Volkstaat - History

History

Historically, Boer have had a drive for independence which resulted in the establishment of different republics in what is now the modern Republic of South Africa. These republics were proclaimed by the Voortrekkers, of which the most notable were Natalia Republic, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. However, British rule after the Second Anglo-Boer War led to the dissolution of the last two remaining Boer states (Orange Free State and South African Republic).

Under apartheid, Afrikaner and Anglo-African culture was protected by government leadership, Afrikaans and English were the official languages, and the majority of the politicians running the country were Afrikaners. The underlying principle of apartheid was racial separatism, and the means by which this was implemented, such as the homeland system of bantustans, were extremely biased against the non-European majority as it excluded them from exercising their rights in the broader South Africa. Afrikaners held a privileged position in South African society, alongside the other Europeans.

In the late 1980s, the Afrikaner-Vryheidstigting (Afrikaner Freedom Foundation), or Avstig, was formed by Professor Carel Boshoff. Avstig proposed a Volkstaat in the Northern Cape province, in a largely rural, and minimally developed region. Avstig bought the town of Orania in 1991, and turned it into a model Volkstaat. Boshoff continues to be a representative of the Freedom Front, a political party advocating the Volkstaat concept. Orania is situated at the far eastern apex of the original Volkstaat state, where the three provinces Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and Free State nearly intersect.