British Kaffraria
British Kaffraria (English: British Kaffraria ) was a colony and later separately managed administrative unit in the former Cape Colony on the territory of what is now the Republic of South Africa . Its administrative seat was King William's Town . It is not to be confused with the former neighboring area of Kaffraria .
Geography and history
British Kaffraria is a densely populated region of indigenous and European descent, where several border wars took place in the 19th century . The demarcations changed. By 1866 the region had an area of 8,970 square kilometers. In 1858 104,700 locals are said to have lived here (according to other sources a year earlier). Many of the locals died from famine due to animal diseases and the killing of the Xhosa people. As early as 1864, there were only a total of 86,200 inhabitants in British Kaffraria, including 2,200 German colonists.
The area is bounded by two important rivers in the Cape. In the northeast it is the Great Kei River and in the southwest the Great Fish River . The northeastern outer border of the Cape Colony on the course of the Great Fish Rivers goes back to a decision by the Governor of the Cape Colony, George Macartney , in 1798.
In the context of the fifth border war between the British and the Xhosa (formerly known as " Kaffirs ") under the leadership of the Ngqika , the missionaries working in the area made a mediation proposal . It was agreed to draw a border with a neutral buffer zone . On this basis, the areas northeast of the Keiskamma now belonged to the area of influence of the Xhosa and the Cape Colony ended on the Great Fish River. The neutral regions in between, with the settlements of Chumie (Thyume), Alice and Peddie, were intended to promote peace between the conflicting parties. It was called the Victoria District .
When Boer activists broke the peace treaty in 1834 , new armed conflicts flared up, during which the Xhosa leader Gaika died and which were ended in April 1835 by the occupation of the Xhosa territories under the leadership of the British Army Commander Henry Smith . The area now under British influence was named Queen Adelaide Province . In September 1846 it was temporarily placed directly under British rule with its own government and was given the name British Kaffraria.
Because of the ongoing conflicts, this special area was administratively attached to the Cape Colony in 1866.
Beyond its border, the parts of the country known as Kaffraria, which were located further northeast on what was then the Kaffir Coast (now the Wild Coast ), remained a separately administered area.
Parts of the area later formed the Homeland Ciskei .
Structure after 1866
British Kaffraria had an area of 10,054 square kilometers after 1866 and 140,158 people (117,547 Xhosa, 20,805 Europeans and 1,805 Khoikhoi ) lived here in 1891 . The internal administrative structure was made up of five divisions: East London , King William's Town, Komgha , Peddie and Stutterheim .
Heads of administration
Administrator
- Henry Smith , May 10, 1835 to December 5, 1835
Lieutenant governors
- Henry Smith, December 10, 1835 to September 13, 1836
- Andries Stockenstroom , September 13, 1836 to August 9, 1838
- John Hare , August 9, 1838 to September 1846
- Direct administration by the Cape Colony, September 1846 to April 9, 1847
- Henry Young , April 9, 1847 to November 4, 1847
- Direct administration by the Cape Colony, November 4, 1847 to December 17, 1847
Chief Commissioner
- George Henry Mackinnon , December 23, 1847 to October 1852
- John Mclean , October 1852 to March 7, 1860
Deputy Governor
- John Mclean, March 7, 1860 to December 24, 1864
Governor's Deputy
- Robert Graham, December 24, 1864 to April 17, 1866
literature
- Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 9th volume, 5th edition, Leipzig, Vienna 1896 (entry Kaffern)
- Meyers Konversations-Lexikon. 3rd volume. 3rd edition, Leipzig, 1874, (entry British Kaffraria)