The name 'De Beers' was derived from the two Dutch settlers, brothers Diederik Arnoldus De Beer (25 December 1825 – 1878) and Johannes Nicolaas De Beer (6 December 1830 – 20 June 1883), who owned a South African farm named "Vooruitzicht" (Dutch for "prospect" or "outlook") near Zandfontein in the Boshof District of Orange Free State. After they discovered diamonds on their land, the increasing demands of the British government forced them to sell their farm on 31 July 1871 to merchant Alfred Johnson Ebden (1820–1908) for £6,600. "Vooruitzicht" would become the site of the Big Hole and the De Beers mine, two successful diamond mines. Their name, which was given to one of the mines, subsequently became associated with the company.