South Africa

The First peoples in South Africa
At first South Africa contained mainly the Khoisan speaking peoples, the Khoikhoi and the San People, who lived as hunter gatherers. But in the early 5th century the Bantu-Speaking peoples, who where herdsmen and agriculturists, began to move south from the Limpopo River (Southern Botswana and Zimbabwe borders). They Conquered the Khoikhoi peoples and became the majority people in South Africa.

These Bantu-Speaking peoples most southern group was the Xhosa People, and which language we are learning. This is a sentence: "uxolo ndisafunda ukuthetha isiXhosa" (X's you click on side of mouth, and the th's you pronounce like you are saying "t" with your tongue at the front) And that means: sorry I'm still learning to speak [isi]Xhosa.

European Colonisation
The Portuguese came when the dominant peoples in South Africa where the Xhosa and Zulu. In 1487 a Portuguese explorer (Bartolomeu Dias) led the first European voyage to Southern africa. He landed at Walvis Bay in Namibia today, this being the most south point reached yet by explorers. Sadly a storm meant that he sailed past the southernmost point with out seeing it.

In the in the 17th century when ship wrecked sailers came back to Holland and told how the cape was good for being a “warehouse and garden” thus the Europeans became interested in colonisation.

In 1652 the Cape of Good Hope became a refreshment station on behalf of the Dutch East Indian company, this area would become cape town later on. As the Dutch expanded east they met the Xhosa people in the region of the Fish River. This is when and how the cape frontier wars started.

Cape Wars
The Cape Wars, also known as the Xhosa Wars or even Africa's 100 Years War, was a group of nine wars that happened between 1779 until 1879 and was between the Xhosa Peoples and the Europeans.

The First War
starting in 1779 and ended in 1781 and was between the Boer Frontiersmen and the Xhosa peoples. It started when allegations where made that the Xhosas had stolen cattle. This became so common that the Boers left their farms.

So in December an armed clash started between the Boers and Xhosa. in Oct 1780 Adriaan Van Jaarsveld captured a large number of cattle from the Xhosas and claimed to have driven them out of Zuurveld by July 1781.

The Second War
in 1793 a large-scale war was started when some frontiersmen under Barend Lindeque, including Coenraad de Buys who had previously been involved in outrages against the Xhosa, decided to join Ndlambe, the regent of the Western Xhosas, in his war against the Gunukwebe clans who had penetrated into the Zuurveld. But when they left, their enemies stayed in Zuurveld. Peace was made in 1793. Althought the boers captured some of Zuurveld, the Xhosa still stayed in the south of Zuurveld. Tension remounted as Xhosas stayed and pushed far into Zuurland and so a third war started. Making this war almost pointless.

The Third War
starting in 1799 when a rebellion occurred in Graaff-Reinet starting the Third war. Later on in March the government of the First British Occupation sent soldiers under General T P Vandeleur to crush the revolt. Once this was done in April 1799 some Khikhoi revolted, joined with the Xhosa in the Zuurveld, and attacked white farms. They reached Oudtshoor by July 1799.

Vandeleur’s force was then attacked on its way to Algoa Bay by a Gqunukwebe clan.

Commandos from Graaf-Reinet and Swellendam then started a string of clashes.

The Government fearing general Khoi rising made peace with the Xhosa and then allowed them to stay in Zuurveld. In 1801 another Graaff-Reinet rebellion started forceing more Khoi desertions and farms were then abandoned and the Khoi bands carried out raids. The commandos achieved no result in conflict. So in 1803 a peace was arranged. But the Xhosas again still stayed in Zuurveld.

The Fourth War
This war Was different from the first three in that it had no relation to anger built up from the other three, or from the violations of agreements over the in Zuurveld. In 1811 colonel John Graham took part of the Zuurland with a mixxed race army pushing 20,00 of both the Gqunukwebes and Ndlambes across Fish River in Feb 1812, using British troops with commandos. After the conflict, a town arose called “GrahamsTown” where Graham Had had his headquarters. The war ending in 1812.

The fifth War
This war was also known as the “war of Nxele”. Following the deafet of Gaika at Debe Nek in 1818, he asked the cape for help and so colonial forces attacked Xhosa territory in December of 1818 and won against Ndlambe’s worriors. Once the Colonial forces left, Ndlambes forces again deafeted Gaika and atacked Grahamstown in April 1819. How ever the cape forces came and pushed Ndlambe back as far as the Kei river.

In october of 1819 the Xhosas wherer forsed to recongnise Gaika as paramount chief of the weastern Xhosas, and a treaty was made that made the whole area between fish river and Keiskamma Rivers except a little, should be “neutral zone” closed to both black and white occupation.

Behind Fish river settlers where made in Zuurland to made a dense white settlement to make a frontier line viable.