Pieter Retief or Piet Retief (1780 - 1838) was a Boer and a chief Voortrekker of South Africa, whose assassination was one of the founding documents of the history afrikaner.

Origin

Piet Retief was born the November 12th 1780 in Wagenmakersvallei (Wellington nowadays) in the Colonie from the Cape. It was the fifth of the 10 children of Jacobus and Debora Retief. Its family was of origin French E. Its ancestor was François Retif, a native Huguenot of Mer close to the town of Blois, arrived at the Cape in 1689. Restive was néerlandisé in Retief.

Jacobus Retief was a farmer. Piet Retief lived at its sides and grows in its Vignoble until the old one 27 years when it settles with Stellenbosch where it is exerted with several trades before selling a Liqueur ic alcohol. The license of this one was however withdrawn to him after Colonel Thomas Willshire had complained about ennivrement about his soldiers. The businesses of Piet Retief périclitèrent and it was found in financial problems.

In 1814, Retief Maria with a widow, Magdalene Johanna (Lenie) Greyling, and adopted its three sons and its two daughters.

It settled in the area of Grahamstown where it makes fortune. But following bad investments, it loses it at once.

Standard representative of the Boer of the time, enthusiast of adventure and freedom, aguerri also against the attacks of borders of the warriors Xhosa S and the local diseases, Piet Retief was recognized like a man honest, intelligent, was educated, energetic, voluntarist and just.

The colony of the Cape having become a British colony, a certain number of its decisions caused the dissatisfaction with the boers. Not only, the church Anglican became the official church of the colony but the English became the only legal language just like the Droit Anglican replaced the right Dutch.

The Abolition of slavery (accompanied by little compensation offered in against part to the owners) was the ultimate reform which was going to lead many boers to try the Grand Trek, i.e. the emigration towards the interior of the grounds of South Africa, out of the control of the British administration.

Retief then tried a mediation between the farmers and the British government. With the failure of this one, it organized the first migrations towards north.

The proclamation of Retief

It is the January 22nd 1837 which Retief writes a proclamation by which it states its objections against the authority Britannique, incompetent to provide least protection to the farmers, unjust to have émanciper slaves without equitable idemnisations of the owners (only to the 1/4 of the value according to proclamation). It evoked a promised land with the boers intended for prosperity, the peace and the happiness of their children (those of the boers). A ground where they would be finally free, where them government would decide its own laws.

The declaration, perceived like the declaration of independence of the Vorrtrekkers farmers, is published the February 2nd 1837 in the newspaper of Grahamstown. Less than one month later, it is on board two ox carriages that Retief and its family left the district of Winterberg to join Thaba Nchu with a convoy of thirty carriages and 300 people on the way towards the river Orange.

Large Trek towards the Native one

At the time travels it, after having crossed the river, Retief was elected chief of the " free province of the Holland news in Africa of the south-est". Some groups left the convoy to continue towards north and Retief retouva rather quickly with the head of an small group of 26 families on the way towards the east.

The October 5th 1837, after having crossed the mountains of the Drakensberg, it launches out in the exploration of the area of Native Port. It contacted the chief Zoulou Dingane in November 1837 telling him its intention to live in peace with the Zulu people. He managed to join other voortrekkers chiefs, Gert Maritz and Hendrik Potgieter in January 1838.

At the time of its second visit with Dingane, this one gave its agreement to the installation of Boers in the Native one in exchange of an action of reprisals which were to carry out Boers against a chief of the local tribe rival of Tlokwa. What made Boers. They were in fact a test the military capacities the boers. Their success was in fact perceived like a threat by Dingane.

The tragedy

In spite of the warnings of certain colonists and tribal chiefs, Retief settled in the area of Tugela the January 28th 1838 thinking that it could negotiate with Dingane of the permanent borders of the colony of the Natal. The instrument of transfer of the area of Tugela-Umzimvubu, although dated from the February 4th 1838, was signed by Dingane the February 6th 1838. Dingane invited Retief then to come to attend a representation of its soldiers. On a signal given by the Zulu king, the soldiers sank on Retief and the 70 boers disarmed. Retief, its son, his men and its servants, are a hundred people on the whole, were massacred on the hill of Kwa Matiwane. Their broken bodies were devoured by wild animals according to the habit Zulu concerning the fate of the enemies.

Dingane gave the order then to attack the campings boers area and to massacre all those which to be there.

The remainders of Retief and its men were buried the December 21st 1838 by the " commando of the victoire" directed by Andries Pretorius which had pushed back the Zulus with the Bataille Blood River the December 16th 1838. This commando also recovered the instrument of transfer of Retief (abandoned in its small pocket by the Zulus). The original document disappeared at the time of the Guerre of Boers but an original copy was preserved of this fundamental document of the history afrikaner.

Homages

The site of the tomb of Piet Retief is marked by a monument set up in 1922.

The town of Piet Retief was baptized in its honor just like, partly, that of Pietermaritzburg (Maritz being the patronym of Gerrit Maritz).

One of the four statues of the Voortrekker Monument with Pretoria represents Piet Retief.

External bond

• Biography of Piet Retief

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