Person

Piet Retief

1780–1838 · 19th century · Also known as Pieter Mauritz Retief

Piet Retief was a Voortrekker leader from the eastern Cape Colony who led a party of emigrants into Natal during the Great Trek. In February 1838, while negotiating a land grant, he and his companions were killed on the orders of the Zulu king Dingane at uMgungundlovu. Their deaths led to the Battle of Blood River later that year.

Piet Retief
Image: Joonas Lyytinen, Käyttäjä:Joonasl · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Zulu KingdomGovernance

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Batlokwa ChiefdomNatalia RepublicKlein Vrystaat

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Piet Retief. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-retief
MLA
“Piet Retief.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-retief. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Piet Retief.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-retief.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Piet Retief’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-retief (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻