Vereniging van Oranjewerkers

Last updated

Vereniging van Oranjewerkers ("Organization of Orange Workers", sometimes shortened to simply Oranjewerkers, "Orange Workers") is a South African white separatist political movement that seeks a homeland for Afrikaners.

Contents

History

Formed in 1980 by Wally Grant, H. F. Verwoerd junior (the son of Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd), Carel Boshoff and C. J. Joost, the group bemoaned the over-reliance of South Africa on a black workforce and sought to set up Oranjegroeipunte (Orange growth points) where the group would buy up land to settle unemployed white people on.

Morgenzon

Such a scheme was set up in Morgenzon. [1] Oranjewerkers bought the town in 1982, and in the mid-1990s its population was 400 whites and 6,000 blacks. [2]

Alongside this they also developed the plan of bolwerke ('bastions'), or privately owned farms whose landowners would undertake to stop utilising black labour. [1]

Aftermath

Eschewing the party political route, the Oranjewerkers became more of a research group, undertaking a series of studies of the demographics of the country. Leading member Hercules Booysen termed their mission as dinamiese-konserwatisme, seeking newer ways to implement the old ideas of apartheid and the creation of a Volkstaat. [3] Similar plans for redesigning the map of South Africa have been suggested by the group from time to time.

In fiction

The organisation features prominently in Larry Bond's tale of a fictionalised Cold War conflict in South Africa, Vortex . By the novel's conclusion, they have succeeded in reaching their goal for an autonomous Afrikaner state under a post-apartheid government.

See also

Related Research Articles

Afrikaner Calvinism 19th-century Afrikaner cultural and nationalist movement

Afrikaner Calvinism is a cultural and religious development among Afrikaners that combined elements of seventeenth-century Calvinist doctrine with a "chosen people" ideology based in the Bible. It had origins in ideas espoused in the Old Testament of the Jews as the chosen people.

Bantustan Territory created by the Apartheid regime of South Africa

A Bantustan was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa, as part of its policy of apartheid. By extension, outside South Africa the term refers to regions that lack any real legitimacy, consisting often of several unconnected enclaves, or which have emerged from national or international gerrymandering.

Hendrik Verwoerd Prime Minister of South Africa from 1958 until his assassination in 1966

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of Die Transvaler newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect of Apartheid. Verwoerd played a significant role in socially engineering apartheid, the country's system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and implementing its policies as Minister of Native Affairs (1950–1958) and then as prime minister (1958–1966). Furthermore, Verwoerd played a vital role in helping the far-right National Party come to power in 1948, serving as their political strategist and propagandist, becoming party leader upon his premiership. He was the Union of South Africa's last prime minister, from 1958 to 1961, when he proclaimed the founding of the Republic of South Africa, remaining its prime minister until his assassination in 1966.

P. W. Botha Leader of South Africa from 1978 to 1989

Pieter Willem Botha,, commonly known as P. W. and Afrikaans: Die Groot Krokodil, was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president of South Africa from 1984 to 1989.

National Party (South Africa) 1914–1997 political party known for implementing apartheid

The National Party, also known as the Nationalist Party, was a political party in South Africa founded in 1914 and disbanded in 1997. The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party that promoted Afrikaner interests in South Africa. However in 1990 it became a South African civic nationalist party seeking to represent all South Africans. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. It was an opposition party during World War II but it returned to power and was again in the government from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994.

The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was a secret, exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist male organisation in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of Afrikaner interests. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, D. H. C. du Plessis and the Rev. Jozua Naudé in 1918 and was known as Jong Zuid Afrika in Afrikaans until 1920, when it became the Broederbond. Its large influence within South African political and social life came to a climax with the rise of apartheid, which was largely designed and implemented by Broederbond members. Between 1948 and 1994, many prominent figures of South African political life, including all leaders of the government, were members of the Afrikaner Broederbond.

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging Political party in South Africa

The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, meaning Afrikaner Resistance Movement, commonly known by its abbreviation AWB, is an Afrikaner nationalist, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist paramilitary organisation active in South Africa. Since its founding in 1973 by Eugène Terre'Blanche and six other far-right Afrikaners, it has been dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "Volkstaat/Boerestaat" in part of South Africa. During bilateral negotiations to end apartheid in the early 1990s, the organisation terrorised and killed black South Africans.

1960 South African republic referendum "Yes" vote by white South Africans on abolishing the monarchy

A referendum on becoming a republic was held in South Africa on 5 October 1960. The Afrikaner-dominated right-wing National Party, which had come to power in 1948, was avowedly republican, and regarded the position of Queen Elizabeth II as head of state as a relic of British imperialism. The National Party government subsequently organised the referendum on whether the then Union of South Africa should become a republic. The vote, which was restricted to whites – the first such national election in the union – was narrowly approved by 52.29% of the voters. The Republic of South Africa was constituted on 31 May 1961.

Herstigte Nasionale Party Political party in South Africa

The Herstigte Nasionale Party is a South African political party which was formed as a far-right splinter group of the now defunct National Party in 1969. The party name was commonly abbreviated as HNP, although colloquially they were also known as the Herstigtes.

Constand Viljoen South African military officer and politician (1933–2020)

General Constand Laubscher Viljoen, was a South African military commander and politician. He co-founded the Afrikaner Volksfront and later founded the Freedom Front. He is partly credited with having prevented the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected white South Africans prior to post-apartheid general elections.

<i>Baasskap</i> Afrikaans term for white minority rule in South Africa

Baasskap, literally "boss-ship" or "boss-hood", is an Afrikaans term that was used during apartheid to describe the social, political and economic domination of South Africa by its minority white population generally and by Afrikaners in particular. The term is intimately connected to the English-language term "white supremacy" and functioned either as a description or an endorsement of white minority rule in South Africa.

Apartheid System of racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa

Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s. Apartheid was characterized by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population. According to this system of social stratification, white citizens had the highest status, followed by Indians and Coloureds, then black Africans. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day.

Volkstaat Proposed state for Afrikaners of South Africa

The concept of a Volkstaat, also called a Boerestaat, is the set of proposals to establish self-determination for Afrikaners in South Africa, either on federal principles or as a fully independent Boer/Afrikaner homeland.

Afrikaner Volksfront

The Afrikaner Volksfront was a separatist umbrella organisation uniting a number of right-wing Afrikaner organisations in South Africa in the early 1990s.

Afrikaner nationalism Political ideology in South Africa

Afrikaner nationalism is a political ideology that was born in the late nineteenth century among Afrikaners in South Africa. It was immensely influenced by anti-British sentiment which grew strong among the Afrikaners, especially because of the Boer Wars.

Boerestaat Party Political party in South Africa

The Boerstaat Party is a Boer nationalist South African political party founded on 30 September 1986 by Robert van Tonder. It was never officially registered as a political party because it was unable to rally 500 persons under one roof, a requirement under South African electoral law for official political party status. It was never represented in the South African Parliament, neither in the apartheid era nor after democratisation. In 1989, it joined the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) in declaring support for Jaap Marais, the leader of the Herstigte Nasionale Party and has worked with the HNP on occasion since. The party was a charter member of the Afrikaner Volksfront coalition group. It has also operated with the paramilitary group, the Boere Weerstandsbeweging led by Andrew Ford.

Carel Boshoff South African academic, writer and politician, former proponent of Apartheid, founder of Orania

Carel Willem Hendrik Boshoff was a South African professor of theology and Afrikaner cultural activist.

Jaap Marais

Jacob Albertus Marais was an Afrikaner nationalist thinker, author and politician, Member of Parliament, and leader of the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP) from 1977 to his death in 2000. Marais is the longest serving head of any political party in Afrikaner history, with a term of 23 years.

Melanie Verwoerd South African politician and diplomat

Melanie Verwoerdpronounced [fɛr'vurt](18 April 1967, in Pretoria) is a South African political analyst. She was previously a politician, ambassador, and the director of UNICEF Ireland.

A white ethnostate is a proposed type of state in which residence or citizenship would be limited to white people, and would exclude non-whites, such as Black people, Asian people and Native American people. In the United States, proposals for such a state are advanced by white supremacist and white separatist factions such as Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis whether through claiming a certain part or the whole of the country to have a white majority.

References

  1. 1 2 Du Toit, Brian M. (1991). "The Far Right in Current South African Politics". The Journal of Modern African Studies . 29 (4): 627–67. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00005693. ISSN   1469-7777. JSTOR   161141.
  2. Manzo, Kathryn A. (1998). Creating Boundaries: The Politics of Race and Nation. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 86. ISBN   9781555875640.
  3. du Toit, 'The Far Right in South Africa', p. 648