THE EARLY HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA

EVOLUTION OF AFRICAN SOCIETIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

SOUTH AFRICA: THE EARLY INHABITANTS . . . . . . . . . .5

THE KHOISAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6The San (Bushmen) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6The Khoikhoi (Hottentots) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

BLACK SETTLEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

THE NGUNI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9The Xhosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10The Zulu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11The Ndebele . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12The Swazi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

THE SOTHO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13The Western Sotho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14The Southern Sotho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14The Northern Sotho (Bapedi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

THE VENDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

THE MASHANGANA-TSONGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

THE MFECANE/DIFAQANE (Total war)Dingiswayo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Shaka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Dingane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Mzilikazi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Soshangane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Mmantatise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Sikonyela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Moshweshwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Consequences of the Mfecane/Difaqane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

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EUROPEAN INTERESTS

The Portuguese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24The British . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24The Dutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25The French . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

THE SLAVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

THE TREKBOERS (MIGRATING FARMERS) . . . . . . . . . . .27

EUROPEAN OCCUPATIONS OF THE CAPE

British Occupation (1795 - 1803) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Batavian rule 1803 - 1806 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Second British Occupation: 1806 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31British Governors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Slagtersnek Rebellion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32The British Settlers 1820 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

THE GREAT TREK

Causes of the Great Trek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34Different Trek groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Trichardt and Van Rensburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Andries Hendrik Potgieter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Gerrit Maritz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Piet Retief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Piet Uys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Voortrekkers in Zululand and Natal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37Voortrekker settlement in the Transvaal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38Voortrekker settlement in the Orange Free State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

THE DISCOVERY OF DIAMONDS AND GOLD . . . . . . . . .41

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EVOLUTION OF AFRICANSOCIETIES

Humankind had its earliest origins in Africaand the story of life in South Africa hasproven to be a micro-study of life on thecontinent of Africa. South Africa is a richstore of fossil evidence that has helped toshed much light on the evolutionary history ofhumankind, going back several million years.

The history of man in Africa is marked by therise of complex societies (chiefdoms andstates), migrations, agriculture andpastoralism (a way of life in which people’slivelihood depends on the herding of animalswithin a certain area. When the naturalresources are depleted, the herders move onto the next area with similar resources, and anomadic lifestyle is created).

The introduction of iron changed the Africancontinent irrevocably and was a large stepforwards in the development of the people.Mainly, it created the potential for agriculture,which changed the lifestyles of the Africanpeople forever. Population numbers rose anda pattern of migration started. The nomadiclifestyle was no longer the only way to liveand people were starting to intrude on eachother’s territories. However, while farmingwith implements changed the way of life inAfrica, just as it did in Europe, other ways oflife were equally important. Nomadic herderswere successful in the central part of Africa inthe great savannas. Hunters and gathererscontinued to survive in limited areas such asthe Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, wherelife has changed very little over the last 10 000 years.

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Another complication of the Iron Agewas that populations grew morecomplex and social structures wereaffected. The histories of Africankingdoms, passed on by word ofmouth, usually tell of a male founderwho persuaded or forced people toaccept his rule. Many of theselegends refer to the founder-king as ablacksmith, reminding us of the greatimpact that iron had on Africansocial history.

Almost all the myths also refer to thepresence of supernatural authoritybehind the power of the ruler. Africansocieties were held together by socialcontrol that was tied to thissupernatural force. The masks andforms of dress unique to Africansocieties, still serve as a reminder oftheir strong links to the spiritualworld.

In short, the story of Africa is one ofcontrast and diversity, a tribute to allthe people who adapted to thechallenges of nature with enthusiasmand courage.

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SOUTH AFRICA: THE EARLY INHABITANTS

The history of man in South Africa covers such a vast period of time that it is difficult to knowexactly where to start. A possible start could be the development of Hominidae (human race), fivemillion years ago, or 2,3 million years ago with the development of the genus Homo.Archaeologists have found evidence that both Homo habilis and Homo erectus inhabited southernAfrica.

Archaeological evidence suggests that modern humans have lived in South Africa for over 100 000years. Most scientists believe that the Khoisan are probably the descendants of the Late Stone Agepeoples and evidence has shown that they were living in southern Africa long before either theblacks or the whites. Among this evidence is rock art created by the Khoisan some 26 000 yearsago. The earliest distinctively Black inhabitants are believed to have arrived significantly later thanthe Khoisan.

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THE KHOISAN

The term “Khoisan” has been used to describe a broad similarity in cultural and biologicalorigins. It is derived from the names “Khoikhoi” and “San”. “Khoikhoi” was the original nameused by the Hottentots in reference to themselves and “San” was the name the Bushmen usedwhen they referred to themselves. This term was invented because it is often difficult todistinguish clearly between both the past and present “San” and their “Khoikhoi” neighbours,especially after significant changes had occurred in their lifestyles. The Khoisan and the Blackpeoples are believed to have merged from common gene pools but to have developed separately.

The San (Bushmen)

Up to as recently as 3 000 years ago, all theinhabitants of southern Africa depended onhunting game and gathering wild plant foodsfor their survival. However, by the middle ofthe 20th century A.D., the influence ofpastoral, agricultural and industrial societieshad caused most hunter-gatherers to becomeassimilated into new ways of life, to havebeen wiped out by their enemies in conflictsover land or to have died from the diseasesbrought by the new inhabitants.Consequently, hunter-gatherers could befound only in and around the near-desertKalahari basin.

The hunter-gatherers of Southern Africahave been called by many names:“Bushmen”, “San” or “Sonqua”,“Soaqua”, “Sarwa” or “Basarwa”, and“Twa”, all basically meaning, “thosewithout domestic livestock”.

The San are much shorter than membersof the Black group - the average height ofan adult is approximately 1,5 m and theircomplexion is yellowish. They probablyoriginated on the north coast of Africa andwere then driven further and further southby stronger nations. When the Sanreached the southern point of Africa, theBlack tribes were primarily still living inthe tropical and equatorial parts of Africa.

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The migration of the Blacktribes to southern Africacaused the San to meet upwith them again aftermillennia of separation. Italso brought them in contactwith the phenomenon ofagriculture andstockbreeding (pastoralindustry). As hunter-gatherers, it was thewomen’s work to gatherfood and the men’s work tohunt with bows and arrows.The hunters smeared poison,gathered from certain beetlesor snakes on the arrowheads,which would paralyse or killtheir prey.

The San were known to beexcellent trackers, a skillthat helped them to survivefor so long on the land. Theylived in caves or sheltersmade of branches built nearwaterholes, so that drinkingwater would be near andanimals could easily behunted.

The San people have left usan invaluable legacy of rockart and their paintings,depicting their way of lifeand their religious beliefs,can still be found all overthe country. They give us aglimpse into the lives ofthese tough little people,capable of such courage andcompassion that they couldsurvive on the land for sucha long time, withoutdestroying all they touched.

There is a small group ofSan in the Kalahari Desert inSouth Africa, today, who aretrying to live as their pre-decessors did. It has,however, become increas-ingly difficult for them andmost of them have turned toeither agriculture orstockbreeding to make aliving.

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The Khoikhoi (Hottentots)

The Khoikhoi adopted a pastoralist lifestyle (anomadic lifestyle based on herding of cattle)some 2 000 years ago and adapted theircultural lives accordingly. Like the San, theKhoikhoi also had a yellowish complexionbut they were bigger in size. This can beattributed to the fact that their staple diet wasprotein. Their whole lives revolved aroundtheir cattle and they were constantly on themove in search of better grazing for theircattle and sheep. The Khoikhoi had perfectedtheir nomadic way of life to a fine art. Theyslept on reed mats in dome shaped huts madefrom stripped branches which could be takenapart easily to facilitate moving. Their hutswere erected in a circle formation so that theanimals could sleep in the middle. A fenceof thorny branches was constructed aroundthe circle of huts to keep intruders fromentering. In addition to milk and meat, theirdiet consisted of berries, roots and bulbs.Sometimes, like the San, the Khoikhoi usedbows and arrows to hunt.

Some scientists believe that the Khoikhoioriginally came from the great lakes of Africaand only migrated to Southern Africa longafter the San. Other scientists, however, are ofthe opinion that the Khoikhoi shepherdsevolved from hunter-gatherer communities inSouthern Africa. Language studies haveproven that certain languages spoken by the

San are remarkably similar to certainKhoikhoi dialects and some linguists haveeven mentioned the possibility that theKhoikhoi language developed out of a Sanlanguage. This is another reason forcombining the words “Khoi” and “San” into“Khoisan”. But the word also refers to thedeeper connection between the two peoples,which originated when they started to marryinto each other’s tribes and, in this way,became one people.

With the arrival of the black and later thewhite people in South Africa, trouble startedfor the Khoisan. The San regarded thefarmers’ cattle as game and started huntingthem and the Khoikhoi saw the farmers asintruders on their grazing fields. This causedmuch strife between the different groups.Eventually, the San moved to drier parts suchas Namibia and Botswana.

Once Europeans began to colonise the Cape,the Khoikhoi lifestyle began to change as thecolonists began to intrude on their livingspace and they were eventually reduced to astate of servitude. The population of theKhoikhoi was also severely reduced bywarring and epidemics such as smallpox.They eventually became detribalised andstarted mixing with the freed slaves. Becauseof all these changes, the Khoikhoi ceased toexist as a nation, although they numberednearly 100 000 when the Dutch arrived in1652.

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BLACK SETTLEMENT

With the development of the iron blade,reaping became easier and agriculture took ona whole new meaning. Populations grewfaster than before and people wereencroaching on each other ’s land. Thisnecessitated an enlargement of territory,which led to the migration of African peoplesfrom the Great Lakes in central Africa, to theNorth, East and South of Africa. Someanthropologists believe that this migrationprocess could have taken up to 2 000 years.

Some 2 000 years ago, when the first wavesof black settlers began arriving in southernAfrica, they brought with them theadvantages of an Iron Age culture, farmingskills and domesticated crops. After they hadsettled in the eastern parts of South Africa,they eventually spread out across the highveld some 1 000 years ago, because of theirneed for more land on which to practise theirgrowing cattle culture. The first Africansettlements in South Africa were mainly inthe Transvaal and Natal areas.

In the African culture, chiefdoms were basedon control over cattle, which gave rise tosocial systems of protection (patronage) andhierarchies of authority within communities.The exchange of cattle formed the basis ofpolygamous marriage arrangements. Thissystem operated on the basis of social powerbuilt through control over the labour of kingroups and dependants.

The development of metalworking skillspromoted specialisation of products and tradebetween regions followed. The differentchiefdoms settled in different patterns;dispersed homesteads were found in thefertile coastal regions to the east, andconcentrated in towns in the desert fringes tothe west. In the western half of the country,rainfall was low and desert conditionsprevailed and the African farmers were notinterested in settling there. These dry regionsremained a safe haven of the Khoikhoi andthe San. The African settlement patterns hadthe effect that, for the first century and a halfof European settlement, the African farmerswere hardly affected by the white presence atall.

The black population of South Africa isdivided into several ethnic groups, of whichthe Nguni forms a major part. Other maingroups are the Sotho, the Venda and theShangaan-Tsonga.

THE NGUNI

The Nguni group migrated along the easternpart of southern Africa in their southwardmove from central Africa. Some groups splitoff and settled along the way, while otherskept going. Thus, the following settlementpattern formed: the Swazi in the north, theZulu towards the east and the Xhosa in thesouth. Owing to the fact that these people hada common origin, their languages and culturesshow marked similarities.

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The Xhosa

The first Xhosa tribes arrived in the 14th century in the area known as the Transkei. At first, theysettled in this area but, in time, moved further southwards until they met up with the whitesettlers at the Fish River, in 1788. At this point, the Xhosa had already been living in the areanear the Fish River for more than a hundred years. In their move to the Fish River, clashes withthe Khoikhoi (Hottentots) often occurred but they eventually defeated the Khoikhoi.

Many of the Xhosa tribes chose to settle along the south-eastern coast of Africa. These weredivided mainly into the Thembu section and the Mpondo section.

Some other Xhosa tribes such as the Fingo, Bhaca, Nhlangwini and Xesibe chose to settle in theeastern part of the Transkei.

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The Zulu

While the Xhosa tribes migrated to the Transkei and the Ciskei, other Nguni tribes such as theZulu, chose to remain in Natal. In 1806, there were a large number of tribes in the area and therewere four important and well-known ones. The Zulu tribe which, during the early nineteenthcentury, was only a small tribe, had settled between the Umhlatuse and the Umfolozi Rivers. Thetribe’s first leader was Malandela and the tribe was named after his son Zulu. The Mtethwa tribelived east of the Zulu and was a strong tribe under a strong leader called Dingiswayo. The Qwabetribe lived south of the Mtethwa and its first leader was called Phakatwayo. The Ndandwe tribewas also powerful and its first leader was named Zwide. The Ndandwe lived north of theMtethwa.

The Ndebele

Some Nguni groups migrated from Natal to Transvaal in the middle of the 17th century. TheNdebele constituted two important groups. The northern group settled in the area around thetowns today known as Pietersburg and Potgietersrus. Intermingling between them and the NorthSotho took place and this ultimately caused language changes. Important tribes constituting thissection of the Ndebele are the Langa and the Moletlana.

The southern group of the Ndebele people migrated to the southern part of the Transvaal underthe leadership of their chief Msi. After Msi died, his two sons, Manala and Ndzundza, foundedtwo tribes and split up the southern section of the Ndebele people. They settled in the districtsaround the towns today known as Middelburg (Transvaal), Bronkhorstspruit, Bethal and Belfast.These tribes became known as the Manala and Ndzundza, after their founders.

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The Swazi

During the 19th century, Swaziland was homenot only to Nguni tribes but also to Sothotribes. The Ngwane tribe under the leadershipof paramount chief Sobhuza became verystrong after 1820. Mswazi, who ruled from1840 until 1875, succeeded him andincorporated the Sotho tribes into his tribe ordrove them out of the area. These changesmade the Swazi nation take shape and thenew nation was called after its founder.

Small groups of Swazi people trekked acrossthe border into the Transvaal. These groupsconstituted tribes such as the Nkosi, Shongweand Khumalo who today live in the districtsof Barberton and Nelspruit. The Hhlatyawakolive in the districts of Paul Pietersburg andPiet Retief, together with some other Swazitribes.

THE SOTHO

While the Nguni group, living in the easternparts of the country, was moving southwards,the Sotho group, which was living at the edge

of the Kalahari, was doing the same. Thissporadic movement to the south took place

before the year 1600. These people hadoriginally also come from the area around the

Great Lakes in central Africa. One of themost important tribes was the Kgalagadi who

settled in Botswana.

Other Sotho groups migrated as far as theOrange River. During the Mfecane/Difaqane

(displacement of black peoples due tointertribal warring and hunger) the Sotho

suffered greatly under other tribes withleaders such as Mzilikazi and Mmantatise.

The Sotho ethnic group is today divided intothree main groups: the Western Sotho

(Botswana), Southern Sotho (Basotho) andNorthern Sotho (Bapedi).

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The Western Sotho

The Kgalagadi, initially themain tribe, gave life to theKwena, which divided into alarge number of tribes. TheWestern Sotho live primarilyin the area ofBophuthatswana. The mostimportant tribes belonging tothis group are the Tswana,Kwena, Kgatla, Tlhaping,Tlharo, Rolong and Ngwato.

The SouthernSotho

Prior to the Mfecane, manyindependent tribes lived inLesotho and the eastern FreeState. These people wererelated to the Batswana(Tswana people) and Sothopeople who lived inSwaziland. They sufferedgreatly during the Mfecaneand many of them wereeither driven away or killed.However, many of thesefugitives found refuge withMoshweshwe’s tribe and inthis manner, a strong nationwas built. Today this grouplives mainly in Lesotho andthe eastern part of the FreeState. Smaller groups arealso found at GriqualandEast, Thaba Nchu andNqamakwe. The mostsignificant tribes are theKwena, Kgatla, Tlekoa,Taung, Tebele and Vundle.

The NorthernSotho (Bapedi)

Certain tribes that initiallyformed part of the Bakgatlaare today part of theNorthern Sotho. They canbe found in the areasformerly known asSekhukhuneland and thePokwani district. Thesetribes defeated other tribeswho used to live there andafter that, a strong tribe wasbuilt up by Thulare andMalekuta. They arecommonly known as theBaPedi. Mzilikazi oftenattacked the BaPedi duringthe Mfecane. The mostimportant Northern Sothotribes are the Pedi, Koni,Phalaborwa, Lobedu andKutswe. They mainly livein areas of NorthernTransvaal and North-EasternTransvaal.

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THE VENDADuring the 16th century, the Venda

migrated from central Africa to thearea between the Soutpansberg

Mountains and the LimpopoRiver. Some of them initiallylived south of theSoutpansberg, but today theylive mainly to the north ofthe Soutpansberg mountainsin the districts known asLouis Trichardt and Sibasa.This area is called Venda.The most important Vendasection is the Mphephu. Oneof the smaller sections of theVenda is known as the Lemba

THE MASHANGANA-TSONGA

During the Mfecane, Soshangane,together with a part of Zwide’s

tribe, fled to Mozambique. Heoppressed the Tsonga who werealready living in the area, some

of whom chose to flee acrossthe Lebombo Mountains into

the Northern Transvaal. Theirdescendants now live in the

districts of Pilgrims Rest,Leydsdorp, Tzaneen,

Duiwelskloof, Sibasa and LouisTrichardt. Some Tsonga tribes

are the Nhlangu, Nkuna andTembe. The most significant

tribes belonging to the Shangaansare the Tulilamahashe, Shangana and

Nkuna.

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THEMFECANE/DIFAQANE(Destroyed in total war)

One of the most significant historicaloccurrences in the early history of SouthAfrica was the Mfecane. The term Mfecane(Nguni languages) means “destroyed in totalwar”. The Sotho speaking people on thehighveld used the term Difaqane, whichmeans “hammering” or “forcedmigration/removal”. This occurrence foreverchanged the settlement patterns and ethnicstructure of the African population of thearea.

Whole communities of peoples weredisplaced in their flight from larger warringtribes. The winning tribes would oftenincorporate the losers into their tribes. Twokey figures in this all-out battle for poweramong the African tribes in southern Africawere Dingiswayo (leader of the Mtethwatribe) and Zwide (leader of the Ndandwetribe).

Dingiswayo

When Dingiswayo became leader of theMthethwa, his main concern was to improvethe military system of his tribe. Young menof a similar age were divided into regiments.Each regiment had its own name, colour andweapons. The young men were even requiredto remain celibate until such a time when theyhad proven themselves worthy of the name“warrior”. Dingiswayo’s army soon wentfrom strength to strength and was employedin an attempt to expand his territory. Thearmy attacked smaller tribes which wereallowed to continue their existence as tribes,but only if they agreed to recognise him astheir paramount chief. Some of the tribeswhich were dominated in this way were theThembu, Qwabe, Mshali Mngadi and theZulu.

Shaka

The Zulu tribe was initially a small tribewhich recognised Dingiswayo as itsparamount chief. The tribe consisted ofapproximately 2 000 people and its tribalchief was Senzangakona. Shaka, his son, wasborn in around the year 1787. Shaka and hismother Nandi could not get along with someof the other members of the Zulu family andwent to live with Nandi’s family, among theLungeni people. When Shaka was 16, hismother took him to the Mthethwa and, at theage of 22, he became a soldier in one ofDingiswayo’s regiments.

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He was brave and intelligent and soonbecame leader of one of the regiments. WhenSenzangakona died in 1816, Sigujane, a half-brother of Shaka, became chief of the Zulu.Shaka, together with another half-brotherNgwadi, plotted against Sigujane, who wassoon murdered. With a regiment borrowedfrom Dingiswayo, Shaka made himself chiefof the Zulus.

Shaka was an exceptional military leader andorganised the Zulu army with militaryprecision. All the men younger than fortywere divided into regiments, based on theirage. Shaka built his capital at Bulawayo and,although he recognised Dingiswayo asparamount chief, started incorporating smallertribes into the Zulu nation.

In 1819, when war broke out between theNdwandwe and Mthethwa, Dingiswayo waskilled by Zwide, after which the defeatedMthethwa tribe was incorporated into Shaka’stribe. In time, Shaka destroyed theNdwandwe tribe completely

He employed cunning military techniquessuch as the following: when Zwide sent theNdwandwe to attack Shaka, the latter hid thefood and led his people and cattle further andfurther away from the capital. Zwide’s armyfollowed and Shaka’s soldiers waited untilnight fell to attack them, when they wereexhausted and hungry. The Ndwandwe armyturned back, after which Shaka attacked anddestroyed them. A second attempt was madeby Zwide later in 1819 to destroy Shaka, butonce again the Ndwandwe had no luck. Afterthis attempt, Shaka ordered the completedestruction of the Ndwandwe people. Shakawent on destroying several smaller tribes untilNatal was practically depopulated.

The Zulu eventually grew into a mightynation when Shaka succeeded in uniting allthe people in his chiefdom under Zulu rule.In 1828, two of Shaka’s half-brothers,Dingane and Mahlangane, murdered him andDingane took his place as leader of the Zulunation.

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Dingane

Dingane’s capital was builtat Umgungundlovu. He wasnot as good a soldier asShaka and this caused hisdefeat in many of his wars.In order to combat thedecline of the Zulu kingdom,Dingane decided to kill afew important leaders. Oneof these leaders, Ngeto (ofthe Qwabe tribe), realisedthat his life was in dangerand, after gathering hispeople and livestock, fledsouthwards and settled in theMpondo district, from whichhe himself started to attackother tribes.

Dingane soon sent soldiersto fight the Mpondo peoplebut he also launched attacksagainst Mzilikazi and theVoortrekkers.

On 3 February 1838,Dingane’s tribesmen killedPiet Retief, together with 67of his followers, during anambush. Retief had had anagreement with Dingane thatif he succeeded in returningDingane’s cattle that hadbeen stolen by Sikonyela,the Voortrekkers would beallowed to buy land from theZulu. When theVoortrekkers returned withthe stolen cattle, they werekilled.

The Voortrekkers sworevengeance and Dingane’sarmy was defeated at BloodRiver on 16 December 1838by Andries Pretorius.Dingane’s death broughtwith it an end to theextermination wars wagedby the Zulus. However, inother parts of the country,the Mfecane continued underleaders such as Msilikazi,Soshangane and Sikonyela.

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Mzilikazi

Another small Nguni tribe that was forced tojoin Zwide’s Ndwandwe tribe was called theKhumalo. The Khumalo tribe was suspectedof treachery during the war againstDingiswayo’s Mthethwa and its leader,Mashobane, was summoned to Zwide’s kraaland killed. Zwide appointed Mzilikazi as thenew leader of the Khumalo. He was anintelligent leader who knew how to gain thetrust of the tribes that had been incorporatedinto his own. Trouble started when Mzilikazibegan to suspect that Zwide wanted to killhim. In preparation, Mzilikazi formed analliance with Shaka, who allowed him to bethe leader of one of his regiments.

In 1821, Mzilikazi felt strong enough tobecome independent. Shaka sent him toattack a small Sotho tribe northwest ofZululand and, as always, he brought backwith him a number of cattle taken during thebattle. However, this time he did not handthem over to Shaka as he had done before.When Shaka sent his messengers to collectthe cattle, Mzilikazi refused to return them.After this, he was attacked by Shaka’s armyand had no option but to flee with his people.

Mzilikazi trekked northwards with his peopleuntil he reached the Olifants (Elephants)River. He was now in the territory ofpowerful Sotho tribes, which he attacked,taking their women, children and livestock.He attacked tribes as far as Tswanaland andoverpowered them by the military tacticsperfected by the Zulu people. His tribeeventually became known as the Matabele.

Mzilikazi decided to trek to the centralTransvaal and he eventually settled in thevicinity of what is today known as Pretoria.He moved because he needed to put evenmore distance between himself and Shaka andhe was also in need of more grazing land.After this move, his tribe became even morebloodthirsty.

When the Voortrekkers came on the scene in1836, Mzilikazi once again went on theattack. At Vegkop, the Voortrekkerssucceeded in defeating the Matebele, but theylost all their cattle. In 1837, the Voortrekkersonce again succeeded in defeating theMatebele at Mosega and the Voortrekkers,under the leadership of Potgieter, recoveredsome of their stolen cattle. The Matabelethen moved away only to be defeated by theZulu. In an attempt to get away from hisenemies, Mzilikazi crossed the SoutpansbergMountains and the Limpopo River into whichis today known as Zimbabwe. He died in1868.

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Soshangane

After the tribes of Zwide, Soshangane,Zwangendaba and Nxaba,had been defeatedby Shaka, they fled to Mozambique. There,they destroyed the Portuguese settlement atDelagoa Bay.

As the Mfecane continued, the land wasdevastated and tribes were attacked. Muchdamage was done. Soshangane’s capital wasnear the modern day Maputo and Shakaattacked him here in the campaign that costShaka’s life. Soshangane then moved on toMiddle Sabie and settled near Zwangendabaand his people.

The tribes of Soshangane and Zwangendabacoexisted in harmony until 1831, when theywent to war. Zwangendaba had to flee beforeSoshangane, after which Soshangane, went onto attack Nxaba, who responded by fleeingwith his followers to the present-dayTanzania. With Soshangane’s biggest enemiesout of the way, he began building his GazaKingdom. From his capital, Chaimite,soldiers were sent in all directions to attackother tribes. Even the Portuguese were forcedto accept him as paramount chief. Hiskingdom stretched from the Zambezi to theLimpopo Rivers and his army resembled thatof the Zulus in its military strategies. AsSoshangane grew older, he began to believethat the Matshangano had bewitched him. Inretaliation, he attacked them and many fled tothe Transvaal where their descendants stilllive today. Soshangane died around the year1826.

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Mmantatise

During the early 19th century, two of thebiggest Nguni tribes, the Hlubi and theNgwane, lived near the present-dayWakkerstroom. The Hlubi was under theleadership of Mpangazita and Matiwane wasthe leader of the Ngwane. The Zulus hadforced these two tribes across theDrakensberg Mountains into Sotho territory,which meant the start of the Mfecane for theSotho tribes.

The first tribe to be attacked was theBatlokwa. The tribe’s chief had just died andhis successor, Sikonyela, was still too youngto rule. His mother, Mmantatise was a strongleader and ruled in his place. After the Hlubitribe defeated the Batlokwa, they took towandering around and attacking other tribesand tribes such as the Bafokeng were forcedto flee. The Batlokwa eventually settled atButha-Buthe, a mountain stronghold.

Sikonyela

Moshweshwe was living on the mountainwith his small tribe and after repeatedlyattacking Mmantatise, Moshweshwe’s tribemoved to Peka. There they continued theMfecane and defeated the Hlubi. Sikonyelawas by now old enough to lead the Batlokwain battle and, in 1824, they made anotherattempt to reconquer Moshweshwe’smountain stronghold at Butha-Buthe. Themountain was surrounded in order to stop theSotho people from obtaining food. After twomonths, a Nguni tribe came to Moshweshwe’srescue and the Batlokwa were forced to leave.The Batlokwa subsequently went to settle ontwo other mountains. In 1852, Moshweshwefinally drove the Batlokwa away.

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Sikonyela

Moshweshwe

Moshweshwe, the builder of the Sotho empire, was born in 1793. His mother belonged to theBafokeng tribe and his father was chief of the Bakwena tribe. When the Mfecane began in 1816,Moshweshwe was 23 years old. During the early years of his chieftainship, leaders such asShaka, Dingane and Mzilikazi were waging the destructive wars of the Mfecane. Many of thepeople who got caught up in these wars turned to Moshweshwe for refuge. He took them all inand his tribe grew bigger and stronger. In 1823, Moshweshwe established Butha-Buthe as thecapital of his chiefdom. A year later, he established a safer stronghold at Thaba Bosigo. Thismountain stronghold was so secure that when Mzilikazi attacked it in 1831, he had to turn backwithout accomplishing anything.

Moshweshwe was a diplomatic and powerful leader and was too clever to try to expand histerritory northwards because he knew that this would incur the wrath of strong leaders such asMzilikazi, Shaka and Dingane.

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Consequences of theMfecane/Difaqane

The Mfecane had a great influence on thehistory of South Africa. Large parts of thecountry in Natal, the Transvaal and Free Statewere largely depopulated because people fledin droves to safer areas such as the Transkei,the edge of the Kalahari, the Soutpansbergand the present-day Lesotho. In consequence,these areas could not cope with the suddeninflux and became overpopulated.

After the Mfecane, the Black peoples wereliving in an area shaped like a horseshoe. TheTswana and Pedi lived in the west and theVenda, Shangaan, Tsonga and Swazi lived inthe north. The Zulu lived in the eastern partof the country, as did the Sotho and theinhabitants of both Transkei and Ciskei.

The whites took advantage of this situationby moving into the empty areas and in thisway the ethnic map of South Africa waschanged completely.

Many people died during the Mfecane.Violence and starvation were rampant,because the livestock was stolen and peoplecould not stay long enough in one place tocultivate crops. Although hundreds ofthousands of people lost their lives, it alsogave rise to the formation of big new nationssuch as the Sotho. The tribes of leaders suchas Dingane, Shaka, Mzilikazi and Soshanganewere significantly strengthened and changed.

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EUROPEAN INTERESTS

The Portuguese

The white population arrived on the South African scene long after the blacks. Bartolomeu Diaswas the first Portuguese seafarer to sail around the southern point of Africa in 1486. He namedit “The Cape of Good Hope” (“Cabo de Boa Esperanca”), because it was hoped that it wouldclear the way to India, which would simplify trade with the East. Upon returning home Diasand his men reported that they had spotted Khoikhoi along the coast.

Nine years were to pass before Vasco da Gama, another Portuguese seafarer, attempted a voyagearound the southern point of Africa on his way to India. Once again the seafarers met up withKhoikhoi and some of the crew were hurt in a skirmish with them. The Khoikhoi were preparedto trade with the seafarers but, because of communication problems and misunderstandings,there were many problems and disagreements between the two groups. On 25 December 1497,Da Gama reached the coast of Pondoland and called it “Natal”, meaning “Christmas”.

Although the Portuguese were the first to travel around the Cape, they were not seriouslyinterested in southern Africa. They were wary of the indigenous population and the weather atthe Cape was sometimes treacherous and dangerous. Some of the early Portuguese seafarersreferred to the Cape as “The Cape of Storms” and preferred not to sail around it. Furthermore,as far as trade was concerned, South Africa offered very little - gold had not yet been discoveredand, except for the presence of the Khoikhoi, the southern point of Africa seemed deserted andwithout promise.

The British

In June 1580, nearly a hundred years later, Sir Francis Drake sailed past the Cape. He was on avoyage around the world, commissioned by Elizabeth I of England. It was winter; the weatherwas calm and the landscape serene. The sight inspired Sir Francis Drake to utter the followingwords: “This Cape is a most stately thing and the fairest Cape we saw in the wholecircumference of the earth.”

More British expeditions followed and other European countries soon followed in theirfootsteps.

In the first half of the 17th century, it was mainly the English and the Dutch who made use ofthe route around the Cape of Good Hope for trading purposes. Danish and French ships alsomade stopovers to replenish their water supplies and to stock up with fresh produce. Althoughthe English, French and Dutch East India Companies all toyed with the idea of establishing abase at the Cape in the 17th century, it was the Dutch who finally took the plunge.

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The Dutch

On 6 April 1652, Jan van Riebeeck arrived inTable Bay with his three ships, De Reiger, DeDrommedaris and De Goede Hoop. Hismission was to establish a supply station onbehalf of the Dutch East India Company( V.O.C.) where fresh produce could becultivated to supply the ships passing throughon their way to the East. They soon realisedthe importance of trading with the indigenouspeople of the country and, as a result,intermingling started to take place on severallevels. The V.O.C. also realised that a hospitalwas urgently needed at the outpost.

Proper food and medical care were needed tocombat the great loss of men on their tradeexpeditions to the East. At this timeapproximately half of all ships’ crews died,mainly from scurvy. Scurvy was caused whenpeople consumed only food preserved in saltover a prolonged period of time, resulting in alack of Vitamin C.

O r i g i n a l l y, the V.O.C. did not intend toestablish a full-fledged colony at the Cape, butit committed itself when it gave nine Companyservants their freedom in 1657 to establishprivate farms in the Rondebosch area belowthe eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Thiswas done in an attempt to combat a wheatshortage at the time.

In 1679, Simon van der Stel was sent to theCape to become the new governor and afurther 20 settlers were granted land beyondthe dunes in the area that is today known asStellenbosch.

The population at the Cape grew even larger asthe granting of property to private citizensencouraged the immigration of white womanto the area and servants and seamen wererecruited from the hinterlands of Europe

The French

In 1689, some 180 Huguenot refugees werebrought to the Cape after Louis XIV hadbanned Calvinism in France. They settledmainly in the Stellenbosch district near what istoday known as Franschhoek. People fromG e r m a n y, Scandinavia, Flanders andSwitzerland also contributed to the diversepopulation of the Cape.

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THE SLAVES

The importation of slavesgreatly enlarged thepopulation of the Cape.Slaves were imported fromother parts of Africa,Madagascar, India and EastAsia. They were mainlyused as labourers andservants but many of themwere skilled carpenters andbricklayers. Their skillsplayed an invaluable role inspeeding up the progress anddevelopment of the Cape.

The Dutch East IndiaCompany (V.O.C) ownedsome of the slaves and theylived in a huge slave hostelin the Cape. This slave lodgewas later converted to housethe old Supreme Court andcurrently houses the SouthAfrican Cultural HistoryMuseum in Adderley Street.

Many of the slaves wereowned by free citizens(vryburgers). They werecalled free citizens becausethe Dutch East IndiaCompany gave them theirfreedom to make a livingindependent of theCompany, e.g. by farmingtheir own land. The slaveswho were in the employ ofthe free citizens helped withthe cultivation of wine,wheat and vegetables andothers were employed asdomestic servants. Anumber of slave owners usedthe slaves to work in theirbusinesses which suppliedgoods such as shoes, clothesand furniture.

Most slaves werecondemned to a lifetime ofslavery, but a few ownersmade provision for theirslaves to be freed after theirdeath. Slaves would do extrawork during their free timeto save some money forwhen they were freed. Thefreed slaves at the Capeoften earned a living bycatching fish, sellingvegetables and running smallcanteens. But the end ofslavery was near, althoughowners tried to fight it.Towards the end of the 18thcentury, the V.O.C. declaredthat no people who belongedto the Christian faith couldbe sold as slaves and slaveowners became veryreluctant to let their slavesconvert to Christianity.

In 1807, the BritishParliament made the slavetrade illegal throughout theBritish Empire. However, itwas only in December 1833that slaves were set freeunder a law allowing aperiod of four years’apprenticeship for domesticslaves and six years forplantation slaves. After theperiod of apprenticeship, theslaves would finally be freeto leave the employ of theirowners. The emancipationof the slaves bankruptedmany slave owners becausethere was no one left to dothe work. Many ex-slavesjoined the bands of roamingHottentots, while otherswent into business forthemselves or started a newlife as paid employees.

In addition to the economiccontribution that the slavesmade to the Cape, they madeother importantcontributions, e.g. social andreligious, as well. The slavesfrom Malaya brought Islamwith them, which religion isstill practiced in SouthAfrica. The interminglingbetween the slaves and theEuropean population createdthe Coloured community,which today still livesmainly in the Western Cape.

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THE TREKBOERS(MIGRANT FARMERS)

During the early years of Dutch occupation,the focus was primarily on agriculture. Withthe growth of the population, more and morepeople started cultivating agriculturalproducts, which, before long, resulted in asurplus of products such as wine, wheat andvegetables. This overproduction of agricultural productsforced the free citizens to explore otheravenues, such as stock farming. Soon thestock farmers began to move deeper into theinterior in their search for more and bettergrazing. Young men married and set up theirown farms and the resultant large familiescaused the number of stock farmers toincrease rapidly. The lack of sufficient spacefor proper stock farming prompted thefarmers to pack their possessions into their oxwagons and move deeper into the interior.This kind of farmer was called a “Trekboer”.The word means, “a migrant farmer”.

Until 1750,there was nothing to prevent theTrekboers from advancing rapidly into theinterior. There was plenty of water in theinterior and they employed Khoikhoi to tendto the cattle. However, the Dutch East IndiaCompany became worried about theTrekboers moving so far because it becameincreasingly difficult to exercise any authorityover them. In order to maintain its authority,the V.O.C. was forced to follow in theirtracks. This constant moving also resulted inthe V.O.C. having to continually change theboundaries of the eastern frontier of thecolony. Eventually, in 1778, the Great FishRiver became the eastern frontier. It was alsohere that the Trekboers first experiencedproblems with the Xhosa

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Until that time, the Trekboers had only experienced serious clashes with the San when the Sanattacked them with poisoned arrows and hunted their cattle. The Trekboers frequently organisedhunting parties in reprisal for the San attacks. When the frontier farmers, as they were now called, met up with the Xhosa, serious clashesfollowed. Each group felt that the other was intruding on their livelihood and wanted to protectits territory at all costs. The V.O.C. established new districts such as Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet in order to maintain authority over the frontier and to quell the ongoing violence, but to noavail. The frontier farmers kept on moving across the border and the Xhosa refused to let go oftheir heritage that easily. A number of frontier wars followed and both groups leant to live withregular occurrences of theft, arson and murder.

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EUROPEANOCCUPATIONSOF THE CAPE

BritishOccupation: 1795- 1803After the French Revolution,the newly founded Republicof France conquered theNetherlands in 1795. TheNetherlands became knownas the Batavian Republicand the ruler of theNetherlands, Prince Williamof Orange, had to flee toEngland. In England, theprince asked the British toprevent France takingpossession of the Dutchcolonies. Britain obligedand, as a result, becameinvolved with the Cape.Problems occurred almostimmediately because not allthe inhabitants of the Capewere in favour of Britishoccupation.

However, the British didbring with them certainimprovements. UnderBritish rule, officialsreceived set salaries andwere no longer dependent onincomes from fines. Thiseliminated mostmalpractices in thegovernment. British ironploughs wereimported,which assisted withagricultural development.Because of the war inEurope, there was a growingdemand for agriculturalproducts from the Cape,

which furthered economicalgrowth. British taxation wasalso lenient. The biggest problem theBritish had to contend withwas the unrest on theeastern frontier. Thefarmers on the frontier werenot prepared to submit toBritish rule without a fightand the African populationalso resisted. The farmerstried to recapture the Cape,but eventually surrendered.When Gaika became chief ofthe Xhosas, unrest andtension on the easternfrontier intensified. Thefarmers revolted under theleadership of Adriaan vanJaarsveld and relationsbetween the farmers andauthorities deteriorated .

In 1803, after the Cape hadbeen returned to the Dutchin terms of the Peace ofAmiens (signed betweenEngland and France),British rule at the Capecame to an end.

Batavian rule:1803 - 1806

The Batavian Republicappointed Janssens asgovernor of the Cape and DeMist became Commissioner-General. These two leaderswere supporters of the DutchPatriots and they tried to re-establish Dutch settlement atthe Cape. They also broughtabout some significantpolitical and administrativechanges. Janssens, asgovernor, held supremelegislative power and apolitical council assisted himin his duties. He alsoinstituted a Council ofJustice to represent theinterests of the colonists.Municipal councils wereinstituted in Cape Town,Stellenbosch, Swellendamand Graaff-Reinet and everydistrict had an appointedlanddrost (magistrate).

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In 1804, De Mist published the Church Orderthat allowed for freedom of religion.Education was improved by importingteachers from the Netherlands. Sheepfarming was also improved by importingmerino rams from Spain. Wine experts fromGermany were imported to try and improvethe quality of wine.

Unfortunately, some of De Mist’s plans forthe frontier failed. The alliance between theKhoikhoi and the Xhosa on the frontiercaused more friction and De Mist did nothave sufficient funds to effectively carry outhis frontier policy. When the Batavian flagwas lowered for the last time on 10 January1806, the Cape Colonists were sad to see DeMist and Janssens leave, because they hadachieved much good over a short period oftime.

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Second BritishOccupation: 1806

When war broke out in Europe in1803, Napoleon I tried to stopBritish trade with Europe. Britainhad lost its American colonieswith their valuable tradingopportunities and was forced tolook elsewhere to find newmarkets for trade. The logicalchoice was the East. This meanttrading by sea and the Cape wasthe ideal place for ships to obtainfresh water and produce. Thisprompted the second occupationof the Cape by Britain, in January1806.

Remembering the problems that ithad had in its American colonies,Britain decided to be moreautocratic in its governance of theCape. The Cape would begoverned as a crown colony, witha governor appointed by Englandand inhabitants of the Cape wouldno longer have any say in politicalmatters. The governor took hisinstructions only from the Ministerof Colonies in London and wasgiven the power to make laws anddismiss officials as he saw fit.However, the system of localgovernment, which enabledmagistrates and councils tocontinue as before, was retained

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British Governors

British governors ruled theCape from 1807 - 1814. Thefirst governor, Caledon,formed the Circuit Court,which had magistrates travelto remote districts to conductcourt cases of importance.The administration of justicewas greatly improved by thisnew method. These courtsalso kept an eye on themagistrates and councils inthe remote areas.

In 1811, Cradock took overas governor and he ruleduntil 1814, after which LordCharles Somerset becamethe new governor.

SlagtersnekRebellion

Somerset was aparticularly stern governorand did not tolerate anyinsubordination from thecolonists. His harshattitude gave cause tomuch dissatisfaction andone particularly uglyincident took place duringhis rule. A farmer, whohad been accused of ill-treating one of hislabourers, was summonedbefore court but resistedarrest and was killed in asubsequent shoot-out. Hisbrother swore to avengehis death and this led to arevolt against Somerset’sgovernment in which sixtymen took part.

After the revolt wascrushed, a tribunal washeld in which 39 menwere found guilty. Five ofthem were hanged atSlagtersnek and the otherswere imprisoned. It wasoccurrences like this thatstrengthened negativefeelings against the Britishgovernment.

The BritishSettlers: 1820

Following the Napoleonicwars, Britain wasexperiencing a seriousunemployment problem andSomerset was therefore keento entice British immigrantsto the Cape. He alsothought that they would helpto maintain peace on theborder between the Fish andSundays Rivers. In 1819,the British governmentdecided to send emigrants tothe Cape. Attractiveconditions such as free landwere offered and 90 000applications, of which only 4000 were approved, werereceived.

The first settlers arrived inTable Bay on 17 March1820. From there they weresent to Algoa Bay, todayknown as Port Elizabeth.Life on the border was harshand the settlers encounteredmany problems such asdrought, rust (a conditionaffecting crops) and a lackof transport. As a result,many settlers left the easternborder in search of a betterlife in the towns. Theeastern border thus neverbecame as densely populatedas Somerset had hoped.

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The settlers who did remain as farmers, made a significant contribution to agriculture by plantingmaize, rye and barley. They also started wool farming which, in time, became a very lucrativetrade. Some of the settlers, being traders by profession, also made a significant contribution tobusiness and the economy, and new towns such as Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth grew rapidly.

The settlers also effected some significant political changes in the Cape. They had known a “freepress” as their right in England and could not see why it should be different in the Cape. DespiteSomerset’s opposition, a free press was obtained in 1825. The settlers also played an importantpart in establishing the Council of Advice in 1825. This council consisted of six members whoadvised the governor on matters of importance.

Despite the efforts of the council, dissatisfaction was rife at the Cape, especially amongAfrikaners who felt that, since the churches and schools were rapidly being anglicised, theirlanguage was in danger of becoming extinct.

Unrest on the eastern border became worse and caused much dissatisfaction. When Somersetintervened in tribal matters between two Xhosa factions, it caused a backlash by those whoresented his intervention. The Xhosa group also did not take kindly to the British settlers who,according to them, had been given land that rightfully belonged to the Xhosa. Neutral zones wereestablished but not even this could stop the violence and fighting.

It was just a matter of time before the people living on the eastern border would devise andimplement their own strategies to stay alive, because it was evident that the British governorscould not fully control the situation.Many farmers left the eastern border in an attempt toestablish independent states in the interior. This move was later referred to as the Great Trek, thehistorical event that, together with the Mfecane, greatly determined the shape and structure of theSouth Africa of the future.

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Settler Church, Port Elizabeth

THE GREATTREK

Over a time span of threeyears starting in 1835, moreor less 10 000 white peopleleft the Cape Colony andtrekked/moved into theinterior by ox wagon. Intime, after facing manyhardships, these farmersstarted to build a uniqueidentity and started callingthemselves Afrikaners. Theyalso developed a hybridlanguage, Afrikaans, whichstemmed from high Dutchbut incorporated strongFrench, Malay, German andBlack influences. TheAfrikaans-speakingdescendants of these peoplewould later simply be calledBoere (Farmers).

Causes of theGreat Trek

One of the most importantcauses of the Great Trek wasthe unrest on the easternborder. The governmentwas unable to segregate theXhosas from the whites andthe two groups kept onclashing. The Xhosas stolethe white farmers’ cattle andthe farmers occupiedterritory that hadtraditionally belonged to theXhosa. Not even theestablishment of neutralterritory could keep theparties from becominginvolved in battles with eachother. Some governors didmore than others to protectthe frontier farmers but therewas nevertheless asignificant number of warson the eastern frontier

During the sixth easternfrontier war, farmers lostlivestock to the value ofR600 000.

Vagrant Hottentots alsoplundered the farms.Conditions deterioratedbadly after the institution ofOrdinance 50 of 1828,which cancelled the passlaws. In 1834, when theslaves were freed, thesituation worsened evenfurther, as many of them hadno option but to steal tomake a living. The freeingof the slaves also meantfinancial loss for the farmersand this added to theirdissatisfaction.

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The Dutch-speaking people also felt that their identity was being threatened. A series of lawsproclaimed between 1823 and 1828 enabled the government to substitute the official use of Dutchwith English. When the magistrates and councils were also abolished, the colonists no longer hadany say in the government and their desire for self-government increased.

Different Trek groups

Trichardt and Van Rensburg

Louis Trichardt and Hans van Rensburg led the first groups to leave the Colony. There were 53people in Trichardt’s group and they crossed the Orange River in 1835 on their way to theSoutpansberg. Hans van Rensburg also left the colony at the same time with his group offollowers but his aim was to move to Mozambique. The Van Rensburg party was subsequentlymassacred near the Limpopo River.

Louis Trichardt moved on to the area where the town of Louis Trichardt is situated today. Hewaited for some time for Potgieter’s trek to meet up with them but eventually became impatientand moved on to Lourenco Marques (present day Maputo). By the time Trichardt reachedMaputo, on 13 April 1838, many of his cattle had been killed by tsetse flies and nearly half of hisgroup had died of malaria.

Andries Hendrik Potgieter

Potgieter left the Cape Colony towards the end of 1835 with 200 people. They also wanted to goto Lourenco Marques for trading purposes, but they did not get that far. They were attacked byan army of 1 000 men sent by Mzilikazi. A few of the Voortrekkers were killed and Potgieterleft his trek temporarily to meet up with Louis Trichardt. On his return, he instructed his peopleto form a laager (circle of ox wagons) as a defence strategy against the black armies. Twomonths later, all their cattle were stolen during another attack at Vegkop. Moroka (chief of theBarolong) and Gerrit Maritz helped Potgieter’s group to get back to Thaba Nchu.

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Gerrit Maritz

Gerrit Maritz left for Thaba Nchu with 700 people. When they arrived in November 1836, theyheld a mass meeting with the Voortrekkers who had already arrived. Maritz was elected as thepresident of a council of 7 members who were to look after the interests of the Voortrekkers.Potgieter was elected the military leader. One of the first decisions of the council was to send anexpedition out to recapture their cattle from Mzilikazi.

Piet Retief

Piet Retief was the commandant of the Winterberg ward in the district of Albany. He was also afarmer, building contractor and speculator and had sufficient money to finance a venture into theinterior. Before he left, he published a manifesto in the Grahamstown Journal in which heexplained the reasons for the trek. He left the Cape in March 1837, together with 400 people.When he joined the Voortrekkers in the Free State, they numbered more or less 5 000. Retief waselected governor and military leader at a convention held at Winburg. At the same conventionMaritz was elected chairman of the Political Council.

Piet Uys

Piet Uys and his followers were the last to leave the Cape as part of a big organised trek. These100 odd men, women and children departed from the district of Uitenhage in April 1837. Theyarrived in the Free State in August of the same year.

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Voortrekkers inZululand andNatal

The Voortrekkers hadopposing views about thedirection the trek shouldtake. Potgieter felt it best toremain in Transvaal, sinceBritain might annex Natal,which would mean that theVoortrekkers would onceagain be under British rule.Maritz, Cilliers and Retiefdid not share his fears anddecided to move to Natal.Piet Uys was not quite surewhere his trek should beheading.

When the Voortrekkersarrived in Natal, the greaterpart of Natal was under thecontrol of Dingane. Retiefattempted to buy land fromDingane who promised tosell it if the Voortrekkersagreed to recover the cattlewhich had been stolen bySikonyela. When Retief andhis people brought back thestolen cattle, they signed acontract with Dingane.Later that day, however,Dingane’s people killed 67of the Voortrekkers,including Retief. Dingane’ssoldiers then went to thelaagers (camps) of theVoortrekkers and killedmany more, includingwomen and children. TheZulus also drove off the bulkof the Voortrekkers’ cattle.

In April 1838, Uys andPotgieter retaliated bylaunching a counterattackagainst the Zulus. Theywere defeated by the Zulusat Italeni. The Zulusattacked again on 13 Augustand in December 1838, thelast remaining Voortrekkerleader, Maritz, died. As theVoortrekkers needed a newleader, they sent for AndriesPretorius. Pretorius acted astheir leader in the Battle ofBlood River on 16December 1838 when theydefeated the Zulu army.Dingane fled, after settingfire to his kraal. At KwaMaritane, the skeletons ofRetief and his men werefound, together with asatchel containing the treatybetween Dingane and theVoortrekkers. TheVoortrekkers were now theowners of the land betweenthe DrakensbergMountains,from the TugelaRiver to the UmzimvubuRiver and the sea.

Dingane was finally defeatedby Mpande who became thenew paramount chief of theZulus. The Voortrekkers nowfelt safer and on 14 February1840, Andries Pretoriusproclaimed Natal aVoortrekker Republic,theRepublic of Natal. Theyformed a government andPietermaritzburg was chosenas the new capital.

The Republic of Natalexisted for only 5 years untilthe governor of the Cape, SirGeorge Napier, sent Sir Harry Smith and his mento annex Natal. A strugglefollowed, during which theBritish suffered a number ofcasualties and lost two oftheir cannon. Dick King (alegend in South Africanhistory) escaped onhorseback, andastonishingly, it took himonly six days to reachGrahamstown. The Britishsent reinforcements and theVoortrekkers were forced toretreat to Pietermaritzburg.On 12 May 1843, Natalbecame a British colony andmost of the Voortrekkerschose to return to the FreeState and the Transvaal.

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Voortrekker settlement in the Transvaal

After being attacked, the Voortrekkers in the Transvaal moved back to Thaba Nchu under theleadership of Andries Potgieter. In two attacks against Mzilikazi, one a counter-attack and thesecond a precautionary attack, the Matabele were defeated and Potgieter and his followersthought it safe to remain in Transvaal. Soon after, Potgieter gave in to pressure and moved toNatal, but soon returned to the Transvaal where he founded the town of Potchefstroom. Heproclaimed the district as the Republic of Winburg-Potchefstroom. From here, the Voortrekkersmoved to Marico and Rustenburg.

Potgieter and his people wanted to move as far away from the Cape as possible and in theprocess, other towns such as Ohrigstad and Lydenburg were founded. Many of the Voortrekkersreturned to the Republic of Winburg-Potchefstroom after the annexation of Natal by the British.Conflict arose between Potgieter and another group and Potgieter moved even further north andfounded the town of Schoemansdal. Some of the Voortrekkers who had fled to northern Natalafter the British occupation, asked to be incorporated into the ZAR (the South African Republic)as the Transvaal had been named. In order to do this, the land on which the town of Utrecht wasfounded the following year, had to be bought from Mpande.

Britain did not recognise the independence of Transvaal, but made no attempt at annexation.Thereason for its inactivity was the hostile attitude of certain black tribes towards Britain and also thefact that war was looming in Europe. On 17 January 1852, the Sand River Convention wassigned between Britain and the Transvaal Republic. It was the first time that Britain hadacknowledged the independence of a Voortrekker Republic.

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Voortrekker Settlement in the Orange Free State

The Trekboers moved into the area that would come to be known as the Free State, as early as the17th and 18th centuries. At the start of the 19th century there were already different groupspresent in the area. Some of these groups were the Basotho (under leadership of Moshweshwe,the Griqua (under Adam Kok), the Batlokwa, the Bataung and the Barolong. The area thatbecame known as Trans Orangia was situated between the Orange and the Vet Rivers. Many ofthe Trekboers settled in the Phillippolis area, where Adam Kok rented land to them. TheTrekboers considered themselves British subjects but, when the Voortrekkers passed through thearea, some Trekboers joined them while others chose to remain.

When the Potgieter trek arrived at Thaba Nchu in 1836, Potgieter made an arrangement withMakwana, chief of the Bataung, that, in exchange for cattle and protection against Mzilikazi,Potgieter would be given land in an area between the Vet and Vaal Rivers. This area becameknown as Winburg. When Retief arrived, it was decided that the Trekkers should move to Natal.Potgieter eventually agreed, but he moved back to Winburg after his defeat at Italeni by Dingane.He later also founded Potchefstroom, a town next to the Mooi River. Potgieter linked the townsof Winburg and Potchefstroom by declaring the Winburg-Potchefstroom Republic.

The Vet River divided the area between the Vaal River and the Orange River. The southern partbecame known as Trans-Orangia and the Northern area formed part of the Winburg -Potchefstroom Republic.

Jan Mocke and Jan Kok were the leaders of the Voortrekkers who lived in the vicinity of the Vet

River. After the annexation of Natal, their numbers increased because many people who were notprepared to submit to British rule moved back to the area. In Trans-Orangia, however, theTrekboers, under the leadership of Machiel Oberholzer, wished to remain under British authority.Oberholzer therefore informed the judge at Colesberg of the plans of the upper region to establisha republic. Without consulting the British government, the judge immediately annexed the areabut the British government would not ratify the annexation.

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When Sir Harry Smith became governor of the Cape Colony in 1847, he wanted to annex theterritory as far as the Vaal River. He informed the British government that the majority of thepeople living in the area strongly supported such an annexation, which was not true. However,Smith went ahead and annexed the area up to the Vaal River and called it the Orange RiverSovereignty. The citizens of Winburg revolted but were defeated at Boomplaats by Smith’ssoldiers. Potgieter was outlawed and magistrates were appointed in the districts of Bloemfontein,Winburg and the Vaal River.

The Battle of Boomplaats disturbed the British government because it cost a lot of money andproved that many of the inhabitants were opposed to the annexation. The Basotho underMoshweshwe were one of the dissatisfied groups and in 1854 they defeated a British armed forcesent to punish them for their raids.

The British government was of the opinion that since the independence of Transvaal had beenrecognised in 1852, there was no reason why the same could not be done for the Orange FreeState. When the Basotho defeated another British force in the area of Berea, Britain decided toofficially recognise the Republic of the Orange Free State.

On 23 February 1854, the Bloemfontein Convention was signed and the area between the Vaaland Orange Rivers officially became the Republic of the Orange Free State.

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THE DISCOVERY OFDIAMONDS AND GOLD

With the discovery of diamonds in the 19thcentury, urbanisation started in earnest inSouth Africa. People came from all over theworld to stake their claims in the diamondfields. In 1867, diamonds were discovered atHopetown and in 1871, more diamonds werediscovered in the vicinity of the present-dayKimberley. A company, “De BeersConsolidated Mines” was established underthe leadership of Cecil John Rhodes. Thiscompany went from strength to strength andis still in existence today. More towns, suchas Koffiefontein and Jagersfontein, started upas a result of a concentration of diamonddiggers in certain areas.When gold wasdiscovered in the eastern Transvaal (Pilgrim’sRest and the Mac-Mac Waterfalls) a similarprocess took place. New towns wereestablished to accommodate the huge influxof people. Mining magnates such as CecilJohn Rhodes and Barney Barnato, who bothhad interests in the diamond industry, alsobecame involved in the mining of gold. Thewealth they had accumulated at Kimberleywas used to establish large mining companies.

The establishment of mining companies wasessential because, although people were ableto pan gold in rivers and streams in theeastern Transvaal (today known asMpumalanga), the gold reef on theWitwatersrand was too deep for individualdigging. Mining companies gaveemployment to foreigners as well as to locals,as more and more people streamed into thearea. Since the miners had certain basicneeds, such as food, clothes, schools, houses,medical care and furniture, whole industriesgrew in the mining areas.

In 1886, farms such as Elandsfontein,Turffontein and Roodepoort were proclaimedpublic diggings. These diggings later becamewell-known suburbs of Johannesburg.

Johannesburg was officially established on 4October 1886, and by 1893 there were 14suburbs in the new town.By 1896, the city ofJohannesburg had a total population of morethan 100 000 of which a third was made up offoreigners. President Kruger appointed amagistrate to see to legal matters and a HealthCommittee controlled the town until 1897.This committee had a difficult task, asinadequate water supplies and the lack of asewerage system contributed to poor healthconditions.

There were many other problems too. Manyfarmers, who came to seek their fortune inJohannesburg after a severe drought haddriven them off their farms, became evenpoorer as the divide between rich and poorincreased. A group of people, the so-called“Poor Whites,” lived in shacks and dependedon welfare organisations to support them.The black people, who had left theirtraditional homes, had similar problems.Many of them became detribalised andstruggled to adjust because of the differencesbetween their traditional culture and theEuropean culture. The Transvalers with theirChristian, conservative views also found itdifficult to adjust to a lifestyle that was, intheir view, immoral.

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Towards the end of the 19thcentury, problems once againarose between Britain and theTransvaal. In 1895, someBritish imperialists such asRhodes organised theJameson Raid (an attempt tomake the Transvaal a Britishcolony). Although the raid didnot succeed, it severelydamaged the economy of theWitwatersrand.

An employment problem wascreated when many of thelabourers left in an attempt toget out of the way of thetroubles. The foreignerseither returned overseas orfled to the two Britishcolonies, Natal and the Cape.The black people returned totheir traditional homes andmany of the Transvalers left totake part in the Anglo-BoerWar. The mines were leftwithout virtually any workers.Lord Milner, the newgovernor of the Transvaal,was anxious to get the goldmines back into productionagain and decided to recruitworkers from Mozambique.In 1904, Milner also startedimporting labourers fromChina. By 1907, there weremore than 50 000 Chinese inthe country.

When the Conservative Partytook over in Britain, it wasdecided that the Transvaaland the Free State shouldonce again be granted self-government. The Chinesewere then repatriated andworkers were once againrecruited from all overSouthern Africa.

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