control around 1815 as a result of the Treaty of Paris causes at the onset of the British rule the cape Colony encompassed a hundred thousand square miles or 260 000 square kilometers and was populated by about 26 720 people of European descent a relative majority of whom were of Dutch origin just over a quarter were of German ancestry and about 1 6 were descended from the French huguenots although most had ceased speaking French since about 1750 there were also thirty thousand African and Asian slaves owned by the settlers and about 17 000 indigenous koisan relations between the settlers especially the Burj and the new Administration quickly saw it the British authorities were adamantly opposed to the British ownership of slaves and what was perceived as the unduly harsh treatment of the indigenous peoples the British government insisted that the cape Finance its own Affairs through self-taxation an approach which was a alien to both the bourge and the Dutch merchants in Cape Town in 1815 the controversial arrest of a white Farmer for allegedly assaulting one of his servants resulted in the abortive aslakhter Schnack Rebellion the British retaliated by hanging at least five Bush for Insurrection in 1828 the cape Governor declared that all Native inhabitants but slaves were to have the rights of citizens in respect of security and property ownership on parity with the settlers this had the effect of further alienating the colony's white population the Boer resentment of successive British administrators continued to grow throughout the late 1820s and early 1830s especially with the official imposition of the English language this replaced Dutch with English as the language used in The Capes judicial and political systems putting the bush at a disadvantage as most spoke little or no English Great Britain's alienation of the Bush particularly Amplified by the decision to abolish slavery in all its colonies in 1834 all 35 000 slaves registered with the cape Governor were to be freed and given rights on par with other citizens although in most cases their masters could retain them as apprentices until 1838 many Bush especially those involved with grain and wine production were dependent on slave labor for example 94 of all white farmers in the vicinity of Stellenbosch owned slaves at the time and the size of their slave Holdings correlated greatly to their production output compensation was offered by the British government but payment had to be received in London and few Bush possessed the funds to make the trip bridling at what they considered an unwarranted intrusion into their way of life some in the bull Community began to consider selling their forms and venturing deep into South Africa's unmapped interior to preempt further disputes and live completely independent from British rule others especially track Bush a class of bush who pursued seminar pastoral activities we're frustrated by the apparent unwillingness or inability of the British government to extend the borders of the cape Colony Eastward and provide them with access to more Prime pasture and economic opportunities they resolve to track beyond the colony's borders on their own opposition although it did nothing to impede the great track Great Britain viewed the movement with pronounced trepidation the British government initially suggested that conflict in the far interior of southern Africa between the migrating Bush and the Bantu peoples they encountered would require an expensive military intervention however authorities in the cape also judged that the human and material cost of pursuing the settlers and attempting to reimpose an unpopular system of governance on those who had deliberately spurned it was not worth the immediate risk some officials were concerned for the tribes the bush were certain to encounter and whether these tribes would be enslaved or otherwise reduced to a state of penury the great trick was not Universal popular among the settlers either around 12 000 of them took part in the migration about a fifth of the colony's dutch-speaking white population at the time the Dutch Reformed Church to which most of the Bush belong explicitly refused to endorse the great trick despite their hostilities towards the British they were booze who chose to remain in the cave of their own accord for its part the distinct Cape Dutch Community had accepted British rule many of its members even considered themselves loyal British subjects with a special affection for English culture the cape Dutch were also more heavily urbanized and therefore less likely to be susceptible to the same rural Grievances and considerations of those held by the Burj exploratory tricks to natal in January 1832 Dr Andrew Smith an Englishman and William Berg a bull farmer scarted natal as their potential Colony on their return to the cape Smith waxed very enthusiastic and the impact of the discussions bear had with the bush proved crucial portrayed natal as a land of exceptional farming quality well-watered and nearly devoid of inhabitants in June 1834 the bird leaders of atenacha and grahamstown discussed a commission track or commission track to visit natal and to assess its potential as a new Homeland for the cape Bush who were disenchanted by the British rule at the cape Peters lafras Ace was chosen as track leader in June 1834 at craftabankis heard about the exploratory track to Port natal and encouraged by his father Bernard Louis bankes sent word to Ace of his interest in participating monkeys wanted to help re-establish Dutch Independence over the bush and to get away from British law at the cape monkeys was already well known in the area as an educated young man fluid in both spoken and written touch and in English because of these skills Ace invited monkeys to join him banky's writing skills would prove invaluable in recording events as the journey unfolded in early August 1834 Jan jerezabankis set off with some Travelers headed for grahamstown 220 kilometers or 140 miles away a three-week trek from grafenik sometime around late August 1834 Vikings arrived in grahamstown contacted Ace and made his introductions on the 8th of September 1834 the commission track of 40 men and one woman as well as a retinue of colored servants settled from grahamstown for natal with 14 wagons moving through the Eastern Cape they were welcomed by The torsa Who were in dispute with the neighboring Zulu King dingane kazinsagarkona and they passed unharmed into natal they traveled more or less the same route that Smith and bar had taken two years earlier the Trek avoided the coastal route keeping to the flatter Inland terrain the commission track approached Port natal from East griqueland and ikopo crossing the upper regions of the mtambuna and umkumazi rivers travel was slow due to the rugged terrain and since it was the summer the rainy season had swollen many of the rivers to their maximum progress required days of scouting to locate the most suitable tracks to negotiate eventually after weeks of extraordinary toil the small party arrived at Port natal crossing the kongela river and weaving their way through the coastal Forest into the Bay Area they had now traveled the distance of about 650 kilometers or 400 miles from grahamstown this trip would have taken about five to six months with their slow-moving wagons the drakensberg route via kirkenberg into natal had not yet been discovered they arrived at the sweltering hot Bay of portnetal in February 1835 exhausted after their long journey there the track was soon welcomed with open arms by the few British hunters and ivory Traders there such as James Collis including Reverend Alan Francis Gardiner an ex-commander of the royal Navy ship klinka who had decided to start a mission station there after congenial exchanges between the birds and the British sites the party joined them and invited the dick King to become their guide the boot set up their lager or wagon Fort camp in the area of the present-day greville racecourse in Durban chosen because it had suitable grazing for The Oxen and the horses and was far from the foraging hippos at the bay several small streams running off the Berea Ridge provided fresh water Alexander bigger who was also at the bay as a professional elephant Hunter provided the Trekkers with information regarding conditions at Port natal bankies made notes suggested by Ace which later formed the basis of his more comprehensive report on the prospective aspects of natal by inkis also made rough maps of the bay although his journal is now missing showing the potential for a harbor which could Supply the bush in their new Homeland at portnetal Asus sent dick King who could speak Zulu to investigate with King the possibility of granting them land when Dick King returned to Port natal some weeks later he reported that tingani insisted they visit him in person Johannes Ace brother of Pete Ace and a number of comrades with a few wagons traveled towards King dingane's capital and after making a larger camp at the mouth of anemoti river they proceeded on Horseback but were halted by a flooded together River and forced to return to the lager the commission track left Port natal for grahamstown with a stash of ivory in early June 1835 following more or less the same route back to the cape and arrived at grahamstown in October 1835 on pit Aces recommendation Panky set to work on the first draft of the Natalia land report meetings and talks took place in the main Church to much approval and the first Sparks of track fever began to take hold from all the information accumulated at Port natal bankies Drew up the final report on Natalia or natal land that acted as the Catalyst which inspired the bush at the cape to set in motion the great track I want to thank you very much for watching this is definitely not the end and if you're enjoying this please hit the like button be sure to hit the Subscribe button and the notification Bell and YouTube will let you know as soon as our next video is released stay safe and stay strong