Potgiter, Hendrick

Born in Tarkastad County in the Cape Colony , the second son of Hermanus Potgiter and his wife Petronella Margareta, nee Kruger (Petronella Margaretha Kruger). A wealthy farmer and sheep farmer, he participated in the 4th and 5th border wars against the spit tribes. In 1834, along with many Boers, dissatisfied with the despotic policies of the British, Potgiter decided to leave the colony and move to the east. Although the plans of the settlers were somewhat delayed by the 6th Kafra War, they hit the road in 1835. Thus began the Great Track . Their predecessors were the bands of Louis Tregardt and Johannes van Rensburg ( en: Johannes Hendrik Janse van Rensburg ). Later, Calvinist pastor Sarel Arnoldus Silliers ( en: Sarel Arnoldus Cilliers ) joined the Potgiter group and became her spiritual mentor.

Crossing the river named Orange ^[1] , Potgiter and Sillers reached the territory of the future Orange Republic (now - Free State Province). They signed an agreement with Moroka, the leader of the Barolong tribe, according to which Potgiter undertook to protect the tribe from attacks by the northern Ndebele ( Matabele ) in exchange for land from the Fet River to the Baal River ^[2] . In turn, Mzilikazi , the leader of the Matabele, was outraged by the encroachment of whites on his sphere of influence and raided the Potgiter camp in October 1836. (near the modern city of Heilbron, en: Heilbron ). The attack was repelled, but the Matabele warriors managed to steal most of the oxen, without which the wagons (wagons) of the settlers could not move.

Groups of furthrekers ^[3] , led by Pete Retif and Gerrit Maritz, came to the aid of Potgiter. The leader of Morok also provided him with oxen. Near Taba-Nchu ^{[4] the} three groups of Boers united to form a government of furtrekkers; together they decided to move towards the Natal Republic . Potgiter did not approve of this plan and prudently decided to stay.

In 1838, after Pete Retif and his group were killed by the Zulu king Dingan and other furthrecker groups suffered severe losses near the Bloukrans and Bushmen rivers, Potter formed an armed commando squad ( Kommando) ^[5] along with another migrant leader, Peter Oys ( en: Pieter Lafras Uys ). To prevent a split and disagreement, the new leader of the furtrekkers, Maritz, announced that they would both command the squad together; this, however, did not save the detachment from the struggle for power between Potter and Oys.

The Zulu lured the Boer forces, which never became a united force, into an ambush near Italeni, where Oys and his 15-year-old son Dirka were killed. Other Boers, whose forces were much less than those of the Zulus, fled from the battlefield. Potter was criticized for his actions, and his “commando” received the contemptuous nickname “commando fugitives” ( African. Die Vlugkommado ). Later, when Potgiter was unfairly accused of deliberately trapping Oys, he considered it best to leave Natal and move to Transvaal .

Later, Potgiter founded the city of Pochefstroom , named after him ^[6] , on the banks of the Mooi River , and became the first head of the Pochefstrum Republic in 1840-1845. Later, in 1845, he also founded the Andris-Origstad trading post, named after Potgiter himself and the Dutch merchant Georgius Orig, who joined the furtrekers ^[7] (now the city of Origstad , en: Ohrigstad ). Due to the outbreak of malaria, the city ​​had to be abandoned. Inhabitants, including Potgiter himself, moved to the Soutpansberg mountain region, en: Soutpansberg , where they founded the town of Zoutpansbergdorp ("the city by the salt marshes"), which was later renamed Skumansdal and was soon abandoned.

After the annexation of the Natal Republic by Britain in 1842, many trekkers from Natal moved to the Orange Republic and Transvaal . These newcomers and their leader Andris Pretorius refused to recognize the authority of Potgiter, and a long and stubborn struggle for power began between them. The war was averted, and in 1848 a peace treaty was signed in Rustenburg .

In 1844, Potgiter led an expedition to the east, with the goal of paving a trade route to the Portuguese hearth in Delagoa Bay . In this direction, the forerunner of Potgiter was also the aforementioned Louis Tregardt , whose life was tragically cut short near the Indian Ocean.

Hendrick Potgiter died on December 16, 1852 in Zoutpansbergdorp. To give him the last honors were a few African leaders.