Border wars
The border wars , even Kapgrenzkriege , Xhosakriege or - outdated - Kaffir war called, had nine consecutive wars between Xhosa and European-born settlers of Cape Colony in today's South African province of Eastern Cape . They took place between 1779 and 1879.
In the Fourth Border War, the Xhosa first used firearms, later also guerrilla tactics . Even so, they gradually lost their territory and became part of the British Empire , whose entry into the war marked the beginning of modern colonialism in Africa. The war goal of the Cape troops was to gain settlement space and expel the Xhosa who lived there. Besides the Xhosa and the British , the warring parties included Boers , Khoikhoi and other ethnic groups . The Mfengu , who are now part of the Xhosa, fought on the side of the settlers.
prehistory
The number of European settlers in the Cape Province increased in the 18th century, so that they pushed further and further east from Cape Town , where there were fertile pastures and arable land. However, Xhosa settled there. In the second half of the 18th century, settlers encountered the Xhosa near the Great Fish River . As pasture land became scarcer, cattle theft and reprisals occurred on both sides. In addition, there were European missionaries who were hostile to the Xhosa leaders because they wanted to undermine the traditional system of rule.
Border wars
First border war
The First Border War took place from 1779 to 1781. It was triggered by the shooting of a Xhosa by a Boer in the Bosberg area, near what is now Somerset East . The Boer settlers had the advantage of armed with firearms and horses, while the Xhosa were more knowledgeable of the area and had many skilled warriors in their ranks. The settlers organized themselves in small militias , but could not allow themselves to persecute the Xhosa for long, as this would not allow them to defend their farms. Both sides had to take care of the agriculture with its fixed annual schedule, especially during the harvest season.
After the first war, a boundary was established between the Great Fish River and the Sundays River .
Second border war
The second war lasted from 1789 to 1793. It began with clashes between various Xhosa groups. In doing so, they penetrated the Zuurveld, the area between the Great Fish River and the Sundays River. Although the Boers were able to penetrate as far as the Buffalo River , the Zuurveld remained in the hands of the Xhosa. In the peace treaty, the border was moved west to the Sundays River.
Third border war
The Third Border War took place from 1799 to 1803. In 1795 the Boer rebellions in Graaff-Reinet and Swellendam led to the establishment of short-lived Boer republics . A second rebellion in Graaff-Reinet triggered the Third Border War in 1799. Khoikhoi allied with Xhosa and raided settler farms. They advanced to Oudtshoorn . The government of the Batavian Republic , to which the Cape region belonged at that time, feared an extensive Khoikhoi revolt and concluded a peace treaty in 1803 that confirmed the border on the Sundays River. The United Kingdom annexed the Cape Colony in 1806. The subsequent campaigns against the Xhosa also had the task of securing the supremacy of the British over the Boers.
Fourth border war
The fourth war lasted from 1811 to 1812. It was the first war in which British professional soldiers fought. The Zuurveld had become a buffer zone , with the British and Boers to the west and the Xhosa to the east. By 1811, Xhosa had occupied the area. Colonel John Graham had the task of driving the Xhosa out of the Zuurveld. He led a mixed force of professional soldiers and volunteers and defeated the Xhosa in early 1812, so that the 20,000 Xhosa had to evacuate the area.
The garrison town of Grahamstown named after him was built on the site of his headquarters .
Fifth border war
The fifth war lasted from 1818 to 1819. It was also known as the "Nxele War". In 1817 clashes broke out between the Cape Colony government and Xhosa over cattle theft. A war broke out between the Ngqika (also Gaika) and the Gcaleka, both of whom belong to the Xhosa, because of the overpopulation. Since the Cape authorities had a defense agreement with the Ngqika, they came to their aid in 1818.
The Xhosa preacher and leader Makhanda Nxele (also Maqana or Makana Nxele) promised to turn enemy bullets into water. He led the Ndlambe Xhosa group in several attacks. On April 22, 1819 he attacked Grahamstown with 10,000 men, which was then held by a 350-man garrison . Only after the British had received support from a Khoikhoi group under Jan Boesak were they able to repel the siege. Around 1000 Xhosa died. Makhanda was captured and imprisoned on Robben Island near Cape Town. This time the British pushed the Xhosa back eastward to the area across the Keiskamma River . The land between the Great Fish River and Keiskamma River became the buffer zone where the British tried to settle loyal Africans. In 1819 the western Xhosa had to recognize Ngqika - the leader of the Ngqika - as head. In 1820 the Albany District was founded around Grahamstown and was populated by around 4,000 British immigrants from the United Kingdom - the " settlers of 1820 ". The Tyhume Valley was the only part of the Zuurveld that was inhabited by Xhosa until they were expelled in 1833.
Sixth border war
The border region around 1835
Harry Smith
Mfengu soldier
Hintsa ka Khawuta
Andries Stockenström
The sixth war lasted from 1834 to 1836. It is known by the Xhosa as the "Hintsas War" after Hintsa ka Khawuta, a Xhosa chief who was shot by a British.
Unrest continued on the eastern border of the Cape Colony. The Xhosa were besieged from the north by the Mfecane of the expanding Zulu . At the same time, trade was carried out in the border region between the ethnic groups living there. There were again cattle thefts. In 1834, a Cape Colony commando killed a senior Xhosa. In return, 10,000 Xhosa marched into the Cape Colony under Maqosa, a brother of the slain, and devastated numerous properties in the border region. A group of Khoikhoi who had been released from slavery in 1829 and settled in the Kat River valley were particularly hard hit . Many Europeans and Khoikhoi fled to Grahamstown, women and children holed up in the church there.
Boer commands under Piet Retief defeated the Xhosa in the winter mountains to the north . In addition, commandos of the Burgher, the Khoikhoi and the British were formed, whose troops came into the war zone via Algoa Bay . Under Harry Smith , the British reached Grahamstown on January 6, 1835, six days after news of the siege of the city in Cape Town had become known. From Grahamstown the war against the Xhosa was now waged. The Xhosa suffered several defeats. Most of the leaders surrendered, but Maqoma and Tyali withdrew to the Amathole Mountains .
British Governor Sir Benjamin D'Urban wrongly believed that Hintsa ka Khawuta, head of the Gcaleka, was head of all Xhosa and blamed him for the attack on the Cape Colony. D'Urban marched with a force across the Great Kei River to the residence of Hintsas near what later became Butterworth to impose a peace treaty on him. Accordingly, the country on the other side of the Keiskamma River, up to the Great Kei River, was annexed by the British as the province "Queen Adelaide Province". The residents of the area became British citizens. King William's Town served as the capital of the province . Loyal Africans were settled in the province, including the Mfengu (also Fengu or Fingo) who had fled the Zulu armies and then lived under Xhosa rule. Magistrates were appointed who, together with European missionaries, were supposed to weaken the power of the Xhosa heads. The fighting came to a standstill on September 17, 1836. Although Hintsa had been guaranteed immunity by the British during the contract negotiations, he felt like a victim, especially since he was supposed to be liable for the cattle theft. He tried to escape on horseback along the Nqabarha River, but was caught up and shot. Hintsa's ears were cut off. This action caused great anger among the British government in London , which held D'Urban liable. This also led to decades of hostility towards the British among the Xhosa.
After the war, 7,000 people were homeless in the region. The settlement of the Mfengu had far-reaching consequences. As allies of the Cape Colony, they received firearms. In the wars that followed, they fought alongside the British as soldiers on an equal footing. The sixth Xhosa War was also the trigger for the manifesto of Piet Retief and the subsequent Great Trek of the Boers north. The British Colonial Minister Lord Glenelg had accused the Boers of having started the war through their revenge campaigns against cattle thieves. The Boers then lost confidence in the British legal system and practiced vigilante justice.
The expansion and formation of Queen Adelaide Province was viewed by London as uneconomical. The province was separated from the Cape Colony in December 1836 and the border was set back to the Keiskamma River. New treaties stipulated that Xhosa heads should be responsible for order east of the Great Fish River. After the war, the Lieutenant Governor of the Eastern Cape Colony, Sir Andries Stockenström, introduced a new border policy. He made contracts with the Xhosa to secure the border and have stolen cattle brought to the owners. People on both sides were appointed ambassadors and the conquest of Xhosa land was prohibited. Land that had been annexed in the previous war was also returned to the Xhosa. So there was a period of peace that lasted almost ten years.
The system became fragile when the settlers rallied under their leader Robert Godlonton, who attacked Stockenström's treaty system and allowed Xhosa land to be taken. Stockenström was finally dismissed and his contract was declared null and void by the new Governor Maitland.
Seventh border war
The Seventh Border War lasted from 1846 to 1847 and was also known as the "War of the Ax" or the "Amatola War".
On the Cape Colony side, there were British soldiers sent from Great Britain and groups of different skin colors, the Burgher Forces, which included Khoikhoi, Mfengu, British settlers and Boers, led by Andries Stockenström. Relations between British forces and local forces deteriorated during the war.
Among the Xhosa, it was mainly the Ngqika (also Gaika) who fought, supported by Ndlambe and Thembu. The Xhosa had around ten times as many soldiers and used modern firearms for the first time. The scorched earth tactic was used on both sides. After the end of Stockenström's contractual system, clashes between farmers and cattle thieves increased on both sides of the border. Governor Maitland imposed new, less favorable conditions on the Xhosa while the Xhosa suffered a drought. Godlonton agitated for a retrieval of the areas ceded to the Xhosa.
Casus Belli was an argument about a robbery. A Khoikhoi brought a handcuffed Xhosa to Grahamstown to be tried. He was accused of stealing an ax. The Khoikhoi was attacked and killed. When the Xhosa refused to extradite the murderer, war broke out in March 1846.
The British troops initially suffered defeat. A British detachment to confront the head of the Ngqika, Mgolombane Sandile (also Sandili), was temporarily held up in the Amathole Mountains. The Xhosa were able to attack the middle of the five-kilometer-long wagon train and steal the supply of wine and other food. Numerous Xhosa then marched across the border while the British gave up their outposts. Only the local Fengu defended their villages against the Xhosa. On May 28, 1846, around 8,000 Xhosa attacked the last remaining British garrison in the border area, Fort Peddie . However, after a long exchange of fire with the British and Mfengu, they had to retreat and marched towards Grahamstown. On June 7th, however, the Ndlambe were defeated by the British General Henry Somerset near Fort Peddie. Both warring parties suffered from a drought. The British called on Stockenström and his Burgher team for help. These proved to be very effective due to their local knowledge.
After inflicting some defeat on the Ngqika, Stockenström crossed the border with a small group of mounted soldiers and entered the Xhosa area. They reached the kraal of the head of all Xhosa, Sarhili (also Kreli). Sarhili and his military leaders agreed to meet Stockenström and his commanders unarmed on a nearby mountain ridge. Stockenström asked Sarhili to take full responsibility for the warfare of all Xhosa. Sarhili contractually undertook to return stolen cattle and to give up the claim of the Ngqika to the area west of the Great Kei River, despite his limited ability to influence the border region. He also wanted to prevent the Ngqika from further attacks on the Cape Colony. One of the commanders was John Molteno , later the Cape Colony's first prime minister.
The British General Peregrine Maitland refused the treaty and sent Sarhili an insulting letter demanding more submission. Stockenström and his men angrily withdrew from the war, so that it was carried away by the British and Xhosa. The prevailing drought, infectious disease and the scorched earth practice weakened both armies. Eventually there was heavy rains that made the country impassable. The war continued until Sandile was captured in negotiations and taken to Grahamstown. Although he was released shortly afterwards, the Xhosa stopped the fighting after 21 months. On December 23, 1847, Governor Henry George Wakelyn Smith , known as Harry Smith, announced the re-annexation of the area between the Keiskamma and the Kei Rivers. It was not attached to the Cape Colony, but was declared a Crown Colony of British Kaffraria , with King William's Town as its capital.
Eighth border war
The Cape Mounted Riflemen in the Eighth Border War at Waterkloof
Depiction of an exchange of fire when British troops tried to storm Sandile's position in the Amathole Mountains
British soldiers (74th Highlanders) under fire in the woods of Waterkloof
Maqoma, Xhosa military leader in several wars
The eighth war, also called "Mlanjeni's War", lasted from 1850 to 1853. At Harry Smith's instigation, numerous Xhosa had to move eastward to British Kaffraria, where overpopulation soon arose. Other Xhosa, who remained citizens of the Cape Colony, were resettled in the cities to adopt the European lifestyle. Smith also attacked and annexed the Orange Free State , so the Burghers turned away from him. Smith imposed heavy taxes and reduced the Cape Colony's army to fewer than 5,000 men. June 1850 was exceptionally cold and with little rain. Smith decreed that the Xhosa should be deported from the Kat River region.
The war became known as "Mlanjeni's War" after the prophet Mlanjeni, who belonged to the homeless Xhosa and prophesied that the Xhosa were immune from the bullets of the colonial masters. Many Xhosa then left their homes and gathered in their traditional areas. Smith met several chiefs because he held them responsible for the prophecies. Sandile refused to accept this, so Smith dropped him off. On December 24, 1850, a detachment of 650 British soldiers was ambushed by Xhosa warriors at Boomah Pass. They had to retreat to Fort White; 42 British people died or were wounded. On Boxing Day, Xhosa invaded the cities, seemingly to take part in the celebrations. On receiving a signal, however, they attacked the townspeople and killed many of them. The Ngqika then took part in the war again.
Governor Smith was isolated from Fort Cox by the invading Xhosa . The British base at Line Drift was overrun. At the same time, the Khoikhoi rebelled in the Blinkwater River and Kat River valleys under Hermanus Matroos, who had Xhosa and Khoikhoi parents. They captured Fort Armstrong. Numerous members of the paramilitary Kaffir Police who were supposed to fight cattle theft defected to the Xhosa. Smith was finally able to fight his way out of Fort Cox with the help of part of the Cape Mounted Riflemen , but had few allies. Even so, the Xhosa suffered some setbacks. They were repulsed in attacks on Fort White and Fort Hare . On January 7, 1851, Hermanus's troops attacked the city of Fort Beaufort in vain , killing Hermanus.
At the end of January, the British received reinforcements from Cape Town. From King William's Town the besieged forts White, Cox and Hare were successfully reached and supplied. The remnants of Hermanus' forces were defeated at Fort Armstrong and driven westward into the Amathole Mountains. More British troops reached the combat area and achieved military success. In 1852 the ship HMS Birkenhead sank en route to the combat area at Gansbaai . Over 400 British soldiers died.
Invaded Xhosa, led by Maqoma, settled in the wooded Waterkloof. From there they raided surrounding farms and set them on fire. Maqoma's base was at Mount Misery, a natural fortress on a fine ridge between Waterkloof and Harry's Kloof. They stayed there for two years. Maqoma also led an attack on Fort Fordyce which resulted in heavy losses on the part of Harry Smith's British forces. Smith was deposed in February 1852 and replaced by George Cathcart in March because Smith was held responsible for much of the violence. Cathcart managed to defeat the Xhosa rebels, so that Sandile and the other leaders surrendered in February 1853. The eighth war was the border war with the most casualties. It ended in the complete defeat of the Xhosa west of the Kei River.
The Xhosa cattle killing began in 1856 . At first, one girl's prophecy was ignored. But when Sarhili himself killed his cattle, many Xhosa did the same. The Cape Colony authorities, foreseeing unrest, could not prevent this. The return of the ancestors was scheduled for February 18, 1857. Subsequently, a famine set in, during which the country became so depopulated that numerous Europeans were able to settle in the deserted areas.
Ninth border war
Southern Africa before the last border war (1876)
Sarhili (center, seated) with advisors
Militias of the Cape Colony (Mfengu and Buren) on the border (1878)
Mounted commands of the Boers
Cape Prime Minister John Molteno
Henry Bartle Frere
The ninth and final border war, also known as the Fengu Gcaleka War or Ngcayechibi's War (after the local chief on whose festival the first battle broke out), lasted from 1877 to 1879.
The Cape Colony had received partial independence from the British motherland. Through class suffrage and the recognition of the land rights of Africans, they had gained additional influence, so that there was a long period of peace. The border patrols of the Cape Colony were carried out by people from different parts of the population, Boers, Mfengu, Khoikhoi and British settlers. However, the British government wanted to expand its control in southern Africa and wanted a confederation to be established under their leadership. For this, the remaining states of the blacks had to be conquered. The Cape Colony authorities rejected the plan. East of the Cape Colony was the independent Gcqalekaland. In the mid-1870s there were renewed droughts, the extent of which increased by 1877. As a result, tensions between Mfengu, Thembu and Gcaleka increased.
In September 1877, Governor Henry Bartle Frere traveled to the eastern border. His plan for a confederation had just been rejected by the Cape Colony government. He addressed radical settlers and spread rumors of an impending invasion by Xhosa. The same month the war began with a stick fight between Gcaleka and Mfengu at a wedding party. On the same day, some Gcaleka attacked a police post in the Cape Colony, where mainly Mfengu were on duty. Frere used this incident as an excuse to attack Gcalekaland. He summoned Sarhili to himself. When the latter refused, Frere declared him deposed and declared war on his country.
Sarhili, who was put under pressure by Xhosa who were willing to fight, mobilized his troops and marched them to the border. Cape Colony Prime Minister John Molteno wanted the conflict to be a local problem. In tough negotiations he achieved that the troops of the British Empire would not interfere. The real war began on September 29, 1877, when around 8,000 Gcaleka soldiers attacked a police post near Ibeka near the border. After a violent exchange of fire, the border police dispersed the Gcaleka troops. As a result, however, other posts were attacked. The Cape Colony continued to hold back British troops. Molteno now stationed groups of Buren, Thembu and Mfengu in the combat area. They defeated the Gcaleka and pursued them eastward in three columns as far as Gcalekaland. They did not stop until the neutral Bomvanaland. After three weeks the war was over. The commandos were called back because the country was not intended to be conquered.
During the advance to Gcalekaland, Frere had formed a council of war in King William's Town to direct the war. Two ministers from Moltenos represented the interests of the Cape Colony. Frere tried to keep control of the war and to annex Gcalekaland. Molteno's representatives found British forces slow and incapable of waging the war.
The second phase of the war began when Frere ordered the disarmament of all blacks, including soldiers, in the Cape Colony. This led to violent protests; many soldiers deserted. The British representative Cunynghame panicked and had all of British Kaffraria surrounded by his troops. The Cape Colony government asked the British government to dismiss Cunynghame and withdraw the skin color disarmament. Frere refused, however, and brought more British troops into the area, which he marched into Gcalekaland to make room for white settlers. At first the British wanted to imitate the successful strategy of the Cape Troops. They also split up into three columns, but lost their bearings. They couldn't find the scattered Gcaleka. The Gcaleka united and passed the British troops into the Cape Colony, where they were supported by Sandile and his Ngqika. Mfengu cities and other border settlements were set on fire and supply lines severed.
Until then, Molteno had tried to enforce the interests of the Cape Colony through diplomatic channels. But now he moved to the embattled eastern border and demanded to be able to continue the war with his own troops. Frere then deposed the Cape Government, so that Great Britain could again take over direct rule. British troops continued to be ineffective; the population of the border region fled to the forts. Frere, however, had access to the militias and mfengu regiments of the former Cape government. Under their command, Veldman Bikitsha, they defeated the Gcaleka on January 13, 1878 near Nyumaxa. The British troops assisted, but could do little after the victory. Another Xhosa attack on February 7, 1878, the "Battle of Kentani", could only be repulsed with the help of the Mfengu and the local militia. The war-weary Gcaleka eventually withdrew while Sandile's troops continued to fight. They moved to the Amathole Mountains and started a guerrilla war . Meanwhile Lieutenant General Frederic Thesiger had replaced Cunynghame.
In March 1878 British forces invaded the Amathole Mountains to defeat Sandile's soldiers. However, they had to contend with a lack of local knowledge and unfavorable tactical decisions. The Boers and Mfengu did not intervene for the time being. Eventually the British used the strategy recommended by the local troops. The large area was divided into eleven military provinces, each with a cavalry garrison. Fleeing Ngqika could thus be pursued more easily. The valley exits were paved. Due to the continuous pressure, Sandile's troops quickly surrendered. Sandile fled to the valley of the Great Fish River, where he was captured by a Mfengu commando. He was killed by a ricochet; the surviving rebels were granted amnesty.
With the Ninth Border War also ended the existence of the last independent Xhosa state, Gcalekaland, which was now administered as British territory.
aftermath
Frere used the same tactics in 1879 to subdue the Zulu in the Zulu War . Over the next 20 years there were more "Confederate Wars" to create a British southern Africa, although the plan had been officially annulled with the dismissal of Freres in 1880. With the Second Boer War the goal was finally achieved.
In 1966, political prisoners founded the Makana Football Association on the prison island Robben Island , named after the Xhosa warrior from the Fifth Border War. The community around Grahamstown was also called Makana after the end of apartheid . The battlefield at Grahamstown is still known today as the Place of Egazini ("Place of the Blood"). A memorial for the fallen Xhosa soldiers was erected there.
See also
- Thomas Baines , South Africa's first war painter in the Eighth Border War
- Kaffraria
literature
- Peter Johann: Thixo free us. Tiyo Sani Soga and Janet (Burnside) Soga in Victorian Scotland and Colonial South Africa: The African-Christian Contribution to the Liberation of the Xhosa Nation in the 19th Century. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3631601273 , pp. 44-75. Digital copy (extracts)
Web links
- Conquest of the Eastern Cape at sahistory.org.za (English)
- The Ninth Border War at samilitaryhistory.org, article from 1982 (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christoph Marx: History of Africa. From 1800 to the present. Schöningh UTB, Paderborn 2004. ISBN 3-8252-2566-6 , p. 49
- ↑ Peter Johann: Thixo free us. Tiyo Sani Soga and Janet (Burnside) Soga in Victorian Scotland and Colonial South Africa: The African-Christian Contribution to the Liberation of the Xhosa Nation in the 19th Century. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3631601273 , pp. 44-75. Digital copy (extracts)
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Conquest of the Eastern Cape at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on June 23, 2013