Against The British Alone Stands Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout As A Boer Rebel (Refrain Stanza) Poem by Gert Strydom

(after C. J. Langenhoven)

Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout is trapped in a cave
are challenged to surrender or in resistance to come out where the British rave:
"You are a damn fool, " is roared while they do more words despiteful shout,
with a blunderbuss he faces the British and their shots ring out,
only silence comes from the cave where no one can him save
and an Afrikaner Boer is tired of the British tyrannical rule,
is not scared to openly for justice confront them and be called a fool,
where with convictions a man stands against a world empire, do freedom crave,
are challenged to surrender or in resistance to come out where the British rave.

[Reference:"Die eerstelinge" (The first ones)by C. J. Langenhoven.Poet's note: In
October 1815 the missionary John Philip of the London Missionary Society incited a Khoikhoi named Boy to lay charges against Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout and his brother Jan Bezuidenhout that as farmers they do misuse the Khoikhoi in labour."Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout suspected the Khoikhoi labourer Boy of stealing and did retain his wage.Boy did lay false charges of assault against Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout at the Graaff-Reinet magistrate" and in his absence Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout was sentenced to a month's imprisonment."A force of 12 Khoikhoi British soldiers under a white British officer was sent on 16 October 1815 to arrest Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout" and at his arrest he was shot dead.The British also tried to arrest his brother Jan Bezuidenhout and at his arrest he was also killed which led to the Slaughterer's Neck rebellion.The executions of Cornelis Fredrik Bezuidenhout, his brother Jan Bezuidenhout and the executions at Slaughterer's Neck led to the Great Trek of the Vootrekkers twenty years later where the Boer / Afrikaner nation brewed on this for twenty years and were concerned with the continuous Xhosa and Khoikhoi attacks that murdered and plundered and the far too many border wars."Voortrekker is a pioneer and it's a name given to the South African Dutch settlers, known as Boers or Afrikaners, in the Cape Colony (modern Cape Provinces)who migrated north into the interior of South Africa and away from Cape Colony and British rule in what became known as the Great Trek."]

© Gert Strydom