Lucas Johannes Meyer (19 November 1846 – 8 August 1902), was a

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

general, member of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

government and president of the

Nieuwe Republiek The Nieuwe Republiek ("New Republic") was a small Boer republic which existed from 1884 to 1888 in present-day South Africa. It was recognised only by Germany and the South African Republic. Its independence was proclaimed on 16 August 1884, ...

Early life

Meyer was the eldest son of Izaak Johannes Meijer and his wife, Martha Maria Elizabeth Landman and the grandson of Lucas Johannes Meyer, a

Voortrekker The Great 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 beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

leader and member of the

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa * Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) * Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia ...

of the

Natalia Republic The Natalia Republic was a short-lived Boer republic founded in 1839 after a Voortrekker victory against the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River. The area was previously named ''Natália'' by Portuguese sailors, due to its discovery on Christm ...

. As a young man, Meyer went to Natal and lived in Ladysmith and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, but in 1865 he settled in the

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

district in the

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

. In 1872 he was elected

field cornet Field cornet () is a term formerly used in South Africa for either a local government official or a military officer. The office had its origins in the position of ''veldwachtmeester'' in the Dutch Cape colony, and was regarded as being equivalent ...

Career

He strongly opposed the British annexation of the Transvaal. At the

battle of Ingogo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, during the

First Anglo-Boer War The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British administration). The war resulted in a Boer vic ...

he was badly wounded and unable to fight at the

Battle of Majuba Hill The Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881 was the final and decisive battle of the First Boer War that was a resounding victory for the Boers. The British Major General Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the summit of the hill on the night ...

. After the war, he served as magistrate of Utrecht from 1882 to 1884. In 1884 he became the district commandant and the leader of a group of Boers who assisted Prince Dinuzulu during the power struggle in Zululand, against his brother

Zibhebhu Zibhebhu kaMaphitha Zulu (c. 1841–1904) (also called Usibepu/Ziphewu) was a Zulu chief. After the defeat of the Zulu Kingdom by the British, he attempted to create his own independent kingdom. From 1883 to 1884, he fought the Zulu king Cetshway ...

. At the

Battle of Tshaneni A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

on 5 June 1884 Dinuzulu and his warriors, with the help of some 100 Boers, defeated Zibhebhu. After the victory, Dinizulu handed a piece of land to the Boers as compensation for their assistance and Meyer played a leading role in the establishment of the

on the land. In August 1884, he was appointed Commandant-General and Acting President and when his friend and confidant, Commandant-General

Piet Joubert Petrus Jacobus Joubert (20 January 1831 – 28 March 1900), better known as Piet Joubert (''Slim Piet'', Smart Pete), was a South African politician who served as the commandant–general of the South African Republic from 1880 to 1900. He als ...

who had been elected president refused the appointment, Meyer became president. Meyer fought for the recognition of the Nieuwe Republiek, as the Republic was recognized only by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

and the South African Republic. He then took a leading role in obtaining British permission for the incorporation of the Nieuwe Republiek into the South African Republic as the

Vryheid Vryheid (/Abaqulusi) is a coal mining and cattle ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vryheid is the Afrikaans word for "freedom", while its original name of Abaqulusi reflects the AbaQulusi (Zulu), abaQulusi clan based in the loc ...

district, which permission was granted in 1888. In 1890, Commandant-General Joubert appointed Meyer as frontier commissioner of the Transvaal's southern border and he held office until he was elected the first member of the

for Utrecht in 1893 and in 1899, he became chairman of the Volksraad. Meyer played an important role in Natal during the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

as General of the southern commandos in the Transvaal and the various advances into Natal. He commanded the Boer forces attacking

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

at the

Battle of Talana Hill The Battle of Talana Hill, also known as the Battle of Glencoe, was the first major clash of the Second Boer War. A frontal attack by British infantry supported by artillery drove Boers from a hilltop position, but the British suffered heavy cas ...

on 20 October 1899. However, due to illness, he was forced to leave the scene of fighting during the battle at Modderspruit on 30 October 1899 and command was taken over by General

Louis Botha Louis Botha ( , ; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first Prime Minister of South Africa, prime minister of the Union of South Africa, the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war v ...

. Meyer returned to the battlefield and took part in the

Battle of Vaal Krantz The Battle of Vaal Krantz (Afrikaans: Slag van Vaalkrans, 5 - 7 February 1900) was the third failed attempt by General Redvers Buller's British army to fight its way past Louis Botha's army of Boer irregulars and lift the Siege of Ladysmith. Th ...

during February 1900 and also assisted with the occupation of Biggarsberg in May 1900. Because of ill health, he was unable to take an active part during the latter part of the war and at the conclusion of the war, he became a member of the Executive Council, taking part in the peace conference and was one of the signatories of the

Treaty of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided ...

Personal life and death

Meyer was a tall, powerfully built man, immensely popular and was commonly referred to as the 'Lion of Vryheid'. He was married twice, first to Margaretha Johanna van Niekerk and after her death in 1892, he married Petronella Burger. Three children were born from his first marriage. During a visit to Europe he died of heart disease in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. He was buried in the cemetery in Vryheid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Lucas Johannes 1846 births 1902 deaths Members of the Volksraad of the South African Republic South African Republic politicians 1880s in Transvaal Cape Colony people South African Republic generals South African Republic military personnel of the Second Boer War