Three European Events in the Formation of the Afrikaner people’s identity – By Dr Mike Du Toit

(005320.38-:E-003569.93:N-HO:R-SU:C-30:V)   

By Dr Mike du Toit

Introduction

Many times the Afrikaner people’s European prehistory is written – sometimes correctly and sometimes not correctly. This article is based on historical sources as well as archaeology, anthropology and comparative philology and highlights three important European events that shaped the identity of the Afrikaner people.

First events: The role of the Proto-Indo-Europeans

The Proto-Nordic Proto-Indo-Europeans played the first decisive role in the formation of the Afrikaner people’s identity.

All European Caucasoids (with the exception of the Basques) are the product of Proto-Nordic Proto-Indo-Europeans who swept across Europe from the Ukraine and southern Russia from about 4400 BC and merged with Proto-Mediterranean Old Europeans .

Due to the fusion of the Proto-Nordic Proto-Indo-Europeans and the Proto-Mediterranean Old Europeans, the following important Caucasoid subraces came into existence among others:
– The Nordic subrace in North-West and Northern Europe: The people are tall ( average 1.73 to 1.8 meters) with light skin, blond to reddish hair and blue to gray eyes.
– The Alpine subrace in Central Europe: The people are of average height (1.64 meters) with a slightly darker skin tone than the Nordic subrace and light to dark brown hair and light brown eyes.
– Despite the Proto-Nordic Proto-Indo-European invasion, the Mediterranean subrace in Southern Europe still remained the dominant subrace: The people are short (on average 1.60 meters) with a dark skin color and dark brown hair and eyes.

From the amalgamation of the Proto-Nordic Proto-Indo-Europeans and the Proto-Mediterranean Old Europeans, a large number of European Indo-European people groups also emerged, all of which basically had the same language, culture and religion. The most important ethnic groups were, among others, the following:

In Central and later Western Europe, the Celts who divided over time into:
– The Goidelic Celts, namely the Irish, Scots, Manx Islanders and Picts.
– The Bretonnian Celts, namely Welshmen, Cornwallis, Bretons, Gauls and Celtiberians.

In north-west Europe, the Germanic people divided over time into:
– The early North Germanic people, namely the Cimbri, Teutons and Herulians.
– The West Germans, namely the Angles, Jutes, Frisians, Saxons, Franks, Thuringians, Alemanni, Bavarians and Longobards.
– The East Germans, namely the Goths (who again later divided into the East Goths and West Goths), Vandals and Burgundians.
– The later North Germans, namely the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians. From the Norwegians came the Icelanders and Normans.

In Southern Europe the Italians, namely the Oscians, Umbrians and Latins or Romans. From the Roman domination of other peoples and through the process of Romanization, the Portuguese, Spaniards, Catalans, Provençals, French, Italians, Rhaeto-Romans and Romanians came into being.

The Proto-Nordic Proto-Indo-Europeans gave the Afrikaner people the two most important characteristics of its identity, namely its racial identity and its linguistic identity. The Afrikaner people are racially Nordic and Alpine and their language Indo-European.

Second events: The role of the Germans

The Germans played the second decisive role in the formation of the Afrikaner people’s identity.

The story of the Germanic people begins around 2500 BC after the fusion of the Proto-Nordic Proto-Indo-Europeans of the Ukraine and Southern Russia with the Proto-Mediterranean Old Europeans of Northern Europe. From this fusion, the Proto-Germanic came into being in southern Scandinavia, Denmark and northern Germany between the Elbe and Oder rivers. East of the Oder River were the Baltic and Slavic ethnic groups and west of the Elbe River were the Celtic ethnic groups.

Around 1000 BC, the Germans began to move westward between the Elbe and Oder rivers and began to push the Celts in a westward direction. The border between the Germans and the Celts moved further west and by 200 BC this border was the Rhine River and the southern border the Main River. The Germans also moved south along the Elbe River and by 100 BC already occupied southern Germany. These Germans became the West Germanic people groups.

Between 600 and 300 BC, a second great migration from Scandinavia to the Baltic coastal area, between the Oder and Weichsel rivers, took place. From there, the Germans also began to move east of the Weichsel River and south along the Weichsel River as far south as the Carpathians in Southern Poland. These Germans became the East Germanic people groups.

The Germanic people who remained behind in Scandinavia became the North Germanic people groups.

The Germans strengthened and further shaped the Afrikaner people’s two most important characteristics of its identity, namely its racial identity and its linguistic identity. The Afrikaner people are racially Nordic and Alpine and their language is Germanic.

Next, the original and final residential areas of the Germanic people in Europe are indicated. From this one can form an image of their migrations as well as the tremendous comprehensive influence they exerted.

Northern Germanic

1) The Cimbri, initially Denmark, eventually northern Italy (extinct)
2) The Teutons, initially Denmark, eventually southern France (extinct)
3) The Herulians, initially southern Denmark, eventually southern Sweden
4) The Danes, initially South-East Sweden, eventually Denmark, Danelaw (England) and England
5) The Swedes, initially Sweden, eventually Sweden and Russia (the Varangians)
6) The Norwegians, initially Norway, eventually Norway, Iceland, Normandy ( France), England, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands, Orkney Islands and Hebrides Islands
7) The Icelanders, initially Iceland, eventually Iceland, Greenland and North America (extinct)
8) The Normans , initially Normandy (France), eventually Normandy (France), England, Southern Italy and Sicily

West Germani

1) The Angles, initially Southern Denmark, eventually Southern Denmark and England
2) The Jutes, initially Northern Denmark, eventually Northern Denmark and England
3) The Frisians, initially Northern Denmark, eventually Friesland (Northern Netherlands and Northwest Germany)
4) The Saxons, initially Northern Germany, ultimately Northern Germany, England, the Netherlands, Friesland and South-East Germany (extinct)
5) The Franks, initially North-West Germany, eventually North-West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and North France
6) The Thuringians, initially Central Germany and West Bohemia, eventually Central Germany, Southeast Germany and Western Czechia
7) The Alemanni / Suevi, initially Northeast Germany, eventually Southwest Germany, Alsace in Eastern France, Switzerland, Western Austria and Northwest Spain
8) The Bavarians, initially Bohemia, Czechia, eventually Southeast Germany and Eastern Austria
9) The Longobards, initially Scania, Southern Sweden, eventually Northern Italy, parts of Central Italy and Southern Italy

East Germans

1) The East Goths, initially Gotland, Sweden, eventually Italy (extinct)
2) The West Goths, initially Gotland, Sweden, eventually Spain (extinct)
3) The Vandals, initially northern Denmark, eventually North Africa (extinct)
4) The Burgundians, initially Southern Norway, finally South-Eastern France

Next, it is indicated which Germanic people groups eventually became which modern European peoples. (The influence of other Indo-European ethnic groups is indicated with a *).

1) The Germanic people group the Danes, the modern 21st century people the Danes
2) The Germanic people group the Swedes, the modern 21st century people the Swedes
3) The Germanic people group the Swedes (and Eastern European *Slavs), the modern 21st century people the Russians
4) The Germanic people group the Norwegians, the modern 21st century people the Norwegians, the Icelanders and the Greenlanders

5) The Germanic people groups the Franks, Alemanni, Normans and Burgundians (and *Celtic Gauls, *Celtic Bretons and *Romans) , the modern 21st century peoples the French and Walloons
6) The Germanic people groups the Angles, Jutes and Saxons (and Danes and Normans), the modern 21st century peoples the English, English Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders
7) The Germanic people groups the Angles, Jutes, Saxons (and Danes and Normans) (and *Celtic Irish and *East European Slavs), the modern 21st century people the Americans
8) The Germanic people group the Frisians, the modern 21st century people the Frisians
9) The Germanic ethnic groups the Frisians, Saxons and Franks, the modern 21st century peoples the Dutch, Flemish and Afrikaners
10) The Germanic ethnic groups the Saxons, Franks, Thuringians, Alemanni and Bavarians, the modern 21st century peoples the Northern Germans , South Germans, Austrians and Swiss

11) The Germanic people group the Longobards and Eastern Goths (and *Romans), the modern 21st century people the Italians
12) The Germanic people group the West Goths and Alemanni / Suevi (and *Romans), the modern 21st century people the Spaniards and Portuguese

Third events: The role of the Saxons and Franks

The Saxons and Franks have the third decisive role in the formation of the Afrikaner people’s identity.

The Saxons emerged from the earlier Germanic tribes, the Chauken, Cherusci, Chatti and Chattuarii. They initially lived in the area between the Ems and Elbe Rivers, in Northern Germany. From there they began to migrate west and southwest. The Saxons who migrated westwards invaded and took over Britain together with the Angles and Jutes. The Saxons who migrated south-west again occupied the larger area between the Rhine and Elbe rivers in northern Germany.

The Franks’ heartland is Franconia, the area between the Rhine and Weser Rivers in the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. This ethnic group gradually came into being through the unification of several older Germanic tribes such as the Salii, Ripuarii, Bructeri, Ampsivarii, Chamavi, Chatti, Chattuarii, Tubanti, Ubii, Sugambri and other groups. The Franks gradually began to migrate south and east from their heartland. The Salii began to live in the middle of the fourth century in the area between the Scheldt and the Meuse Rivers, in Southern Netherlands and Northern Belgium. The Ripuarii remained in the Rhineland in the vicinity of Cologne.

After the "Great Migration" in AD 374, the Franks and Saxons dominated northwestern Europe as follows:
– The Franks for Northern France, Central Germany, Belgium and part of the Netherlands.
– The Saxons for Northern Germany, England and part of the Netherlands.

However, due to Romanization from the fifth to the seventh century, the Frankish influence was lost in the Walloon area of Belgium and most of northern France.

Through the German conquest of Slavic territories to the east from the middle of the tenth century, the Saxon sphere of influence extended to East Prussia. In the twentieth century, however, this Saxon influence was lost again because the Russians expelled the Germans from East Germany at the end of the Second World War, after which the area was incorporated into Poland.

The modern-day Frankish and Saxon area of influence in continental Europe consequently comprises the Dietic territories, namely French-Flanders in northern France, Flanders in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern Germany. The language and culture of all these areas is therefore also closely related to the language and culture of the Afrikaner people.

The Franks and Saxons strengthened and further shaped the Afrikaner people’s two most important characteristics of its identity, namely its racial identity and its language identity. The Afrikaner people are racially Nordic and Alpine and their language is basically a mixture of Frankish and Saxon.

A very large percentage of African families are of Frankish and Saxon origin. Only a small percentage of our people’s ancestors came from southern Germany, southern France or even from the rest of Europe. Because of its Frankish-Saxon origin, the Afrikaner people, contrary to popular beliefs, are therefore relatively homogeneous.

Conclusion

The European colonization of the New World in the 16th and 17th centuries, more specifically the Dutch occupation of the Cape, can be indicated as a fourth important event in the formation of the Afrikaner people’s identity, but because the history is relatively well known, it is not indicated here.