King William's Town anf the Xhosa, 1854

236 Pages·2014·6.8 MB·English

KING WILLIAM'S TOWN AND THE XHOSA, 1854 - 1861.
THE RoLE OF A FRONTIER CAPITAL
DURING THE HIGH·COMMISSIONERSHIP OF SIR GEORGE GREY •
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G. S. HOFMEYR .
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Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
of Master of Arts in History··at the University of Cape Town •
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May 1981
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The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No
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quotation from it or information derived from it is to be

published without full acknowledgeement of the source.
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The thesis is to be used for private study or non-
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commercial research purposes only.

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Published by the Universit y of Cape Town (UCT) in terms
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of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author.
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CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE
iii
INTRODUCTION
Ethnography and Early Travellers
1
The Fpunding of King William's Town
5
The First Years as British Kaffrarian Capital 8
CHAPTER I: MISSION ACTIVITY ·: SPIRITUAL AND SECULAR
Propagation of Christianity in the Early Nineteenth Century 12
Re-establishment of the Buffalo· Mission 16
Wesleyan Missionary Activities 25
Other Denominations. · 29
Schooling for the Xhosa Through the Buffalo Mission 30
The Wesleyans 33
Other Missionary Education 34
The Governments Involvement 35
CHAPTER II: THE IMPACT OF TOWN LIFE ON THE XHOSA
Social Facets 40
Negative Facts of Acculturation 51
The Europeans: Ethnocentricity and Prejudice 52
Recreation and Entertainment 58
CHAPTER III: JAN TZATZOE, THE PJ1A NTINDE TRIBE AND THEIR TERRITORY
Tzatzoe and his Tribe 64
The Tribal Area of the Arna Ntinde Tribe and the Effects ·
of Land Reforms 76
CHAPTER IV: NATIVE POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
Policy 87
General Administration 89
Labour 92
Communications 10 I
Subjugation of the Chiefs 103
Immigration 107
Kaffraria Proper 108
Local Government 110
General Aspects 111
CHAPTER V: · CURE AND PREVENTION · THE MEDICAL DEPLOYMENT
The First Phase 11 3
A New Native Hospital 120
Treatment, Training and Regulations 125
Smallpox 128
CHAPTER VI: THE IMPACT OF THE CATTLE-KILLING EPISODE 133
CHAPTER VII: THE OPERATION OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM
Legal Complexity 169
Customary Xhosa Laws and Grey's Reforms 170
The Resident Magistrate 174
Board of Magistrates and Criminal Court 176
Offences 177
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Police
181
The Gaol
182
Transportation
185
Remissions and Pardons
186
CHAPTER VIII: THE GROWTH OF TRADE AND COMMERCE
Economic :Fae tors 188
Traditional Economy and Trading Commodities 189
Traders 191
Food 193
Clothes 195
The Market 196
Auctions 198
Occupations 198
Industries 202
Hotels 202
Banks 203
Trading with Kaf fraria Proper 205
CONCLUSION 208
B !BL IOGRAPY 210
PREFACE
This thesis sets out to examine the important r8le of the Xhosa in the
development of King William's Town durine a crucial period. The local
Xhosa community and the nearby Arna Ntinde tribe under Chief Jan Tzatzoe
obviously made a major contribution to the history of British Kaffraria's
capital in this era (1854-1861), but there were many other external
forces. The interaction between cultures in anc around King William's
Town affected the Xhosa at all levels. This process of acculturation was
hastened by many of Sir George Grey's administrative measures. He es
tablished several institutions in the Kaffrarian capital for the benefit
of the Xhosa population as a whole and some aspects of his "native
policy~
are still applied on a national basis. Grey's administration therefore
forms one of the central issues.
Another important theme which will become apparent in this thesis is that
the interaction of historical factors, events and persons in this phase
extended much wider than the narrow confines of King William's Town's
physical boundaries. In a wider context the revival of missionary zeal
abroad and the vaci':;I!lat.ing native policy of the Colonial Office in London
had a direct bearing on the Xhosa and their rale in the town's history.
In several respects the Kaffrarian capital's history was influenced and in
turn had a bearing on broader South African history. Apart from being
one of the earliest missionary outposts among the Blacks, the town
assumed a national r8le in the cattle-killing catastrophe which affected
the lives of many thousands of Xhosa and determined future labour policy.
The establishment of an institution like the Native Hospital had wide
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plications too in breaking the power of witchcraft. Grey's many visits
to King William's Town and his discussions there with officials, largely
determined his native policy as a whole. The capital's importance as
military headquarters in several of the Frontier Wars is well-known •.
In keeping with the modern emphasis on social history, thi·s thesis will
devote attention to reany cultural facets. This may emphasize that in a
subject of this nature history cannot only be regarded as "past politics".
It will become apparent too that throughout the period under
consideratic~.
segregation was applied at all levels in King William's Town. Finally,
the aim of this thesis is to make a modest contribution,to a growing in
terest in Black-White relations and local history. Both these aspects
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until recently have received inadequate attention in South African
historiography.
The social history of the Xhosa in particular has been sadly neglected.
There are a number of works on native policy as it affected the Xhosa
politically over the past two centuries, but few of these books refer
to the many other results of contact between two cultures. The Xhosa have
usually been regarded as part of a larger political problem and not as an
integrated fector in creating the present structure of South African
society. Although it deals with the Frontier native policy in general,
I have found A.E. Du Tait's The Cape Frontier very useful and accurate.
Concerning King William's Town itself, A.W. Burton dealt with certain
aspects of the town's rich heritage in his books Sparks from the Border
Anvil and Highlands . of Kaffraria. However, I have found that these works
are often fragmentary and unreliable and they have little relevance to the
role of the Xhosa in the Kaffrarian capital. B. Holt's Greatheart of the
Border was a valuable source of infomation about the Rev. John Brownlee
and Chief Jan Tzatzoe. There are no other secondary sources which deal in
any detail with the Xhosa's rtle in this crucial era of King William's
Town's history and I had to rely heavily on archival sources and current
newspapers. This is also the first detailed study about the r8le of the
Ama Ntinde tribe and their Chief Tzatzoe. Despite its small size, this
tribe is certainly one of the best recorded ones in South Africa -
probably because of their proximity to the capital.
A problem hampering objective and balanced approach when dealing with
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a subject like :this, is the all-too-common lack of written .evidence re
flecting the Black viewpoint. In the case of King William's Town, Tzatzoe
was an educated man who had also been to England. However, the written
records left by him are confined to one or two letters(written in another
.handwriting) on administrative matters. There is not a single document in
the extensive British Kaffrarian Records - covering 462 volumes - that re
flects the innermost feelings of the local Xhosa at the time.
I hope that my training in Social Anthropology has helped to lessen the
dangers of ethnocentricity. I found this background essential in the
study of a changing Xhosa community and in outlining the many facets of
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their contribution to King William's Town's history. In dealing with my
subject I have come to the conclusion ·that an interdisiplinary approach
is of the utmost importance in trying to avoid some of the pitfalls of
"The White Man's View".
Sir George Grey's High Commissionership (1854 - 1861) was chosen as a logical
period for this thesis. It was an era of peaceful reconstruction, transi
ttpn and progress for Black and White in King William's Town after three
successive Frontier Wars. Grey laid many important administrative founda
tions which have influenced the local Xhosa population to this day. It
was a decisive phase of social and economic change too in which the Kaffra-
rian capital played a central part for example, in breaking the powers
of the Xhosa chiefs and the influence of witchcraft, as well as in the in
troduction of new food items and clothes. The cattle-killing episode and
King William's Town's role in it was also a watershed. Between 1847 and
1861 the capital had developed from a mission station with scattered
Xhosa huts kraals to a town miles long and half a mile
a~d one-~nd-a-half
wide. With its status as a capital, King William's Town was then seen as
one of the most important towns in Southern Africa.
The year 1861, in another respect, can be regarded as a logical end to
this study, with King William's Town acquiring munici~al status in June.
The daily lives of the Xhosa inhabitants after that, were affected to an
increasing extent by this form of local government; the role of the civil
and military administration diminished accordingly. By 1861 this frontier
community was properly established and the future social pattern deter
mined. For the purposes of this thesis, the European part of King William's
Town, the surr6unding Xhosa villages, the Buffalo Mission, as well as Chief
Tzatzoe 1s territory around the capital were chosen as the physical limits.
The chapter arrangement in this thesis is thematic, but within each theme
chronological sequence is followed. For perspective it was sometimes
necessary to give a fairly detailed description of the position before Grey's
arrival. It is impossible, for example, to describe the central role played
by an institution like the Buffalo Mission or an individual like Tzatzoe
without the necessary background information.
With regard to terminology, I have used the words "Xhosa" and to a lesser
degree "Blacks" when referring to the Xhosa-speaking Nguni persons or
groups who influenced King William's Town's hiRtory. These terms are
applied to the Fingo too, unless otherwise stated. The alternatives,
"Kaffirs" and "Natives''(to a lesser extent) were invariably used in
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contemporary documents, but are not used because of the derogatory
connotations which they have since acquired. Because of practical reasons
and as it is still used widely, the phrase "Native policy" has been re
tained.
Where necessary, tribal distinctions are acknowledged. When referring to
those local inhabitants of predominantly British descent, the terms
"Europeans" or"Whites" are used. The area which now comprise5 the Republic
of Transkei was in the 1850s still generally referred to as "Kaffraria
Proper" - a term which· has been retained in this work. A brief explanation
is due too concerning the spelling of Xhosa.names. The simplest forms,
which were usually also current in that era, were used. The Arna Ntinde
Chief is therefore referred to as Jan Tzatzoe and the Rarabe Paramount Chief
as Sandile. The names of the Xhosa Paramount Chiefs Kreli and Gaika were for
the same reasons preferred to the ethnologically more correct Sarili and
Ngqika.
Despite metrication and decimalization, it was decided to leave the old
weights, measures, sizes, distances and currency as they were in that
period. These terms are still familiar.
There now remains the pleasure of thanking the many who have helped to make
this thesis possible. I am in the first place indebted to Prof. A.M. Davey
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who, as my supervisor, gave me invaluable advice, perceptive guidance,
constructive criticism and continuous encouragement. A word of appreciation
is also due to Mr. D. Comins(Director) and Mr. B. Randles(Historian) of the
Kaffrarian Museum in King William's Town •. It was Mr. Comins who first in
spired me to undertake further research into King William's Town's history
after my transfer there by the Department of Co-operation and Development.
Mr. Randles has been most helpful in providing me with information
lo~al
and further leads.
I am very grateful to the Director of the Archives, Mr. J.F. Preller, and
the staff of the Cape Archives Depot, for the generous use of their facili
ties. The assistance rendered and interest shown by the Director and Mr.
S. Schoeman, the Head of the Depot, as well as Miss L. Du Plessis, Senior
Archivist, is particularly appreciated. My sincere thanks must further
be expressed to Dr. A.M. Lewin-Robinson and the staff of the South African
Library for their considerable contribution. In addition, the Jagger
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Library at the University of Cape Town, the Cory Library at the University
of Rhodes, the Albany Museum and the Africana Museum in Johannesburg have
given cordial co-operation. I am also grateful to Mrs. M. Du Tojt and
Mrs. R. Houghton for the typing of this manuscript. Finally, this thesis
has been made possible by the encouragement and assistance in immeasureable
ways which I have received from Annalet and my parents.
ABBREVIATIONS
B.K. British Kaffrarian Records.
c.o. Colonial Office Records.
D. Beobachter Deutscher Beobachter.
G.H. Government House Records.
G. Journal The Graham's Town Journal.
K. Gazette The King William's Town Gazette.
L.G. Lieutenant-Governor's Records.
D.S.G.B.K. Deputy Surveyor-General's Records,
British Kaffraria.
Microfilm Collection, London Missionary
Z .L.
Society, Cape Archives.