Afrikaners, af ruh KAH nuhrz, are people of Dutch, German, or French ancestry who live in South Africa. Most Afrikaners are of Dutch descent. The first Afrikaners were colonists sent to South Africa in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company, a trading firm (see Dutch East India Company). Many of the colonists became farmers in what is now the area around Cape Town. Afrikaners are also called Boers. Boer is a Dutch term meaning farmer. The language the Afrikaners speak, called Afrikaans, is derived from Dutch.