Boer: Encyclopedia - Boer

Boer

Boer is the Afrikaans (and Dutch) word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the Afrikaans-speaking migrating farmers of the expanding eastern Cape frontier. The Boers are descended mainly from Dutch Calvinist, Frisian Calvinist, French Huguenot, Walloon, Flemish and German Protestant origins dating from the 1650s and into the 1700s. Smaller but significant numbers of Scandinavians, Scots, English, Indians, Malays & Khoi have been absorbed as well. Those Boers who trekked into and inhabited the eastern Cape frontier were semi-nomadic. The term Boer is sometimes used in general to refer to an Afrikaner. When used in an historical context, it may refer to an inhabitant of the Boer republics as well as those who were cultural Boers. The Boers were largely, though not completely, absorbed into the Afrikaner designation following the Anglo-Boer War.

A Boer is also an African goat which is able to live in the desert for a long time without food or water. This goat is commonly called "Boerbok".

See also:

• Afrikaner
• Natalia Republic
• Orange Free State
• Transvaal
• South African Republic
• Volkstaat
• South African Farmer Murders

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Boer", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki