The Boer Wars were fought between British and Dutch settlers of
the South African Transvaal. The Dutch were known as "Boers"
from the word for "farmer." Their ancestors had settled in the
Cape area from the 1650s onwards. From 1828, many trekked to the
Transvaal with the express purpose of avoiding British rule. The
British had occupied the Cape from 1806. Boers felt a natural
dislike the Anglicizing policy of the colonial administration,
policies which they believed undermined their own cultural
heritage. Abolition of slavery in 1830 led many of them to
believe that continued British interference would surely destroy
their economic prosperity. Following wars with Zulu peoples in
1834, some Boers felt that the colonial authorities seemed to be
more protective of non-white than of white interests. Believing
this to be the case, Boers who held attitudes of racial
superiority were disturbed. By 1853, however, following the
Great Trek, two Boer states had gained recognition by the
British, the Transvaal and the O