Pretorius, Andries

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Pretorius, Andries (1799–1853) Afrikaner leader in the Great Trek (1835) to Natal. He defeated the Zulus in 1838. Pretorius was instrumental in establishing the independence of Transvaal as the South African Republic (1852). His son, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (1819–1901), served as first president of the new republic (1857–71) and of Orange Free State (1859–63). In 1881, Marthinus retired after victory in the first of the South African Wars. See also Kruger

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