Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius dies

Date: 23 Jul 1853
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius dies

Former Commander-General of the Boers in Natal and later Republican statesman, Andries Wilhemus Jacobus Pretorius, died on his farm in the Magaliesberg area. In 1838, Pretorius led a Voortrekker commando to defeat Zulu warriors in the battle of Blood River. Apart of his military achievements, Pretorius was also instrumental in the establishment of the short-lived Natal Republic as well as the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR or Transvaal Republic). He was described by Theal as "the ablest leader and most perfect representative of the Emigrant Farmers". His son Marthinus Wessel Pretorius founded the city of Pretoria and named it after his late father.

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01Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds) (1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 9, p. 115.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius dies. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010985

South African History Online (2011) 'Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius dies', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010985 (Accessed: 26 August 2026).

South African History Online, Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010985, (accessed 26 August 2026).

"Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius dies." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010985. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius dies." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010985.