Chapter VIII, The Voortrekkers Summary

Tjaart van Doort has everything. De Kraal flourishes, sixteen thousand acres larger than when his father passed it down to him, and his family is happy and thriving. His sheep and cattle are healthy and well known for their superiority, and he is respected by his neighbors. As a result of a new law passed by the English that frees Coloreds, Hottentots and Bushmen alike giving them the same rights as anyone else, a revolution of sorts ensues, and while the van Doort family is at Nachtmaal for the first time in two years, their homestead is set on fire by renegades. Tjaart and several other families make the difficult decision to leave the homes they have known all their lives, going north to rebuild and make a fresh start. Called Voortrekkers, this group of over fourteen...