Zoutpansberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zoutpansberg was the north-eastern division of the Transvaal, South Africa, encompassing an area of 25,654 square miles.[1] The chief towns at the time were Pietersburg and Leydsdorp.[2] It was divided into two districts (west and east) prior to the first general election of the Union of South Africa in 1910.[3] Since 2005 the area is divided into the Capricorn, Vhembe and Mopani district municipalities of Limpopo province.
This was the district to which Louis Tregardt and Hans van Rensburg, the forerunners of the Great Trek, journeyed in 1835. In 1845 Hendrik Potgieter, a prominent leader of the Voortrekkers, moved there. The Zoutpansberg Boers formed a semi-independent community, and in 1857 Stephanus Schoeman, their commandant-general, sided against Marthinus Pretorius and Paul Kruger when they invaded the Orange Free State.
South African Republic
It was not until 1864 that Zoutpansberg was definitively incorporated in the South African Republic as a result of the Transvaal Civil War.[2] The white settlers in Zoutpansberg had for many years a reputation for lawlessness, and were later regarded as typical "back velt Boers".
