British Kaffraria

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British Kaffraria
Colony of the British Empire
1835–1866
Capital King William's Town[1]
History
 - Established 1835
 - Disestablished 1866
Population
 - 1858[2] 52,535 

British Kaffraria was a British colony/subordinate administrative entity in present-day South Africa, consisting of the districts now known as King Williams Town and East London.

It was inhabited primarily by the Ngqika ("Gaika") people, the major branch of the Rharhabe Xhosa.

Naming and Etymology

The term Kaffraria stems from the word "Kaffir" - originally an Arabic term which was used for the Black African inhabitants of southern Africa. The word Kaffraria came to refer specifically to the Xhosa lands in what is now the Eastern Cape. Later, the western Xhosa lands which fell under British rule came to be known as "British Kaffraria", while the independent Xhosa territory to the east was known simply as "Kaffraria".

A subsection of British Kaffraria was later reconstituted by the Apartheid regime as the semi-independent homeland of Ciskei.

History

Xhosa rule

The native Xhosa people were ruled by the Ngqika ("Gaika") Chiefs (part of the Rarabe offshoot of the main Xhosa line):

  • Ngqika (the founding Chief), 1797 - 13 November 1829
  • Sandile, 13 November 1829 - 1 June 1878

British rule as "Queen Adelaide" territory (1835-1847)

On 10 May 1835 the area was annexed to the British Cape Colony as Queen Adelaide Province, but on 5 December 1835 the Cape Colony disallowed the annexation. Thus from 10 December 1835 it was renamed Queen Adelaide Land district, with Grahamstown as its capital until 1847

British rule as "British Kaffraria" (1847-1866)

On 17 December 1847 it was again annexed to the Cape Colony as British Kaffraria Colony, with King William's Town as its capital.

On 7 March 1860 British Kaffraria became a separate crown colony. It was finally re-incorporated into the Cape Colony on 17 April 1866.

From 1853 to 1866 the territory used the stamps of the Cape of Good Hope, the mail being sent from Port Elizabeth or overland from the Cape.

The area eventually formed the basis of the Ciskei independent homeland.

Administrative chiefs

The successive administrative chiefs, with repeatedly changed styles, were:

  • Administrator Harry Smith, 10 May 1835 - 5 December 1835
  • Lieutenant-governors:
    • Harry Smith (acting), 10 December 1835 - 13 September 1836
    • Sir Andries Stockenstroom, 13 September 1836 - 9 August 1838
    • John Hare, 9 August 1838 - September 1846 (acting to 31 August 1839)
    • Under direct rule from Cape Colony, September 1846 - 9 April 1847
    • Sir Henry Young, 9 April 1847 - 4 November 1847
  • Direct rule from Cape Colony, 4 November 1847 - 17 December 1847
  • Chief Commissioners:
    • George Henry Mackinnon, 23 December 1847 - October 1852
    • John Mclean, October 1852 - 7 March 1860
  • Lieutenant-governor (again): John Mclean, 7 March 1860 - 24 December 1864
  • Governor's Deputy: Robert Graham, 24 December 1864 - 17 April 1866

See also

References

  1. ↑ Henry Hall (F.R.G.S.) (1859). Manual of South African Geography. S. Solomon. p. 43. Retrieved 2013-07-24. 
  2. ↑ Henry Hall (F.R.G.S.) (1859). Manual of South African Geography. S. Solomon. p. 46. Retrieved 2013-07-24. 

External links

Coordinates: 32°53′S 27°24′E / 32.883°S 27.400°E / -32.883; 27.400

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