Table of ContentsIntroductionThe Great Trek: A Battle for SurvivalThe “Poor White Problem”Conclusion of the Essay on Afrikaner NationalismIntroductionIn this essay, the focus will be on the rise of Afrikaner nationalism, which was based on Afrikaners' attitudes towards class, their reactions to class issues, and their entrenched social identity. The role of class was important to Afrikaner nationalism, both internally, in reference to the class structure within Afrikaner culture, and externally, in relation to Afrikaners in the broader South African class structure. . Mutual understanding of the importance of class structure was a fundamental means by which Afrikaners mobilized their distinct factions, uniting to fight against British imperialism and the prospect of black domination. Two main turning points in South African history that forced the unity of the Afrikaner people through a common class ideology will be identified and explained throughout this essay on Afrikaner nationalism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The first turning point was the Great Trek, undertaken from 1836 to 1854. Arguably the most significant period in its history, that- This saw Afrikaners emigrate from the British-inhabited Cape Town to escape the chauvinistic foreign policy that plagued their country. The second turning point was known as the Poor White Problem which besieged the Afrikaners after the loss of the Anglo-Boer War. This period saw the factions carefully orchestrate a planned economy that would continue to consolidate their superiority over black South Africans and struggle to equalize their status with educated, English-speaking white immigrants. The key question to note is to what extent were the rhetoric and recurring practices of class structure necessary for the unification of the Afrikaner people? I will now analyze these turning points in Afrikaner history, intentionally focusing on the role this class played in this story of perceived human supremacy, leading to their collective victory under the Nationalist Party in 1948. The Great Trek: A battle Afrikaner discontent with British rule over the Cape Colony peaked in 1936. British evangelical principles contradicted the deeply held assumptions about race that Afrikaners held (Thompson, 2000). Having suffered from incessant wars since 1815 (known as the Mfecane), the Afrikaners were suffering from an increasing loss of habitable land, as well as their once-held rights to the lands their ancestors had claimed as home in the 18th century (Ibid ). Valiant figures from the Afrikaner community lead the desire for a new life, true to Afrikaner culture and beyond the reach of the British. The Great Trek refers to the substantial migration of some six thousand Afrikaner men, women and children around 1840. Their destination was east of the Cape, to fertile lands north of the Orange River and south of the Tugela River (Thompson , 2000). . Thompson includes in African Wars and White Invaders: Southeast Africa, 1770-1870 a statement sent to the Grahamstown Journal by Piet Retief, a key Boer leader, which describes the motivations behind the Great Afrikaner Trek: "We are resolute, wherever we go , that we will defend the just principles of liberty; but, while we will ensure that no one is held in a state of slavery, we are determined to maintain regulations which will suppress crime and preservegood relationship between master and servant. and the servant is crucial to understanding the role of class in the rise of Afrikaner nationalism. Afrikaners had deeply ingrained beliefs and assumptions about race and ethnicity that influenced their view of what a just class system looked like, in the eyes of God. The Afrikaner people claimed that they had been assigned to southern Africa by God as a people chosen to carry out God's mission (Van Jaarsveld, 1964). Van Jaarsveld highlights a clear connection between this assertion of manifest destiny, the growth of a historical legend, and national ideology. This connection reinforces the importance of the Great Trek, due to the Afrikaners' interpretation that it was their God-given mission, increasing Afrikaner nationalism through a sense of national identity. Ingrained assumptions about race have forever dictated Afrikaner attitudes toward social class. These assumptions are evidenced in their view of non-whites; Afrikaners “considered themselves the Lord's chosen to whom non-whites had been delivered as subordinates and servants” (Ibid). This dictated an obvious mission: to ensure Afrikaner superiority over black South Africans, who were seen as inferior subordinates sent to be controlled by the chosen Afrikaners. A clear ideological class system is defined here, with Afrikaners as the upper class with religious motivations, and non-whites below them, to be used as God intended. If the economic class structure had reflected the racial prejudices of the Afrikaners, the poor white problem of the post-Boer War would have been avoided. The Great Trek faced many obstacles for the Afrikaners, such as the Battle of Blood River on October 16. December 1838. After being attacked by a ten thousand strong Zulu army, Afrikaner emigrants moved ahead to force the Zulus to retreat. Using guns and cannons, around three thousand Zulus were left dead near the laager (Thompson, 2000). The Afrikaners took this victory as a sign that the Lord was watching over their people. They were chosen to fulfill a mission: to create a free nation, detached from British authority and “protected from non-whites” (Van Jaarsveld, 1964). This asymmetrical victory proved, in their eyes, their superiority over non-Whites. The Great Trek unified the Afrikaners under their perceived right. They struggled to maintain their identity under increasing British colonization, while attempting to assert their role as educators of the pagans (Van Jaarsveld, 1964). They found themselves in an abnormal situation, positioning themselves both as oppressors (of non-whites) and as oppressed (by English-speaking whites). In the century following the Great Trek, Afrikaners knew that to fulfill their duty as a chosen people, they must unite and assert their dominance as a culture over non-whites. The poor white problem that followed the Boer War created a climate of despair in which Afrikaners found themselves trapped within an internal class structure, while also aspiring to create a broader systematic class structure asserting their dominance. -The Boer War, the underlying aim of which, according to Thompson, was "the preservation of the fruits of the Great Trek and the consequences of that movement", left the Afrikaners in a detrimental position. I disagree with Thompson regarding the motivations behind the Anglo-Boer War. Although the Great Trek went some way to unifying the Afrikaners in a common struggle, the motivation to fight the British formaintaining the Afrikaner republics was, in my view, not to promote the fruits of the Great Trek, but a battle for a unified union. South Africa which inherently upheld the Calvinist legacy of white domination away from British rule. The Anglo-Boer War, through false promises made by the British to black and colored South Africans, further deepened racial division (Giliomee, 2009). Afrikaners were left with little arable land, a lack of basic education among their population, a lack of qualifications to participate in skilled work, as well as speaking Afrikaans in a society that now took pride in English-speaking, white, skilled workers. Giliomee argues in chapter 8 that blacks and Coloreds were alone in their struggle to prevent South Africa from becoming a "white man's land." In chapter 10, John X. Merriman corroborates this: "The white population was a minority…and if their brothers were to sink into the swamp, as they saw them doing, it would be impossible to maintain their domination.” This point is extremely crucial to understanding how Afrikaners were able to benefit from the common struggle of white settlers to maintain the upper class of South African society, purely by race and level of civilization. However, it became increasingly difficult for Afrikaners to unite in the early 20th century, due to the problem of white poverty. Faced with increasing immigration from Europe, Afrikaners noted that “skilled and semi-skilled jobs, liberal professions and civil service positions were already occupied by local or immigrant English speakers” (Giliomee, 2009). . There was a 47% increase in the number of Afrikaners urbanizing in 1936 compared to 1890, as they sought work in industrializing cities. However, in order to maintain their status as superior to non-whites, Afrikaners had to come together and fight to create a planned economy that would meet their needs as a people. The biggest problem surrounding Afrikaner nationalism in the early 20th century was due to the inherent class structure within the Afrikaner population itself. Working-class Afrikaners pledged allegiance to the Labor Party, which pledged to stand with the workers of South Africa along class lines. On the other hand, the Afrikaans-speaking urban petty bourgeoisie followed the lead of the nationalist party, and the Broederbond founded in 1918 enjoyed the support of other urban petty bourgeoisies, such as Afrikaner teachers and railway workers. If Afrikaner nationalism was to flourish and result in Afrikaner leadership of South Africa, all factions of the Afrikaans-speaking population had to come together on ethnic and linguistic lines, as opposed to the economic class allegiance that separated them. as a people. Many actions were taken to try to improve the situation of poor and uneducated Afrikaans-speaking white people, in order to create a more unified Afrikaner people. The Broederbond helped establish the first Afrikaner construction company in 1934, introducing Afrikaner culture into the economic world for the first time (O'Meara, 2001). The Afrikaners took advantage of the right to vote for all white workers and used it to pressure the government to implement job reservations. An example of what benefited the Afrikaner position was the Apprenticeship Act of 1922, which provided for the regulation of vocational training by trade unions, excluding Africans for at least half a century from several trades. The Afrikaners knew.