Pretorius, Andries

Pretorius, Andries (Wilhelmus Jacobus)

(born Nov. 27, 1798, near Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony—died July 23, 1853, Magaliesberg, Transvaal) Boer leader in the Great Trek. Pretorius's forces defeated the Zulu at Blood River in 1838 and at Magono in 1840. In 1842 he led an unsuccessful fight with the British over the annexation of Natal. Following British annexation of Transvaal in 1848, his forces again attacked and were again defeated. In 1852 he participated in the Sand River Convention, where Transvaal independence was recognized. He led negotiations for independence of the Orange River Sovereignty, finally guaranteed by the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854. His son Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (1819–1901) was the first president of the South African Republic (1857, 1864, 1869) and president of the Orange Free State (1859–63). After British annexation of the Transvaal, Marthinus joined insurgent Boer leaders and helped win recognition of its independence. He was a member of the ruling triumvirate until the election of Paul Kruger as president in 1883.