To survive, they had to take control of their own destiny instead of relying on the VOC. They could not survive within the confines of the VOC's territory and had to transform into true frontiersmen and make Africa their own. The shift to livestock farming was now irreversible. With their wagons, they trekked into the arid and dangerous interior with the sole purpose of surviving. They bartered cattle with the Khoi-Khoi, grazed their cattle and they hunted. This marked the beginning of the Trekboer era, laying the foundation for the Boer cultural identity. As De Kiewiet put it: "In the long
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