Piet Retief

E34478

Piet Retief was a prominent Voortrekker leader and pioneer of the Great Trek in 19th-century South Africa, known for his role in negotiating land with Zulu King Dingane and his subsequent massacre.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Pieter Retief 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf South African historical figure
Voortrekker leader
human
associatedWith Boer expansion into the interior of South Africa
Dingane kaSenzangakhona
surface form: King Dingane kaSenzangakhona

Boer Republic of Natalia
surface form: Voortrekker Republic of Natalia
causeOfDeath killed on orders of King Dingane
commemoratedBy monuments at Blood River and uMgungundlovu
town of Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, South Africa
countryOfCitizenship Cape Colony
dateOfBirth 1780-11-12
dateOfDeath 1838-02-06
ethnicGroup Afrikaners
surface form: Afrikaner

Afrikaners
surface form: Boer
familyName Retief
givenName Pieter
hasLegacy controversial figure in post-apartheid historical debates
symbol of Voortrekker resistance to British rule
hasNotableRelative Afrikaners
surface form: Boer Voortrekker community
historicalRegion Eastern Cape
Natal
knownFor being killed along with his delegation by Dingane’s warriors
leading negotiations for land in Natal with the Zulu Kingdom
languageSpoken Afrikaans
Dutch
mannerOfDeath execution
movement Great Trek
notableAction led Voortrekker party into Natal
notableEvent massacre at uMgungundlovu
negotiations with Zulu King Dingane
notableRole Voortrekker leader during the Great Trek
notableWork Retief’s Manifesto
numberOfChildren 7
occupation farmer
political leader
participantIn conflicts on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony
negotiation of land cession in Natal
placeOfBirth Wagenmakersvallei, Cape Colony
placeOfDeath uMgungundlovu, Zulu Kingdom
politicalAlignment Voortrekker republicanism
religion Protestantism
roleInGreatTrek one of the principal leaders of the Voortrekkers
sexOrGender male
spouse Magdalena Johanna Greyling
subjectOf Afrikaner nationalist historiography
South African school history curricula
yearOfMajorMigration 1837

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Pietermaritzburg namedAfter Piet Retief
this entity surface form: Pieter Retief
Great Trek significantPerson Piet Retief
Murder of Piet Retief victim Piet Retief