Jan Gerritze Bantjes (

Beaufort West Beaufort West (Afrikaans: ''Beaufort-Wes''; Xhosa: ''eBhofolo'') is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and is known as the "Capital of the Karoo". It forms part of the Beau ...

, 8 July 1817 – Potchefstroom, 10 March 1887) was a

Voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyo ...

whose exploration of the Natal and subsequent report were the catalyst for mobilising the Great Trek. He was also the author of the treaty between the Zulu king

Dingane kaSenzangakhona Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu (–29 January 1840), commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan, was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828, after assassinating his brother Shaka. He set up his royal capital, uMgungundlovu, ...

and the Voortrekkers under

Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa ...

Early life and background

Jan Gerritze Bantjes was born on 8 July 1817 in the Nieuveld district of

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the ...

and was baptised at the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

in that town on 6 October 1817. He was the third child of Bernard Louis Bantjes (1788-1849), who owned a prosperous trading store and farm, and Isabella Adriana Swanepoel.

Career

In 1834, while he was still studying at the English Albany Freemasons College in

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana ...

, Bantjes was chosen as secretary for the Kommissitrek (“Commission Trek”). The aim of the trek, which was led by Piet Uys, was to explore the region around

Port Natal Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

(later

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

) and assess its potential as a new homeland for the Cape Boers disenchanted with British rule. Bantje's "Natal Land Report" (1835), which documented their journey from Grahamstown to Port Natal and portrayed Port Natal as an ideal location, was the catalyst for mobilising the Great Trek. On New Year's Day 1837, Bantjes joined the main Voortrekker assembly under

Thaba Nchu Thaba 'Nchu is a town in Free State, South Africa, 63 km east of Bloemfontein and 17 km east of Botshabelo. The population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established ...

. Bantjes also wrote a disputed land treaty which, in 1838, triggered the massacre by the Zulu King Dingaan of Boer Commander Piet Retief and his 70 strong party at uMgungundlovu. Bantjes then joined the Wenkommando military campaign against the Zulu King and was Pretorius' secretary-general. The original "Bantjes Journal" of the expedition (now lost, though a verbatim copy exists) records the

Battle of Blood River The Battle of Blood River (16 December 1838) was fought on the bank of the Ncome River, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between 464 Voortrekkers ("Pioneers"), led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Zulu. E ...

that took place on 16 December 1838, resulting in the defeat of King Dingaan and his 25,000 strong army. In 1838, Bantjes was one of the founders of Pietermaritzburg and settled there. He served as Clerk to the Natal Parliament, practiced law, and arranged the financing by the local community for the construction of Church of the Vow. In 1840, Bantjes and his family returned to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

. They trekked overland to

, where they were remarried due to an administrative error made at Pietermaritzburg. In 1848, he was a teacher and served as clerk of the church council at

Fauresmith Fauresmith is located 130 km south west of Bloemfontein, South Africa. The town, named after Rev Phillip Faure and Sir Harry Smith, is the second oldest town in the Free State. Fauresmith is the only town in South Africa, and one of only ...

. He also appears to have run a shop in Prince Albert for some years. In 1865, the family moved to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, where he served as a magistrate's clerk and lawyer and later Postmaster General of the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

. He was tutor, mentor and confidant to South Africa's first President

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South African Republic, South Africa, and President of the So ...

, and also taught

Marthinus Wessel Pretorius Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (17 September 1819 – 19 May 1901) was a South African political leader. An Afrikaner (or "Boer"), he helped establish the South African Republic (''Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek'' or ZAR; also referred to as Transva ...

and two vice presidents. During the 1870s–80s, Bantjes was a legal prosecutor in Lichtenburg and Ventersdorp. He died at his eldest son's home at Potchefstroom on 6 October 1887.

Family

Bantjes married Thysina Germina Knoetze in Pietermaritzburg on 23 September 1838. Their first child was Bernard Louise Bantjes (1839-1911) who became a property developer in Johannesburg. Another son, Jan Gerrit Bantjes, discovered the first Witwatersrand Gold Reef in 1884 triggering a gold rushSAHistory
/ref> and the establishment of Bantjes Consolidated Mines, the first gold mines in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

Legacy

Bantjes Road in

and Bantjes Avenue in the Discovery suburb of

Roodepoort Roodepoort is a town in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly an independent municipality, Roodepoort became part of the Johannesburg municipality in the late 1990s, along with Randburg and Sandton. Johannesburg's most famous botanical ...

are named after him. Kruger Avenue is placed beside Bantjes Avenue due to their close association.

Bibliography

* Johannes Meintjes, ''The Voortrekkers: The Story of the Great Trek and the Making of South Africa'', 1973 * Eily Gledhill, ''In the Steps of Piet Retief'', 1980 *

Alf Wannenburgh Alfred John Wannenburgh III (2 December 1936 – 18 December 2010) was a South African author, journalist, conservationist, and anti-apartheid activist from Cape Town. His early political writings which began in 1961/62 cemented his career as ...

, ''Forgotten Frontiersmen'', 1980

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bantjes, Jan 1817 births 1887 deaths 19th-century South African educators South African educators 19th-century South African people Afrikaner people Great Trek History of KwaZulu-Natal