Written and presented by David Dimbleby
On a clear Sunday morning in December 1838, 460 Boers, trekking away from British-ruled South Africa in search of a place of their own, were attacked by a Zulu army of over 10,000. Astonishingly the Boers repelled them, killing 3,000 Zulus for only three of their men wounded, a spectacular victory which convinced them God was on their side.
The Battle of Blood River is still remembered today. 'It's the most important date in the history of South Africa,' says Riaan Kriel, farmer and church elder. 'It's Blood River that will have to keep the Afrikaner going in the years that lie ahead.'
Today the Afrikaners, a tiny minority of two-and-a-half million, rule South Africa, dominating not only the blacks but all the other whites as well. The first in this series of four films looks at their time as the underdogs and the lessons it teaches them now they are accused of being the oppressors.