Vanadium

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Vanadium,  ₂₃V

Vanadium
Pronunciation	/vəˈneɪdiəm/ ​(və-NAY-dee-əm)
Appearance	blue-silver-grey metal
Standard atomic weight Ar, std(V)	50.9415(1)
Vanadium in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson – ↑ V ↓ Nb titanium ← vanadium → chromium
Atomic number (Z)	23
Group	group 5
Period	period 4
Block	d-block
Element category	transition metal
Electron configuration	[Ar] 3d3 4s2
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 11, 2
Physical properties
Phase at STP	solid
Melting point	2183 K ​(1910 °C, ​3470 °F)
Boiling point	3680 K ​(3407 °C, ​6165 °F)
Density (near r.t.)	6.0 g/cm3
when liquid (at m.p.)	5.5 g/cm3
Heat of fusion	21.5 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	444 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	24.89 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 2101 2289 2523 2814 3187 3679
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	−3, −1, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5 (an amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 1.63
Ionization energies	1st: 650.9 kJ/mol 2nd: 1414 kJ/mol 3rd: 2830 kJ/mol (more)
Atomic radius	empirical: 134 pm
Covalent radius	153±8 pm
Spectral lines of vanadium
Other properties
Natural occurrence	primordial
Crystal structure	​body-centered cubic (bcc)
Speed of sound thin rod	4560 m/s (at 20 °C)
Thermal expansion	8.4 µm/(m·K) (at 25 °C)
Thermal conductivity	30.7 W/(m·K)
Electrical resistivity	197 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)
Magnetic ordering	paramagnetic
Magnetic susceptibility	+255.0·10−6 cm3/mol (298 K)
Young's modulus	128 GPa
Shear modulus	47 GPa
Bulk modulus	160 GPa
Poisson ratio	0.37
Mohs hardness	6.7
Vickers hardness	628–640 MPa
Brinell hardness	600–742 MPa
CAS Number	7440-62-2
History
Discovery	Andrés Manuel del Río (1801)
First isolation	Nils Gabriel Sefström (1830)
Named by	Nils Gabriel Sefström (1830)
Main isotopes of vanadium
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct 48V syn 16 d β+ 48Ti 49V syn 330 d ε 49Ti 50V 0.25% 1.5×1017 y ε 50Ti β− 50Cr 51V 99.75% stable

Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, ductile, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer (passivation) somewhat stabilizes the free metal against further oxidation.

Andrés Manuel del Río discovered compounds of vanadium in 1801 in Mexico by analyzing a new lead-bearing mineral he called "brown lead", and presumed its qualities were due to the presence of a new element, which he named erythronium (derived from "ἐρυθρόν", greek word for "red") since upon heating most of the salts turned red. Four years later, he was (erroneously) convinced by other scientists that erythronium was identical to chromium. Chlorides of vanadium were generated in 1830 by Nils Gabriel Sefström who thereby proved that a new element was involved, which he named "vanadium" after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty and fertility, Vanadís (Freyja). Both names were attributed to the wide range of colors found in vanadium compounds. Del Rio's lead mineral was later renamed vanadinite for its vanadium content. In 1867 Henry Enfield Roscoe obtained the pure element.

Vanadium occurs naturally in about 65 minerals and in fossil fuel deposits. It is produced in China and Russia from steel smelter slag. Other countries produce it either from magnetite directly, flue dust of heavy oil, or as a byproduct of uranium mining. It is mainly used to produce specialty steel alloys such as high-speed tool steels. The most important industrial vanadium compound, vanadium pentoxide, is used as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid. The vanadium redox battery for energy storage may be an important application in the future.

Large amounts of vanadium ions are found in a few organisms, possibly as a toxin. The oxide and some other salts of vanadium have moderate toxicity. Particularly in the ocean, vanadium is used by some life forms as an active center of enzymes, such as the vanadium bromoperoxidase of some ocean algae.

History

Vanadium was discovered by Andrés Manuel del Río, a Spanish-Mexican mineralogist, in 1801. Del Río extracted the element from a sample of Mexican "brown lead" ore, later named vanadinite. He found that its salts exhibit a wide variety of colors, and as a result he named the element panchromium (Greek: παγχρώμιο "all colors"). Later, Del Río renamed the element erythronium (Greek: ερυθρός "red") because most of the salts turned red upon heating. In 1805, French chemist Hippolyte Victor Collet-Descotils, backed by del Río's friend Baron Alexander von Humboldt, incorrectly declared that del Río's new element was only an impure sample of chromium. Del Río accepted Collet-Descotils' statement and retracted his claim.

In 1831, Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström rediscovered the element in a new oxide he found while working with iron ores. Later that year, Friedrich Wöhler confirmed del Río's earlier work. Sefström chose a name beginning with V, which had not yet been assigned to any element. He called the element vanadium after Old Norse Vanadís (another name for the Norse Vanr goddess Freyja, whose attributes include beauty and fertility), because of the many beautifully colored chemical compounds it produces. In 1831, the geologist George William Featherstonhaugh suggested that vanadium should be renamed "rionium" after del Río, but this suggestion was not followed.

The Model T used vanadium steel in its chassis.

 

The isolation of vanadium metal was difficult. In 1831, Berzelius reported the production of the metal, but Henry Enfield Roscoe showed that Berzelius had produced the nitride, vanadium nitride (VN). Roscoe eventually produced the metal in 1867 by reduction of vanadium(II) chloride, VCl₂, with hydrogen. In 1927, pure vanadium was produced by reducing vanadium pentoxide with calcium.

The first large-scale industrial use of vanadium was in the steel alloy chassis of the Ford Model T, inspired by French race cars. Vanadium steel allowed reduced weight while increasing tensile strength (ca. 1905).^[8] For the first decade of the 20^th century, most vanadium ore was mined by American Vanadium Company from the Minas Ragra in Peru. Later the demand for uranium rose, leading to increased mining of that metal's ores. One major uranium ore was carnotite, which also contains vanadium. Thus, vanadium became available as a by-product of uranium production. Eventually uranium mining began to supply a large share of the demand for vanadium.

German chemist Martin Henze discovered vanadium in the hemovanadin proteins found in blood cells (or coelomic cells) of Ascidiacea (sea squirts) in 1911.

Characteristics

High-purity (99.95%) vanadium cuboids, ebeam remelted and macro-etched

 

Vanadium is a medium-hard, ductile, steel-blue metal. It is electrically conductive and thermally insulating. Some sources describe vanadium as "soft", perhaps because it is ductile, malleable, and not brittle. Vanadium is harder than most metals and steels. It has good resistance to corrosion and it is stable against alkalis and sulfuric and hydrochloric acids. It is oxidized in air at about 933 K (660 °C, 1220 °F), although an oxide passivation layer forms even at room temperature.

Isotopes

Naturally occurring vanadium is composed of one stable isotope, ⁵¹V, and one radioactive isotope, ⁵⁰V. The latter has a half-life of 1.5×10¹⁷ years and a natural abundance of 0.25%. ⁵¹V has a nuclear spin of ​⁷⁄₂, which is useful for NMR spectroscopy. Twenty-four artificial radioisotopes have been characterized, ranging in mass number from 40 to 65. The most stable of these isotopes are ⁴⁹V with a half-life of 330 days, and ⁴⁸V with a half-life of 16.0 days. The remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives shorter than an hour, most below 10 seconds. At least four isotopes have metastable excited states. Electron capture is the main decay mode for isotopes lighter than ⁵¹V. For the heavier ones, the most common mode is beta decay. The electron capture reactions lead to the formation of element 22 (titanium) isotopes, while beta decay leads to element 24 (chromium) isotopes.

Chemistry

From left: [V(H₂O)₆]²⁺ (lilac), [V(H₂O)₆]³⁺ (green), [VO(H₂O)₅]²⁺ (blue) and [VO(H₂O)₅]³⁺ (yellow).

 

The chemistry of vanadium is noteworthy for the accessibility of the four adjacent oxidation states 2–5. In aqueous solution, vanadium forms metal aquo complexes of which the colours are lilac [V(H₂O)₆]²⁺, green [V(H₂O)₆]³⁺, blue [VO(H₂O)₅]²⁺, yellow VO₃⁻. Vanadium(II) compounds are reducing agents, and vanadium(V) compounds are oxidizing agents. Vanadium(IV) compounds often exist as vanadyl derivatives, which contain the VO²⁺ center.

Ammonium vanadate(V) (NH₄VO₃) can be successively reduced with elemental zinc to obtain the different colors of vanadium in these four oxidation states. Lower oxidation states occur in compounds such as V(CO)₆, [V(CO)
₆]⁻ and substituted derivatives.

The most commercially important compound is vanadium pentoxide. It is used as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid. This compound oxidizes sulfur dioxide (SO
₂) to the trioxide (SO
₃). In this redox reaction, sulfur is oxidized from +4 to +6, and vanadium is reduced from +5 to +4:

V₂O₅ + SO₂ → 2 VO₂ + SO₃

The catalyst is regenerated by oxidation with air:

4 VO₂ + O₂ → 2 V₂O₅

Similar oxidations are used in the production of maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, and several other bulk organic compounds.

The vanadium redox battery utilizes all four oxidation states: one electrode uses the +5/+4 couple and the other uses the +3/+2 couple. Conversion of these oxidation states is illustrated by the reduction of a strongly acidic solution of a vanadium(V) compound with zinc dust or amalgam. The initial yellow color characteristic of the pervanadyl ion [VO₂(H₂O)₄]⁺ is replaced by the blue color of [VO(H₂O)₅]²⁺, followed by the green color of [V(H₂O)₆]³⁺ and then the violet color of [V(H₂O)₆]²⁺.

Oxyanions

The decavanadate structure

 

In aqueous solution, vanadium(V) forms an extensive family of oxyanions. The interrelationships in this family are described by the predominance diagram, which shows at least 11 species, depending on pH and concentration. The tetrahedral orthovanadate ion, VO³⁻
₄, is the principal species present at pH 12-14. Similar in size and charge to phosphorus(V), vanadium(V) also parallels its chemistry and crystallography. Orthovanadate VO³⁻
₄ is used in protein crystallography to study the biochemistry of phosphate. The tetrathiovanadate [VS₄]³⁻ is analogous to the orthovanadate ion.

At lower pH values, the monomer [HVO₄]²⁻ and dimer [V₂O₇]⁻ are formed, with the monomer predominant at vanadium concentration of less than c. 10⁻²M (pV > 2, where pV is equal to the minus value of the logarithm of the total vanadium concentration/M). The formation of the divanadate ion is analogous to the formation of the dichromate ion. As the pH is reduced, further protonation and condensation to polyvanadates occur: at pH 4-6 [H₂VO₄]⁻ is predominant at pV greater than ca. 4, while at higher concentrations trimers and tetramers are formed. Between pH 2-4 decavanadate predominates, its formation from orthovanadate is represented by this condensation reaction:

10 [VO₄]³⁻ + 24 H⁺ → [V₁₀O₂₈]⁶⁻ + 12 H₂O

In decavanadate, each V(V) center is surrounded by six oxide ligands. Vanadic acid, H₃VO₄ exists only at very low concentrations because protonation of the tetrahedral species [H₂VO₄]⁻ results in the preferential formation of the octahedral [VO₂(H₂O)₄]⁺ species. In strongly acidic solutions, pH<2 .="" sub="">2

(H₂O)₄]⁺ is the predominant species, while the oxide V₂O₅ precipitates from solution at high concentrations. The oxide is formally the acid anhydride of vanadic acid. The structures of many vanadate compounds have been determined by X-ray crystallography. 

The Pourbaix diagram for vanadium in water

 

The Pourbaix diagram for vanadium in water, which shows the redox potentials between various vanadium species in different oxidation states, is also complex.

Vanadium(V) forms various peroxo complexes, most notably in the active site of the vanadium-containing bromoperoxidase enzymes. The species VO(O)₂(H₂O)₄⁺ is stable in acidic solutions. In alkaline solutions, species with 2, 3 and 4 peroxide groups are known; the last forms violet salts with the formula M₃V(O₂)₄ nH₂O (M= Li, Na, etc.), in which the vanadium has an 8-coordinate dodecahedral structure.

Halide derivatives

Twelve binary halides, compounds with the formula VX_n (n=2..5), are known. VI₄, VCl₅, VBr₅, and VI₅ do not exist or are extremely unstable. In combination with other reagents, VCl₄ is used as a catalyst for polymerization of dienes. Like all binary halides, those of vanadium are Lewis acidic, especially those of V(IV) and V(V). Many of the halides form octahedral complexes with the formula VX_nL_6−n (X= halide; L= other ligand). 

Many vanadium oxyhalides (formula VO_mX_n) are known. The oxytrichloride and oxytrifluoride (VOCl₃ and VOF₃) are the most widely studied. Akin to POCl₃, they are volatile, adopt tetrahedral structures in the gas phase, and are Lewis acidic.

Coordination compounds

A ball-and-stick model of VO₅(C₅H₇)₂

 

Complexes of vanadium(II) and (III) are relatively exchange inert and reducing. Those of V(IV) and V(V) are oxidants. Vanadium ion is rather large and some complexes achieve coordination numbers greater than 6, as is the case in [V(CN)₇]⁴⁻. Oxovanadium(V) also forms 7 coordinate coordination complexes with tetradentate ligands and peroxides and these complexes are used for oxidative brominations and thioether oxidations. The coordination chemistry of V⁴⁺ is dominated by the vanadyl center, VO²⁺, which binds four other ligands strongly and one weakly (the one trans to the vanadyl center). An example is vanadyl acetylacetonate (V(O)(O₂C₅H₇)₂). In this complex, the vanadium is 5-coordinate, square pyramidal, meaning that a sixth ligand, such as pyridine, may be attached, though the association constant of this process is small. Many 5-coordinate vanadyl complexes have a trigonal bipyramidal geometry, such as VOCl₂(NMe₃)₂. The coordination chemistry of V⁵⁺ is dominated by the relatively stable dioxovanadium coordination complexes which are often formed by aerial oxidation of the vanadium(IV) precursors indicating the stability of the +5 oxidation state and ease of interconversion between the +4 and +5 states.

Organometallic compounds

Organometallic chemistry of vanadium is well developed, although it has mainly only academic significance. Vanadocene dichloride is a versatile starting reagent and even finds some applications in organic chemistry. Vanadium carbonyl, V(CO)₆, is a rare example of a paramagnetic metal carbonyl. Reduction yields V(CO)⁻
₆ (isoelectronic with Cr(CO)₆), which may be further reduced with sodium in liquid ammonia to yield V(CO)³⁻
₅ (isoelectronic with Fe(CO)₅).

Occurrence

Vanadinite

Universe

The cosmic abundance of vanadium in the universe is 0.0001%, making the element nearly as common as copper or zinc. Vanadium is detected spectroscopically in light from the Sun and sometimes in the light from other stars.

Earth's crust

Vanadium is the 20th most abundant element in the earth's crust; metallic vanadium is rare in nature (known as the mineral vanadium, native vanadium), but vanadium compounds occur naturally in about 65 different minerals. 

At the beginning of the 20th century a large deposit of vanadium ore was discovered. For several years this patrónite (VS₄) deposit was a economically significant source for vanadium ore. With the production of radium in the 1910s and 1920s from carnotite (K₂(UO₂)₂(VO₄)₂·3H₂O) vanadium became available as a side product of radium and uranium production. Vanadinite (Pb₅(VO₄)₃Cl) and other vanadium bearing minerals are only mined in exceptional cases. With the rising demand, much of the world's vanadium production is now sourced from vanadium-bearing magnetite found in ultramafic gabbro bodies. If this titanomagnetite is used to produce iron, most of the vanadium goes to the slag, and is extracted from it.

Vanadium is mined mostly in South Africa, north-western China, and eastern Russia. In 2013 these three countries mined more than 97% of the 79,000 tonnes of produced vanadium.

Vanadium is also present in bauxite and in deposits of crude oil, coal, oil shale, and tar sands. In crude oil, concentrations up to 1200 ppm have been reported. When such oil products are burned, traces of vanadium may cause corrosion in engines and boilers. An estimated 110,000 tonnes of vanadium per year are released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.

Water

The vanadyl ion is abundant in seawater, having an average concentration of 30 nM. Some mineral water springs also contain the ion in high concentrations. For example, springs near Mount Fuji contain as much as 54 μg per liter.

Production

Vacuum sublimed vanadium dendritic crystals (99.9%)

 

Crystal-bar vanadium, showing different textures and surface oxidation; 99.95%-pure cube for comparison

 

Vanadium metal is obtained by a multistep process that begins with roasting crushed ore with NaCl or Na₂CO₃ at about 850 °C to give sodium metavanadate (NaVO₃). An aqueous extract of this solid is acidified to produce "red cake", a polyvanadate salt, which is reduced with calcium metal. As an alternative for small-scale production, vanadium pentoxide is reduced with hydrogen or magnesium. Many other methods are also used, in all of which vanadium is produced as a byproduct of other processes. Purification of vanadium is possible by the crystal bar process developed by Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer in 1925. It involves the formation of the metal iodide, in this example vanadium(III) iodide, and the subsequent decomposition to yield pure metal:

2 V + 3 I₂ ⇌ 2 VI₃

Ferrovanadium chunks

 

Most vanadium is used as a steel alloy called ferrovanadium. Ferrovanadium is produced directly by reducing a mixture of vanadium oxide, iron oxides and iron in an electric furnace. The vanadium ends up in pig iron produced from vanadium-bearing magnetite. Depending on the ore used, the slag contains up to 25% of vanadium.

Applications

Tool made from vanadium steel

Alloys

Approximately 85% of the vanadium produced is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel additive. The considerable increase of strength in steel containing small amounts of vanadium was discovered in the early 20th century. Vanadium forms stable nitrides and carbides, resulting in a significant increase in the strength of steel. From that time on, vanadium steel was used for applications in axles, bicycle frames, crankshafts, gears, and other critical components. There are two groups of vanadium steel alloys. Vanadium high-carbon steel alloys contain 0.15% to 0.25% vanadium, and high-speed tool steels (HSS) have a vanadium content of 1% to 5%. For high-speed tool steels, a hardness above HRC 60 can be achieved. HSS steel is used in surgical instruments and tools. Powder-metallurgic alloys contain up to 18% percent vanadium. The high content of vanadium carbides in those alloys increases wear resistance significantly. One application for those alloys is tools and knives.

Vanadium stabilizes the beta form of titanium and increases the strength and temperature stability of titanium. Mixed with aluminium in titanium alloys, it is used in jet engines, high-speed airframes and dental implants. The most common alloy for seamless tubing is Titanium 3/2.5 containing 2.5% vanadium, the titanium alloy of choice in the aerospace, defense, and bicycle industries. Another common alloy, primarily produced in sheets, is Titanium 6AL-4V, a titanium alloy with 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium.

Several vanadium alloys show superconducting behavior. The first A15 phase superconductor was a vanadium compound, V₃Si, which was discovered in 1952. Vanadium-gallium tape is used in superconducting magnets (17.5 teslas or 175,000 gauss). The structure of the superconducting A15 phase of V₃Ga is similar to that of the more common Nb₃Sn and Nb₃Ti.

It has been proposed that a small amount, 40 to 270 ppm, of vanadium in Wootz steel and Damascus steel significantly improved the strength of the product, though the source of the vanadium is unclear.

Other uses

Vanadium(V) oxide is a catalyst in the contact process for producing sulfuric acid

 

Vanadium compounds are used extensively as catalysts; for example, the most common oxide of vanadium, vanadium pentoxide V₂O₅, is used as a catalyst in manufacturing sulfuric acid by the contact process and as an oxidizer in maleic anhydride production. Vanadium pentoxide is used in ceramics. Vanadium is an important component of mixed metal oxide catalysts used in the oxidation of propane and propylene to acrolein, acrylic acid or the ammoxidation of propylene to acrylonitrile. In service, the oxidation state of vanadium changes dynamically and reversibly with the oxygen and the steam content of the reacting feed mixture. Another oxide of vanadium, vanadium dioxide VO₂, is used in the production of glass coatings, which blocks infrared radiation (and not visible light) at a specific temperature. Vanadium oxide can be used to induce color centers in corundum to create simulated alexandrite jewelry, although alexandrite in nature is a chrysoberyl.

The Vanadium redox battery, a type of flow battery, is an electrochemical cell consisting of aqueous vanadium ions in different oxidation states. Batteries of the type were first proposed in the 1930s and developed commercially from the 1980s onwards. Cells use +5 and +2 formal oxidization state ions. Vanadium redox batteries are used commercially for grid energy storage. 

Vanadate can be used for protecting steel against rust and corrosion by conversion coating. Vanadium foil is used in cladding titanium to steel because it is compatible with both iron and titanium. The moderate thermal neutron-capture cross-section and the short half-life of the isotopes produced by neutron capture makes vanadium a suitable material for the inner structure of a fusion reactor.

Proposed

Lithium vanadium oxide has been proposed for use as a high energy density anode for lithium ion batteries, at 745 Wh/L when paired with a lithium cobalt oxide cathode. Vanadium phosphates have been proposed as the cathode in the lithium vanadium phosphate battery, another type of lithium-ion battery.

Biological role

Vanadium is more important in marine environments than terrestrial.

Active site of the enzyme vanadium bromoperoxidase, which produces the preponderance of naturally-occurring organobromine compounds.

 

Tunicates such as this bluebell tunicate contain vanadium as vanabin.

 

Amanita muscaria contains amavadin.

Vanadoenzymes

A number of species of marine algae produce vanadium bromoperoxidase as well as the closely related chloroperoxidase (which may use a heme or vanadium cofactor) and iodoperoxidases. The bromoperoxidase produces an estimated 1–2 million tons of bromoform and 56,000 tons of bromomethane annually. Most naturally occurring organobromine compounds are produced by this enzyme, catalyzing the following reaction (R-H is hydrocarbon substrate):

R-H + Br⁻ + H₂O₂ → R-Br + H₂O + OH⁻

A vanadium nitrogenase is used by some nitrogen-fixing micro-organisms, such as Azotobacter. In this role, vanadium replaces more-common molybdenum or iron, and gives the nitrogenase slightly different properties.

Vanadium accumulation in tunicates and ascidians

Vanadium is essential to ascidians and tunicates, where it is stored in the highly acidified vacuoles of certain blood cell types, designated "vanadocytes". Vanabins (vanadium binding proteins) have been identified in the cytoplasm of such cells. The concentration of vanadium in the blood of ascidians is as much as ten million times higher than the surrounding seawater, which normally contains 1 to 2 µg/l. The function of this vanadium concentration system and these vanadium-bearing proteins is still unknown, but the vanadocytes are later deposited just under the outer surface of the tunic where they may deter predation.

Fungi

Amanita muscaria and related species of macrofungi accumulate vanadium (up to 500 mg/kg in dry weight). Vanadium is present in the coordination complex amavadin in fungal fruit-bodies. The biological importance of the accumulation is unknown. Toxic or peroxidase enzyme functions have been suggested.

Mammals

Deficiencies in vanadium result in reduced growth in rats. The U.S. Institute of Medicine has not confirmed that vanadium is an essential nutrient for humans, so neither a Recommended Dietary Intake nor an Adequate Intake have been established. Dietary intake is estimated at 6 to 18 µg/day, with less than 5% absorbed. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of dietary vanadium, beyond which adverse effects may occur, is set at 1.8 mg/day.

Research

Vanadyl sulfate as a dietary supplement has been researched as a means of increasing insulin sensitivity or otherwise improving glycemic control in people who are diabetic. Some of the trials had significant treatment effects, but were deemed as being of poor study quality. The amounts of vanadium used in these trials (30 to 150 mg) far exceeded the safe upper limit. The conclusion of the systemic review was "There is no rigorous evidence that oral vanadium supplementation improves glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes. The routine use of vanadium for this purpose cannot be recommended."

In astrobiology, it has been suggested that discrete vanadium accumulations on Mars could be a potential microbial biosignature, when used in conjunction with Raman spectroscopy and morphology.

Safety

All vanadium compounds should be considered toxic. Tetravalent VOSO₄ has been reported to be at least 5 times more toxic than trivalent V₂O₃. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set an exposure limit of 0.05 mg/m³ for vanadium pentoxide dust and 0.1 mg/m³ for vanadium pentoxide fumes in workplace air for an 8-hour workday, 40-hour work week. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recommended that 35 mg/m³ of vanadium be considered immediately dangerous to life and health, that is, likely to cause permanent health problems or death.

Vanadium compounds are poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal system. Inhalation of vanadium and vanadium compounds results primarily in adverse effects on the respiratory system. Quantitative data are, however, insufficient to derive a subchronic or chronic inhalation reference dose. Other effects have been reported after oral or inhalation exposures on blood parameters, liver, neurological development, and other organs in rats. 

There is little evidence that vanadium or vanadium compounds are reproductive toxins or teratogens. Vanadium pentoxide was reported to be carcinogenic in male rats and in male and female mice by inhalation in an NTP study, although the interpretation of the results has recently been disputed. The carcinogenicity of vanadium has not been determined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Vanadium traces in diesel fuels are the main fuel component in high temperature corrosion. During combustion, vanadium oxidizes and reacts with sodium and sulfur, yielding vanadate compounds with melting points as low as 530 °C, which attack the passivation layer on steel and render it susceptible to corrosion. The solid vanadium compounds also abrade engine components.

Boer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boere
Boer family in 1886
Total population
c. 1.5 million
Languages
Afrikaans
Religion
Calvinism
Related ethnic groups
Afrikaners Basters Cape Coloureds Cape Dutch Griquas

Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans noun for "farmer". In South African contexts, "Boers" (Afrikaans: Boere) refers to the descendants of the proto Afrikaans speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th and much of the 19th century. From 1652 to 1795 the Dutch East India Company controlled this area, but the United Kingdom incorporated it into the British Empire in 1806.

In addition, the term "Boeren" also applied to those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State, Transvaal (together known as the Boer Republics), and to a lesser extent Natal. They emigrated from the Cape primarily to escape British rule and to get away from the constant border wars between the British imperial government and the indigenous peoples on the eastern frontier.

The term Afrikaner is generally used in modern-day South Africa for the Afrikaans-speaking white population of South Africa, the descendants of boer settlers and the bulk of White Africans.

Origin

European Settlers

Flag of the Dutch East India Company

 

The Dutch East India Company had been formed in the Dutch Republic in 1602, and the Dutch had entered keenly into the competition for the colonial and imperial trade of commerce in Southeast Asia. The end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 saw European soldiers and refugees widely dispersed across Europe. Immigrants from Germany, Scandinavia, and Switzerland journeyed to Holland in the hope of finding employment at the VOC (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie). During the same year one of their ships was stranded in Table Bay, and the shipwrecked crew had to forage for themselves on shore for several months. They were so impressed with the natural resources of the country that on their return to the Republic, they represented to the directors of the company the great advantages to the Dutch Eastern trade to be had from a properly provided and fortified station of call at the Cape. The result was that in 1652, a Dutch expedition led by surgeon Jan van Riebeek constructed a fort and laid out vegetable gardens at Table Bay. 

Landing at Table Bay, Van Riebeek took control over Cape Town, and after ten years and one month of governing the settlement, in 1662, Jan van Riebieeck stepped down as Commander at the Cape.

Free Burghers

The VOC favoured the idea of freemen at the Cape and many settlers requested to be discharged in order to become free burghers, as a result Jan van Riebeeck approved the notion on favorable conditions and earmarked two areas near the Liesbeek River for farming purposes in 1657. The two areas which were allocated to the freemen, for agricultural purposes, were named 'Groeneveld' and 'Dutch Garden'. These areas were separated by the Amstel River (Liesbeek River). Nine of the best applicants were selected to use the land for agricultural purposes. The freemen or free burghers as they were afterwards termed, thus became subjects, and were no longer servants, of the Company.

In 1671 the Dutch first purchased land from the native Khoikhoi beyond the limits of the fort built by Van Riebeek; this marked the development of the Colony proper. As the result of the investigations of a 1685 commissioner, the government worked to recruit a greater variety of immigrants to develop a stable community. They formed part of the class of "vrijlieden", also known as "vrijburgers" (free citizens), former Company employees who remained at the Cape after serving their contracts. A large number of vrijburgers became independent farmers and applied for grants of land, as well as loans of seed and tools, from the Company administration.

Dutch Free Immigrants

The authorities of the East India Company had been endeavouring to induce gardeners and small farmers to emigrate from Europe to South Africa, but with little success. Now and again they were able to send out to their eastern possessions a few families who were attracted by the tales of wealth. But the Cape had little charm in comparison. In October 1670, however, the Chamber of Amsterdam announced that a few families were willing to leave for the Cape and Mauritius during the following December. Among the new names of burghers at this time are found those of Jacob and Dirk van Niekerk, Johannes van As, Francois Villion, Jacob Brouwer, Jan van Eden, Hermanus Potgieter, Albertus Gildenhuis, and Jacobus van den Berg. 

French Huguenots

Huguenot Memorial Museum

 

During 1688–1689, the colony was greatly strengthened by the arrival of nearly two hundred French Huguenots. Political refugees from the religious wars in France, following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, they were settled at Stellenbosch, Drakenstein, Franschhoek and Paarl. The influence of this small body of immigrants on the character of the Dutch settlers was marked. The Company in 1701 directed that only Dutch should be taught in the schools. This resulted in the Huguenots assimilating by the middle of the 18th century, with a loss to the community in the use and knowledge of French. The little settlement gradually spread eastwards, and in 1754 the country as far as Algoa Bay was included in the colony. 

At this time the European colonists numbered eight to ten thousand. They possessed numerous slaves, grew wheat in sufficient quantity to make it a commodity crop for export, and were famed for the good quality of their wines. But their chief wealth was in cattle. They enjoyed considerable prosperity. 

Through the latter half of the 17th and the whole of the 18th century, troubles arose between the colonists and the government. The administration of the Dutch East India Company was extremely despotic. Its policies were not directed at development of the colony, but to using it to profit the Company. The Company closed the colony against free immigration, kept the whole of the trade in its own hands, combined the administrative, legislative and judicial powers in one body, prescribed to the farmers the nature of the crops they were to grow, demanded a large part of their produce as a kind of tax, and made other exactions.

Trekboer

From time to time, servants in the direct employment of the company were endowed with the right of "freeburghers"; but the company retained the power to compel them to return into its service whenever they deemed it necessary. This right to force into servitude those who might incur the displeasure of the governor or other high officers was not only exercised with reference to the individuals themselves who had received this conditional freedom; it was claimed by the government to be applicable likewise to the children of all such. 

The effect of this tyranny was inevitable: it drove men to desperation. They fled from oppression, and even before 1700 trekking began. In 1780, Joachim van Plettenberg, the governor, proclaimed the Sneeuberge to be the northern boundary of the colony, expressing "the anxious hope that no more extension should take place, and with heavy penalties forbidding the rambling peasants to wander beyond." In 1789, so strong had feeling amongst the burghers become that delegates were sent from the Cape to interview the authorities at Amsterdam. After this deputation, some nominal reforms were granted.

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  Descending from the Sneeuberge, a scene near Graaff-Reinet, by Burchell
   
  
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  Passing Cradock Pass, Outeniqua Mountains, by Charles Collier Michell
   
  
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  An aquatint by Samuel Daniell of Trekboers making camp 
  
  
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  Trekboers crossing the Karoo by Charles Davidson Bell
  

It was largely to escape oppression that the farmers trekked farther and farther from the seat of government. The company, to control the emigrants, established a magistracy at Swellendam in 1745 and another at Graaff Reinet in 1786. The Gamtoos River had been declared, c. 1740, the eastern frontier of the colony; but it was soon passed. In 1780, however, the Dutch, to avoid collision with the warlike Bantu tribes advancing south and west from east central Africa, agreed with them to make the Great Fish River the common boundary. In 1795 the heavily taxed burghers of the frontier districts, who were afforded no protection against the Bantus, expelled the officials of the Dutch East India Company, and set up independent governments at Swellendam and Graaff Reinet. 

The Trek Boers of the 19th century were the lineal descendants of the Trek Boers of the 18th century. What they had learnt of government from the Dutch East India Company they carried into the wilderness with them. The end of the 19th century saw a revival of this same tyrannical monopolist policy in the Transvaal. If the formula, "In all things political, purely despotic; in all things commercial, purely monopolist," was true of the government of the Dutch East India Company in the 18th century, it was equally true of Kruger's government in the latter part of the 19th. 

The underlying fact which made the trek possible is that the Dutch-descended colonists in the eastern and northeastern parts of the colony were not cultivators of the soil, but of purely pastoral and nomadic habits, ever ready to seek new pastures for their flocks and herds, and possessing no special affection for any particular locality. These people, thinly scattered over a wide territory, had lived for so long with little restraint from law that when, in 1815, by the institution of "Commissions of Circuit", justice was brought nearer to their homes, various offences were brought to light, the remedying of which caused much resentment.

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  A map of the expansion of the Trekboers (1700–1800) 
  
  
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  Evolution of the Dutch Cape Colony (1700–1800) 
  
  
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  Administrative divisions of the Dutch Cape Colony
  

Invasion of the Cape Colony

The Invasion of the Cape Colony was a British military expedition launched in 1795 against the Dutch Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope. Holland having fallen under the revolutionary government of France, a British force under General Sir James Henry Craig was sent to Cape Town to secure the colony for the Prince of Orange, a refugee in England , from the French. The governor of Cape Town at first refused to obey the instructions from the prince; but, when the British proceeded to take forcible possession, he capitulated. His action was hastened by the fact that the Khoikhoi, deserting their former masters, flocked to the British standard. The burghers of Graaff Reinet did not surrender until a force had been sent against them; in 1799 and again in 1801 they rose in revolt. In February 1803, as a result of the peace of Amiens (February 1803), the colony was handed over to the Batavian Republic, which introduced many needed reforms, as had the British during their eight years' rule. One of the first acts of General Craig had been to abolish torture in the administration of justice. Still the country remained essentially Dutch, and few British settlers were attracted to it. Its cost to the British exchequer during this period was £16,000,000. The Batavian Republic entertained very liberal views as to the administration of the country, but they had little opportunity for giving them effect. 

When the War of the Third Coalition broke out in 1803, a British force was once more sent to the Cape. After an engagement (January 1806) on the shores of Table Bay, the Dutch garrison of Castle of Good Hope surrendered to the British under Sir David Baird, and in the 1814 Anglo-Dutch treaty the colony was ceded outright by Holland to the British crown. At that time the colony extended to the line of mountains guarding the vast central plateau, then called Bushmansland, and had an area of about 120,000 sq. m. and a population of some 60,000, of whom 27,000 were whites, 17,000 free Khoikhoi and the rest slaves, mostly imported blacks and Malays.

Dislike of British Rule

Although the colony was fairly prosperous, many of the Dutch farmers were as dissatisfied with British rule as they had been with that of the Dutch East India Company, though their grounds for complaint were not the same. In 1792, Moravian missions had been established for the benefit of the Khoikhoi, and in 1799 the London Missionary Society began work among both Khoikhoi and Bantus. The missionaries' championing of Khoikhoi grievances caused much dissatisfaction among the majority of the colonists, whose views temporarily prevailed, for in 1812 an ordinance was issued which empowered magistrates to bind Khoikhoi children as apprentices under conditions differing little from that of slavery. Meantime, however, the movement for the abolition of slavery was gaining strength in England, and the missionaries appealed from the colonists to the mother country. An incident which occurred in 1815–1816 did much to make permanent the hostility of the frontiersmen to the British.

Slachter's Nek

A farmer named Frederick Bezuidenhout refused to obey a summons issued on the complaint of a Khoikhoi, and, firing on the party sent to arrest him, was himself killed by the return fire. This caused a small rebellion, known as Slachters Nek, in 1815, called “the most insane attempt ever made by a set of men to wage war against their sovereign” Henry Cloete. Upon its suppression, five ringleaders were publicly hanged at the spot where they had sworn to expel “the English tyrants.” The feeling caused by the hanging of these men was deepened by the circumstances of the execution ,  for the scaffold on which the rebels were simultaneously hanged broke down from their united weight and the men were afterwards hanged one by one. An ordinance was passed in 1827, abolishing the old Dutch courts of landdrost and heemraden (resident magistrates being substituted) and establishing that henceforth all legal proceedings should be conducted in English. The granting in 1828, as a result of the representations of the missionaries, of equal rights with whites to the Khoikhoi and other free coloured people, the imposition (1830) of heavy penalties for harsh treatment of slaves, and finally the emancipation of the slaves in 1834, were measures which combined to aggravate the farmers' dislike of government. Moreover, the inadequate compensation awarded to slave-owners, and the suspicions engendered by the method of payment, caused much resentment; and in 1835 the farmers again removed to unknown country to escape an unloved government. Emigration beyond the colonial border had in fact been continuous for 150 years, but it now took on larger proportions.

Cape Frontier Wars (1779 - 1879)

Map of the Cape Colony in 1809, early British rule

 

The migration of the trekboere from the Cape Colony into the Eastern Cape parts of South Africa gave rise to a series of conflicts between the Boers and the Xhosas. In 1775 The Cape government established a boundary between the trekboere and the Xhosas at the Bushmans and Upper Fish Rivers. The Boers and the Xhosas ignored the boundary and both groups established homes on either side of the frontier. Governor van Plettenberg attempted to persuade both groups to respect the boundary line without success. The Boers were constantly harassed by cattle thieves and in 1779 a series of skirmishes erupted along the border which initiated the 1st Frontier War.

The frontier remained unstable, resulting in the outbreak of the 2nd Frontier War in 1789. Raids carried out by Boers and Xhosas on both sides of the boundary caused much friction in the area which resulted in several tribes being drawn into the conflict . In 1795, the British Invasion of the Cape Colony forced a change of government. After the government takeover the British began to draw up policies with regards to the frontier resulting in a Boer rebellion in Graaff-Reinet. The policies further caused the native Khoisan tribes joining the Xhosas in attacks against British forces during the 3rd Frontier War (1799 - 1803).

Peace were restored to the area when the British, under the Treaty of Amiens returned the Cape Colony to the Dutch Batavian Republic in 1803. In January 1806 during a second invasion, the British reoccupied the colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg. Tensions in the Zuurveld led the British administration and colonial forces to evict many of the Xhosa tribes from the area initiating the 4th Frontier War in 1811. Tribal Conflicts between the Xhosas on the frontier led to the beginning of the 5th Frontier War in 1819.

The Xhosas were disgruntled by certain government policies of the time which resulted in large scale cattle thefts on the frontier. The Cape government responded with several military expeditions. In 1834 a large Xhosa force moved into the Cape territory which began the 6th Frontier War. Additional fortifications were built by the government and mounted patrols were not well received by the Xhosas who continued with raids on farms during the 7th Frontier War (1846 - 1847). The 8th Frontier War (1850 - 1853) and the 9th Frontier War (1877 - 1878) continued at the same pace as its predecessors. Eventually the Xhosas were defeated and the territories were brought under British control.

Great Trek

A map charting the routes of the largest trekking parties during the first wave of the Great Trek (1835-1840) along with key battles and events.

 

The Great Trek occurred between 1835 and the early 1840s. During that period some 12,000 to 14,000 Boers (including women and children), impatient of British rule, emigrated from Cape Colony into the great plains beyond the Orange River, and across them again into Natal and the vastness of the Zoutspansberg, in the northern part of the Transvaal. Those Trekboere who occupied the eastern Cape were semi-nomadic. A significant number in the eastern Cape frontier later became Grensboere ("border farmers") who were the direct ancestors of the Voortrekkers. 

The Boers addressed several correspondence to the British Colonial Government before leaving the Cape Colony as reasons for their departure. Piet Retief, one of the leaders of the Boers during the time, addressed a letter to the government on the 22nd of January 1837 in Grahamstown stating that the Boers did not see any prospect for peace or happiness for their children in a country with such internal commotions. Retief further complained about the severe losses which they had to endure from the vexatious laws of the British administration. The Boers were unhappy about the continual frontier wars which caused many of their farms to be ruined. The Boers felt that the English church system weren't compatible with that of the Dutch Reformed Church. By this time the Boers had already formed a separate code of laws in preparation for the great trek and were aware of the dangerous territory they were about to enter. Retief then concluded his letter with "We quit this colony under the full assurance that the English Government has nothing more to require of us, and will allow us to govern ourselves without its interference in future". 

Boer states and republics

Boer and Griqua Republics

As the Voortrekkers progressed further inland, they continued to establish Boer settlements on the interior of South Africa.

Description	Dates	Area
Republic of Swellendam	1795	Swellendam, Western Cape
Republic of Graaff-Reinet	1795 - 1796	Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape
Zoutpansberg	1835 - 1864	Limpopo
Winburg	1836 - 1844	Free State
Potchefstroom	1837 - 1844	North West
Natalia Republic	1839 - 1902	Eastern Cape
Winburg-Potchefstroom	1844 - 1843	Potchefstroom, North West
Republic of Klip River	1847 - 1848	Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Lydenburg Republic	1849 - 1860	Lydenburg, Mpumalanga
Utrecht Republic	1852 - 1858	Utrecht, KwaZulu-Natal
South African Republic	1852 - 1877, 1881 - 1902	Gauteng, Limpopo
Orange Free State	1854 - 1902	Free State
Klein Vrystaat	1876 - 1891	Piet Retief, Mpumalanga
State of Goshen	1882 - 1883	North West
Republic of Stellaland	1882 - 1883	North West
United States of Stellaland	1883 - 1885	North West
New Republic	1884 - 1888	Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal
Republic of Upingtonia/Lijdensrust	1885 - 1887	Namibia

Anglo-Boer wars

Boer family traveling by covered wagon circa 1900

 

Though the Boers accepted British rule without resistance in 1877, they fought two Boer Wars in the late 19th century to defend their internationally recognised independent countries, the republics of the Transvaal (the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, or ZAR) and the Orange Free State (OFS), against the threat of annexation by the British Crown. This led the key figure in organising the resistance, Paul Kruger, into conflict with the British.

Boer War diaspora

After the second Anglo-Boer War, a Boer diaspora occurred. Starting in 1903, the largest group emigrated to the Patagonia region of Argentina. Another group emigrated to British-ruled Kenya, from where most returned to South Africa during the 1930s, while a third group under the leadership of General Ben Viljoen emigrated to Mexico and to New Mexico and Texas in the southwestern United States.

1914 Boer Revolt

The Maritz Rebellion (also known as the Boer Revolt, the Five Shilling Rebellion or the Third Boer War) occurred in 1914 at the start of World War I, in which men who supported the re-creation of the old Boer republics rose up against the government of the Union of South Africa because they did not want to side with the British against Germany so soon after a long bloody war with the British. 

Many Boers had German ancestry and many members of the government were themselves former Boer military leaders who had fought with the Maritz rebels against the British in the Second Boer War. The rebellion was put down by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts, and the ringleaders received heavy fines and terms of imprisonment. One, Jopie Fourie, was convicted for treason when, as an officer in the Union Defence Force, he refused to take up arms with the British, and was executed in 1914.

Characteristics

Language

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and, to a lesser extent, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland (Hollandic dialect) spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century. Hence, it is a daughter language of Dutch, and was previously referred to as "Cape Dutch" (a term also used to refer collectively to the early Cape settlers) or "kitchen Dutch" (a derogatory term used to refer to Afrikaans in its earlier days). However, it is also variously described as a creole or as a partially creolised language. The term is ultimately derived from Dutch Afrikaans-Hollands meaning "African Dutch".

Culture

Painting depicting the Bullock waggons moving over the billowy plains, January 2, 1860

 

The desire to wander, known as trekgees, was a notable characteristic of the Boers. It figured prominently in the late 17th century when the Trekboere began to inhabit the northern and eastern Cape frontiers, again during the Great Trek when the Voortrekkers left the eastern Cape en masse, and after the major republics were established during the Thirstland (Dorsland) Trek. When one such trekker was asked why he has emigrated he explained, "a drifting spirit was in our hearts, and we ourselves could not understand it. We just sold our farms and set out northwestwards to find a new home." A rustic characteristic and tradition was developed quite early on as Boer society was born on the frontiers of white settlement and on the outskirts of civilisation.

The Boer quest for independence manifested in a tradition of declaring republics, which predates the arrival of the British; when the British arrived, Boer republics had already been declared and were in rebellion from the VOC (Dutch East India Company).

Beliefs

The Boers of the frontier were known for their independent spirit, resourcefulness, hardiness, and self-sufficiency, whose political notions verged on anarchy but had begun to be influenced by republicanism. Most of the men were also skilled with the use of guns as they would hunt and also were able to protect their families with them.

The Boers had cut their ties to Europe as they emerged from the Trekboer group.

The Boers possessed a distinct Calvinist culture and the majority of Boers and their descendants were members of a Reformed Church. The Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk was the national Church of the South African Republic (1852–1902). The Orange Free State (1854–1902) was named after the Protestant House of Orange in the Netherlands.

The Calvinist influence, in such fundamental Calvinist doctrines such as unconditional predestination and divine providence, remains present in much of Boer culture, who see their role in society as abiding by the national laws and accepting calamity and hardship as part of their Christian duty.

A small number of Boers may also be members of Baptist, Pentecostal or Lutheran Churches.

Modern usage

During recent times, mainly during the apartheid reform and post-1994 eras, some white Afrikaans-speaking people, mainly with "conservative" political views and of Trekboer and Voortrekker descent, have chosen to be called "Boere", rather than "Afrikaners," to distinguish their identity. They believe that many people of Voortrekker descent were not assimilated into what they see as the Cape-based Afrikaner identity. They suggest that this developed after the Second Anglo-Boer War and the subsequent establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Certain Boer nationalists have asserted that they do not identify as a right-wing element of the political spectrum.

They contend that the Boers of the South African Republic (ZAR) and Orange Free State republics were recognised as a separate people or cultural group under international law by the Sand River Convention (which created the South African Republic in 1852), the Bloemfontein Convention (which created the Orange Free State Republic in 1854), the Pretoria Convention (which re-established the independence of the South African Republic 1881), the London Convention (which granted the full independence to the South African Republic in 1884), and the Vereeniging Peace Treaty, which formally ended the Second Anglo-Boer War on 31 May 1902. Others contend, however, that these treaties dealt only with agreements between governmental entities and do not imply the recognition of a Boer cultural identity per se. 

The supporters of these views feel that the Afrikaner designation (or label) was used from the 1930s onwards as a means of unifying (politically at least) the white Afrikaans speakers of the Western Cape with those of Trekboer and Voortrekker descent (whose ancestors began migrating eastward during the late 17th century and throughout the 18th century and later northward during the Great Trek of the 1830s) in the north of South Africa, where the Boer Republics were established.

Since the Anglo-Boer war, the term "Boerevolk" was rarely used in the 20th century by the various regimes because of the effort to assimilate the Boerevolk with the Afrikaners. A portion of those who are the descendants of the Boerevolk have reasserted use of this designation.

The supporters of the "Boer" designation view the term "Afrikaner" as an artificial political label which usurped their history and culture, turning "Boer" achievements into "Afrikaner" achievements. They feel that the Western-Cape based Afrikaners – whose ancestors did not trek eastwards or northwards – took advantage of the republican Boers' destitution following the Anglo-Boer War. At that time, the Afrikaners attempted to assimilate the Boers into a new politically based cultural label as "Afrikaners".

In contemporary South Africa, Boer and Afrikaner have often been used interchangeably. The Boers are the smaller segment within the Afrikaner designation, as the Afrikaners of Cape Dutch origin are more numerous. Afrikaner directly translated means "African," and thus refers to all Afrikaans-speaking people in Africa who have their origins in the Cape Colony founded by Jan Van Riebeeck. Boer is the specific group within the larger Afrikaans-speaking population.

Politics

• Boere-Vryheidsbeweging
• Boerestaat Party
• Freedom Front Plus
• Front National
• Herstigte Nasionale Party
• National Conservative Party of South Africa

Education

The BCVO (Movement for Christian-National Education) is a federation of 47 Calvinist private schools, primarily in the Free State and the Transvaal, committed to educating Boer children from grade 0 through to 12.

Media

Some local Radio stations promote the ideals of those who identify with the Boer people, like Radio Rosestad (in Bloemfontein), Overvaal Stereo and Radio Pretoria. An internet-based radio station, Boerevolk Radio, serves as a mouthpiece for Boer separatists.

Territories

Territorial areas in the form of a Boerestaat(Farmer's State) are being developed as settlements exclusively for Boer/Afrikaners, notably Orania in the Northern Cape and Kleinfontein near Pretoria.

Notable Boers

Voortrekker leaders

• Sarel Cilliers
• Andries Hendrik Potgieter
• Andries Pretorius
• Piet Retief

Great trek

• Racheltjie de Beer
• Dirkie Uys
• Marthinus Jacobus Oosthuizen

Participants in the Second Anglo-Boer War

• Koos de la Rey, general and regarded as being one of the great military leaders of the Second Anglo-Boer War.
• Danie Theron, soldier
• Christiaan Rudolf de Wet, general
• Siener van Rensburg, considered a prophet by some.

Politicians

• Louis Botha, first prime minister of South Africa (1910–1919) and former Boer general
• Petrus Jacobus Joubert, general and cabinet member of the Transvaal Republic
• Paul Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic
• Martinus Theunis Steyn, 6th State President of the Orange Free State
• Eugene Terre'Blanche, founder of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging

Spies

• Robey Leibbrandt
• Fritz Joubert Duquesne, Boer captain known as the Black Panther, served in the Second Boer War. Captured in Mozambique, he escaped prison in Portugal and returned to South Africa as a British officer. In 1901, he was caught planning to sabotage strategic British installations in Cape Town and sentenced to life in prison; however, he escaped and was re-captured several times again throughout his life. In World War I, Duquesne spied for Germany, earning the Iron Cross for allegedly sinking HMS Hampshire thereby killing Lord Kitchener in 1916. He also served as a Nazi spy in the United States and, in 1941, he was caught by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the largest espionage case in US history: The Duquesne Spy Ring.