Cape Dutch are people of the
Western Cape of
South Africa who descended primarily from
Dutch,
Flemish,
French,
German and other
European immigrants along with a percentage of their Asian and African slaves, who, from the 17th century into the 19th century, remained more or less loyal subjects of European (first Dutch, later
British) powers. Meanwhile, their pastoral trekking kinsmen, the
Trekboers, were migrating away from the Western Cape to carve out a distinct culture and dialect with a strong desire for independence. The term
Cape Dutch is believed to have been coined by Trekboers to show that the Cape Dutch did not share the Trekboers' culture and interests or desire for independence. The Cape Dutch tended to have not much affinity for their rustic Trekboer kinsmen, whose language, culture, and frontier lifestyle they sometimes deemed inferior.