A Rainbow of Heritage: My Family’s Extraordinary Journey from Holland to Africa and Britain

Every family has a story. Some begin in a small village, others in a distant country. Mine stretches across continents, through generations of migration, colonial history, conflict, adventure and the changing landscapes of southern Africa.

When I look at an old family photograph, I see more than the faces of people who lived before me. I see the beginnings of a journey that would eventually take my ancestors from Holland to South Africa, north into Rhodesia, onwards to Zambia and Malawi, and finally bring me to Britain.

It is a story of different cultures, traditions and identities coming together.

I often think of myself as a rainbow of heritage.

And every colour has its own story.

My Dutch Roots and Boer Heritage

My father's ancestry takes me back to Holland, where earlier generations of my family originated before making the journey to southern Africa.

Those ancestors became part of the Dutch-descended Afrikaner community, whose history is deeply connected to the development of South Africa.

My paternal grandfather was a Wantenaar, while my grandmother was a fiercely proud Pretorius.

The Pretorius name carries considerable historical significance in South Africa. It is associated with generations of Afrikaner settlers, the Great Trek and the establishment of Boer republics during the nineteenth century.

Among the best-known historical figures bearing the name were Andries Pretorius, a prominent Voortrekker leader, and his son Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, who became an important political figure in the Boer republics.

Although sharing a surname does not necessarily establish direct descent from these individuals, the Pretorius name remains an important connection to my family's Afrikaner heritage.

I have always found something fascinating about the determination of those earlier generations who travelled enormous distances, often under difficult conditions, seeking opportunities and building new lives.

Their world was vastly different from the one we know today.

There were no modern highways, mobile telephones or convenient international flights. Migration meant uncertainty, hardship and sometimes considerable danger.

Yet those journeys ultimately shaped the lives of generations who followed.

The Anglo-Boer War and the Journey North

One of the defining chapters in Afrikaner history was the Second Anglo-Boer War, fought between 1899 and 1902.

The conflict between the British Empire and the two Boer republics — the South African Republic and the Orange Free State — left a profound mark on southern Africa.

It was a devastating war, remembered for its guerrilla campaigns, destruction of farms and the suffering of civilians, including those held in concentration camps.

The conflict also involved Black African communities, whose experiences and losses form an essential part of the broader history.

For many families, the years surrounding the war brought enormous upheaval.

My father's family history is connected to this turbulent period. Following the Boer War, earlier generations eventually moved north into what was then Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

It was in Rhodesia that my father was born.

That migration represented another chapter in our family's journey through southern Africa.

Like many families who moved across the region, my ancestors lived through periods of profound political and social change.

Countries changed names, borders acquired new meanings, and successive generations found themselves living under entirely different governments.

Yet family identities, traditions and memories continued to be passed down.

From Rhodesia to Northern Rhodesia — Where My Story Began

My own life began in Ndola, Northern Rhodesia's successor state, Zambia.

I was born in Northern Rhodesia became the independent Republic of Zambia.

By then, my family's history had already crossed several borders and generations.

I grew up in Mufulira, a town closely associated with Zambia's Copperbelt, before my life became increasingly connected with Malawi.

Southern Africa was not simply somewhere my family had settled.

It was home.

The landscapes, the people, the wildlife and the extraordinary natural environment became part of my identity.

Growing up in Africa gave me an appreciation for the continent that has never left me.

It was a place of enormous contrasts — bustling towns and remote wilderness, extraordinary beauty and difficult realities.

I learned to appreciate the resilience of people living close to the land, the complexity of African cultures and the importance of understanding the natural world.

Those experiences would eventually influence the direction of my life in ways I could never have imagined.

British and African Blood — My Mother's Family

Although my father's ancestry connects me to the Dutch and Boer communities of southern Africa, my mother's family adds another fascinating dimension to my heritage.

Through my maternal grandfather, I inherited British ancestry, while my maternal grandmother connects me to my African roots in Malawi.

My maternal grandfather, Manser William Bartlett, came from Richmond upon Thames in England and served as a pilot during the First World War.

My maternal grandmother, Alice Abiti Ndala, came from Malawi's Yao heritage.

These two branches of my family represent very different histories and cultural traditions.

One connects me to Britain and its European past. The other connects me directly to the people, traditions and ancestral heritage of Africa.

Together, they form an essential part of who I am.

I have never believed that a person's identity must be confined to one nationality, one culture or one ancestral background.

My family history is evidence that human lives are often far more interconnected than the labels we use to describe ourselves.

I carry Dutch, Boer, British and African heritage, and I am proud of every part of it.

Malawi — The Country That Shaped My Life

Although I was born in Zambia, Malawi became the country where so much of my life unfolded.

It was there that my fascination with wildlife developed into something much more serious.

I eventually became a licensed professional crocodile hunter, spending approximately ten years undertaking problem animal control work in areas where dangerous crocodiles threatened human lives.

The rivers, marshes and remote communities of southern Malawi became familiar territory.

I spent countless hours along the Shire River and in the Elephant Marsh, learning about crocodile behaviour, working with local communities and confronting situations that few people outside that environment would ever experience.

Those years provided the experiences that eventually became my first published book, Memoirs of a Real Crocodile Hunter.

But my relationship with Africa was never limited to crocodile hunting.

Over more than two decades, I also devoted considerable effort to wildlife conservation and habitat restoration at Mpatamanga Wildlife Ranch, overlooking the Shire River in Malawi.

That work became the subject of my second book, Mpatamanga: My Twenty-Year Fight for Africa's Wild Places.

Looking back, I can see how my family's long history of migration and adaptation influenced my own determination to pursue an unconventional life.

I was not following a family profession or a predetermined career path.

I was following something that had become deeply personal — my connection to Africa and its wildlife.

From Africa to Britain — Another Chapter in the Family Story

In 2020, I left Malawi and moved to Britain.

It was another significant migration in a family history already marked by journeys between countries and continents.

Yet there was something particularly meaningful about this move.

Through my maternal grandfather, Britain had always formed part of my ancestry.

Now, generations later, I was making a new life in the country from which part of my family had originated.

In October 2026, I formally became a British citizen.

Receiving my first British passport was a particularly proud moment.

For me, British citizenship represents more than a legal status or a travel document.

It represents another chapter in a remarkable family journey.

My ancestors travelled from Europe to Africa. Generations later, I travelled from Africa to Britain.

In some ways, the journey has come full circle.

But becoming British has not diminished my African identity.

If anything, it has encouraged me to reflect more deeply on where I came from and the experiences that shaped my life.

Today, I proudly describe myself as a British author, conservationist and former licensed crocodile hunter.

And, with a certain sense of humour and pride, Britain's Crocodile Hunter.

A Rainbow of Heritage — More Than One Identity

South Africa is often called the Rainbow Nation, a description associated with its many cultures, languages and communities.

I have always appreciated the symbolism of that expression.

A rainbow is made up of different colours, each distinct, yet together forming something remarkable.

That is how I see my own heritage.

My Dutch ancestors brought one history.

My Boer ancestors brought another.

My British grandfather contributed a different family tradition, while my African grandmother connects me to the people and ancestral lands of Malawi.

My birthplace in Zambia, my upbringing and experiences in Malawi, and my present life in Britain have all contributed to the person I have become.

I do not see these identities as competing with one another.

They belong together.

Of course, the history of southern Africa is not without difficult chapters. Colonialism, war, displacement and racial division affected countless families and communities.

Understanding our heritage also means acknowledging those realities rather than romanticising the past.

I can take pride in the resilience and achievements of my ancestors while recognising that the wider history in which they lived was often complicated and painful.

For me, appreciating heritage is not about claiming superiority or attaching greater importance to one ancestry over another.

It is about understanding where we came from and respecting the different histories that brought us here.

Why Family History Matters

As generations pass, family stories can easily disappear.

Photographs become separated from their original owners. Names are forgotten. Important details are lost.

An old photograph may survive for a century, yet nobody remembers who the people were or what their lives were like.

That is why I believe it is important to preserve family history whenever possible.

My books have largely focused on my own experiences in Africa, but increasingly I recognise that my personal story forms only one chapter in a much longer family narrative.

Before I ever set foot in the African bush, generations of my ancestors had already experienced their own journeys, hardships and adventures.

Their decisions helped determine where I would be born, where I would grow up and, ultimately, the life I would lead.

Perhaps that is one of the most fascinating things about ancestry.

We inherit far more than surnames and family photographs.

We inherit stories, traditions, opportunities and the consequences of decisions made long before we existed.

And eventually, we become responsible for passing those stories on.

Forever a Son of Africa

Today, as I look back across my family's extraordinary journey, I feel a deep sense of connection to several countries.

The Netherlands represents my distant paternal ancestry.

South Africa represents my Boer and Afrikaner heritage.

Rhodesia was my father's birthplace.

Zambia was mine.

Malawi became the country where I grew up, raised a family, pursued my adventures and devoted much of my life to wildlife.

And Britain is now my home and my country of citizenship.

Each place has contributed something to my story.

Yet if someone asks me where I truly belong, my answer remains deeply personal.

Africa is not simply where I was born. It is where my character was formed, where my greatest adventures unfolded and where so much of my heart remains.

I am proud of my British citizenship, my Dutch ancestry, my Boer heritage and my African roots.

I see no contradiction in celebrating them all.

After all, a person's identity need not be limited by the borders drawn on a map.

We are shaped by our ancestors, our experiences, our values and the places we have called home.

And my own family history reminds me that migration has been part of that human story for generations.

🇳🇱 Holland → 🇿🇦 South Africa → 🇿🇼 Rhodesia → 🇿🇲 Zambia → 🇲🇼 Malawi → 🇬🇧 Britain.

I am a rainbow of heritage.

Dutch by ancestry. Boer by heritage. British and African by blood.

British by citizenship.

But forever, a son of Africa.

Ian Bartlett is a British author, conservationist and former licensed professional crocodile hunter who spent much of his life in southern Africa. He is the author of Memoirs of a Real Crocodile Hunter and Mpatamanga: My Twenty-Year Fight for Africa's Wild Places.

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