Settlers from 1820

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Map of the area 1835 with farms of the settlers from 1820 (strong green)

The settlers of 1820 , English 1820 settlers , were around 4,000 British who settled in 1820 in the east of what was then the Cape Colony , in the area of ​​today's South African province of Eastern Cape . It was one of the largest waves of British immigration to Africa .

history

The settlement area was fought over between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa . From 1779 a series of so-called border wars was waged over the territory. From 1814 the Cape Colony belonged to the British Empire .

After the Napoleonic Wars , many British were impoverished. In 1818 the British and Xhosa fought the Fifth Border War in the Cape Colony . The governor of the Cape Colony, Charles Henry Somerset , requested - after his request for military reinforcements had been rejected - that around 4,000 settlers be sent to the border areas to the east of the colony. The British Parliament approved £ 50,000 for the Cape Emigration Scheme on July 12, 1819 . The men applying had to prove that they could employ at least ten workers over the age of 18. Depending on the size of their family or group, the immigrants had to pay a deposit . In return, they were granted free ship passage and a land area was allocated at their destination. Of over 90,000 interested parties - according to other information between 10,000 and 90,000 - around 4000 to 5000 were finally admitted. They came from 20 counties, including counties in Ireland and Scotland. There were 61 groups (parties) consisting of ten to 102 families. The three types of groups were divided into:

  • sole proprietary with a "leader" and workers who had to commit to work for the applicant for between three and ten years before they could become self-employed,
  • joint stock with a nominal leader, but otherwise equal men,
  • independent with no obligations and no hierarchy among themselves.

Four of the groups came from places where money had been collected in the parishes so that the emigrants could afford the deposit.

The British Settlers of 1820 Landing in Algoa Bay by Thomas Baines (1853)

The crossing took place mostly in ships of the Royal Navy . The settlers reached the Cape Colony between March and June 1820. They landed in Table Bay and were shipped to Algoa Bay (now Port Elizabeth ). They were assigned areas for farms in the Bathurst area in the Albany District , where some settlers established themselves as wool manufacturers. However, many of the immigrants worked as traders or other trades in Grahamstown , East London and Port Elizabeth due to a lack of agricultural knowledge and poor harvests . The city of Port Alfred was founded by the settlers. Some settlers penetrated into what would later become Natal , where they delivered firearms to the Zulu under Shaka and were allowed to settle in his territory.

1820 Settlers Camped near the Great Fish River by Frederick Timpson l'Ons

For the British administration of the Cape Colony, the immigration of the British was also aimed at reducing the influence of the outnumbered Boers . After 1820 the role of the English language in the Cape Colony was strengthened at the expense of Dutch . Finally, in the 1830s, the big Boers trek from the Cape Colony took place.

The settlers called for a free British-style press; In 1825 they were able to prevail.

aftermath

Part of the monument to the settlers in Makhanda from 1820

In 1974 the 1820 Settlers Monument was inaugurated in what was then Grahamstown .

Known settlers and descendants

literature

  • Paul Tanner-Tremaine: British 1820 Settlers to South Africa: A Reference Book. Self-published, 2019, ISBN 9781795408271 .
  • JM Berning: A select bibliography on the 1820 Settlers and settlement . Grahamstown 1970
  • Harold Edward Hockly: The story of the British settlers of 1820 in South Africa . Cape Town, 1948

Web links

Commons : 1820 Settlers  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e First 1820 British settlers arrive in South Africa. South African History Online , accessed February 3, 2020
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Tessa King: The Story of the 1820 Settlers. eggsa.org (English), accessed on February 3, 2020
  3. ^ Matylda Wlodarczyk: Community or communities of practice? 1820 petitioners in the Cape Colony. In: Joanna Kopaczyk, Andreas H. Jucker (Ed.): Communities of Practice in the History of English. John Benkamins Publishing, Amsterdam 2013, ISBN 9789027271204 , see excerpts from books.google.de
  4. ↑ a b The 1820 Settlers. lonelyplanet.com, accessed February 3, 2020
  5. ↑ JISC: bibliographic evidence .
  6. ↑ JISC: bibliographic evidence .