Methods used by the Afrikaaners/ Boers to sustain Afrikaaner nationalism in South Africa

Methods used by the Afrikaaners/ Boers to sustain Afrikaaner nationalism in South Africa

The following tools were used by the afrikaaners to campaign for its continued stay in South Africa:

Effective use of the press and mass media like the De Suid Afrikaan newspaper, and the South African Commercial Advertiser.

The Afrikaaners used political propaganda as a revolutionary tool to campaign for Afrikaaner objectives like Ddr, Malan, Jan Smuts, Hertzog, Fischer, Paul Kruger.

The Afrikaaners solicited for massive support of the colored people of South Africa

Afrikaaner leaders were intellectuals, gifted in parliamentary debates, propaganda and had respect of thousands of the Boer masses which enhanced Afrikaaner nationalism.

The Afrikaaners recruited many Boers into the national army, police, prisons to fight the opponents of Afrikaaner nationalism.

Christian ideologies through the church and their leaders (the Dutch Reformed Church) were used to sustain Afrikaaaner nationalism.

Afrikaaner participation in national elections and competitive politics like Legislative Council elections after 1910 and the Executive and the Civil Service.

The Afrikaaner leaders were militaristic who were determined and prepared to die for the cause of defending their land and interests from foreign sabotage.

Political sabotage amongst the British influenced the stay of the Afrikaaners. By 1930's the British had rallied behind them after realising the were becoming successful.

Promotion of Afrikaan lasnguage, culture, religion and history.

The Afrikaaners strongly supported their political organisations/ political parties and associations.

Steps taken by the Boers to promote Afrikaner Nationalism in South Africa

The Afrikaaner Church Ministers and teachers started cultural movements to promote their language, culture and religion, for example in 1880 S.J. du' Toit of the Dutch Reformed Church, started a political party, the Afrikaaner bond at the Cape Colony which aimed at uniting the Afrikaners and strengthening the spirit of togetherness.

The Afrikaaner Bond in Transvaal with Joubert as its Chairman looked forward to a united South Africa, independent of Britain but protected from other European powers by the British Navy.

The Afrikaaner Bond was taken over by Jan Hofrneyr who developed it into a powerful Cape Parliamentary Party.

The Afrikaaners also started a newspaper known as De' Suid Afrikaan, which was founded and edited by Jan Hofmeyr who nationalistically promoted Afrikaaner feelings.

Rev. J. Stephanus du Toit worked hard for the recognition of the Afrikaners in South Africa. He formed an Association known as Die' Genoolskap Van-Regie Afrikaners in 1875.

Their Association promoted the stand for their language, nation and or country. In 1878, he published the magazine called Die '-Afrikanese Patriot or Afrikaner Patriotism-in which it condemned the British annexation of Griqualand in the west,

In the Twentieth Century, Afrikaaner political parties like the Peoples Union led by the ex-generals Louis Botha and Jan Christian Smuts promoted Afrikaaner nationalism in Transvaal.

In the Orange Free State; the Orange Unity or Orangie Unie led by Fischer and Hertzog, and the Afrikaaner Bond promoted Boer nationalism.

Between 1908-09, the National Convention of the whites only made Afrikaaners to gain hold of the sub continent through the Union Parliament.

Afrikaner cultural nationalism was based on developing a common language, religion and history. Language and history were developed together in Stephanus du' Toit's book - Pioneer Gesiedenis Van Ous Land in die Taal Van Ous Volk (or History of our Land in the Dialect of our People) published in 1877.

Between 1910-1914, the Afrikaaners established an aggrandized political control of South Africa against the Africans.

Their political unity was in sharp contrast to the political disunity of the English speakers, and their political parties united later to form the South African Nationalist Party that formed the first government in 1910.

Since 1940's, these former sons of Holland had transformed an anti British- nationalism into a movement for the defense of a whole system of racial stratification and discrimination known as Apartheid, (or separate development of races).

As late as the 1980's to date, Afrikaner nationalism continued to be one of the immense political facts about Africa.