Bhaca Kingdom (Bhacaland)
Capital: Matatiele
Large Cities: Umzimkulu
Official Religion: Wesleyan Methodist Church; Xhosa Traditional Beliefs,
Official Languages: isiBhaca
Population: 388,988
White: 512
Coloured: 548
African: 387,914
Asian and Other: 14
************************
Lying on the long arc of the coast between Port Elizabeth District in Cape Province, and Port Shepstone in Somerset Province, Xhosaland has often been ignored in the histories of South Africa, considered only in terms of the histories of Cape, Doleriet and Somerset Provinces, occasionally including British Kaffraria and Basutoland in more detailed accounts. This ignores what is, in fact, a rich and detailed history as complex as any which can be found in the Federation.
The first inhabitants of what is now Xhosaland were, like most of Southern Africa, a mixture of San and Khoikhoi peoples, mostly nomadic in nature, and highly susceptible to incursions by stronger migratory groups. Thus enter the first of the modern groups of Xhosaland, the Pondo people who settled in the rich grazing lands of Pondoland during the 6th Century[1]. About a thousand years later, the great Nguni migration from the Great lakes reached the Cape, displacing the San and Khoikhoi, and forming the great mass of Bantu peoples from which the Zulu, Swazi, Matabele and Xhosa would emerge.
The 15th and 16th Centuries would see the settlement of two separate groups in Xhosaland- the Xhosa proper who settled along the coast south of the Pondo towards the Great Kei River, and the Thembu who settled further inland. Of these, the Xhosa were the largest, and gradually the isiXhosa tongue would spread, becoming the main language of Thembuland and Pondoland, which combined with the long political and cultural links between the three has led to the latter groups largely assimilated to the Xhosa peoples and now considered, incorrectly, to be little more than subgroups of the Xhosa.
European contact was initially sporadic and uncommon- the great distance from Cape Town meant that there was minimal contact for the first century of Dutch rule in the Cape, though throughout this period shipwrecks and exile would lead to small numbers of whites settling in Xhosaland and becoming absorbed by the populace, most famously the abeLungu clan of Pondoland who claim descent from an English castaway named Bessie who married the son of Chief Matayi of the amaTshomane.
The first great crisis of the Xhosa People came with the reign of Paramount Chief Phalo kaTshwio. The Xhosa, like most of the Bantu peoples, practiced polygamy, and under the traditional system of the time, the eldest son of the major wife, or Great House, becoming the next Paramount Chief, the first son of the second wife, or Right Hand House, becoming a minor chieftan, and the sons of the third wife, or Left Hand House, becoming advisors to the Chief[1]. Phalo, as was common, took wives from the Thembu and the Pondo, but in an unprecedented situation both arrived on the same day, and so neither was able to be declared Great House. In order to calm tensions a secondary but equal position of Right House was created.
This was merely to delay matters however, and as the children of Phalo were born and grew up, disputes arose between Rharhabe, his eldest son but born of the Right House, and Gcaleka, the eldest son of the Great House. Both sons viewed themselves as rightful heirs to the position of Chief, and with the death of Phalo in 1775 it looked certain that war would break out. In the event, cooler heads prevailed, and Rharhabe took it upon himself to leave his father's seat with his followers and found a separate chieftanship, buying land to settle in from Queen Hoho of the Khoikhoi, herself facing difficulties from the slow but steady encroachment of the Dutch. Thus the Xhosa monarchy became divided into the amaRharhabe and the amaGcaleka, giving their names to Rharhabeland and Gcalekaland to this day.
The two branches of the people were to have very different futures. While Gcalekaland was deep within Xhosa territories, Rharhabeland lay on the fringes of the increasingly settled Cape Colony, and following the British conquest of the latter, with what would become Doleriet. Thus Rharhabeland would be subject to greater and greater pressures from European settlement, while Gcalekaland remained relatively untroubled until late in the British period.
At the other end of Xhosaland, the great wars of expansion begun by Shaka Zulu would bring a new migration of people to the area, with King Faku of Pondoland welcoming many of the refugee groups, partially to act as a buffer for his own people. Recognising that he could not defeat the armies of Shaka, he evacuated his own people from the eastern and northern areas most at risk of attack. It was thus into these areas that two groups fleeing from Natalia would settle. First, the Fengu, who's shortlived alliance with the Boers of Natalia had broken down with that state, and then the Bhaca peoples, a confederation of many small tribes united by King Madzikane and taking their name either from the practice of facial scars used for identification, or from the Nguni word ukubhaca meaning 'to flee'. Whatever the etymology, the two groups were allowed to settle in the deserted territories in return for swearing allegiance to King Faku, though war with both the Thembu and other migratory groups would be required to secure the territory [3].
Paradoxically however, the biggest problems for the Xhosa states that were to emerge as a result of Shaka Zulu's wars were to happen on the other side of the region. With the expulsion of the Boers from Natalia and their settlement in Doleriet, population pressures against Rharhabeland, and to a lesser extent Thembuland, began to grow. At the same time, growing conflicts between farmers in the far east of the Cape Colony and Xhosa, particularly of the Gqunukhwebe sub-group who's nominal allegiance to Rharhabeland was made hard to enforce due to the strong cultural differences resulting from a high degree of mixture with the Khoikhoi. While there had previously been some clashes between Boer frontiersmen and the Xhosa, the area of the Zuurveld had remained largely unpopulated, particularly after the British conquest of the colony and the resultant lack of support in the area. It was not, therefore, until the Xhosa occupation of the left bank of the Kareega River in 1817 as part of their slow, and unnoticed, expansion across the Zuurveld that Britain and Cape Town became concerned about the security of her eastern border[4]. In the resultant First Xhosa War[5], which ran concurrently with the revolt of the Xhosa inhabitants of Uitenhage, the British forced Rharhabeland to surrender any claims to the Zuurveld and expelled around 13,000 Xhosa settlers across the Big Fish River[6]. Looking to secure their rule, a fort was established at what would become the settlement of Johnstown[7].
Over the next decade and a half, British settlers would begin to move en masse into the Zuurveld, bringing further clashes with the Xhosa who were beginning to suffer from population pressures within their own territory, and were also suffering from tensions with Doleriet. Governor d'Urban of the Cape colony at this time was seeking to expand the area of British rule, first securing Doleriet for London, and then turning his attention to the Xhosa. As relations broke down along the Big Fish River, d'Urban, allied with the Boers of Doleriet, and with some backing from the Burghers of Cape Town, declared war in 1839. Heavy initial setbacks and scorched earth tactics on the part of the Xhosa led to the war taking 4 years[8]. Eventually, however, British forces were able to inflict a moderate defeat on the Xhosa. In the ensuing peace treaty, signed with the King of Gcalekaland in his position as head of the Xhosa nation, saw Rharhabeland reduced to about half her previous size. The land between the Big Fish and Keiskamma Rivers was annexed to the Cape Colony, despite being densely populated with Xhosa, and attempts at colonisation were begun, while the military settlement of Queenstown[9] was founded as a military settlement in the heart of Xhosaland. Supplied by the new river port of East London, the annexed areas split Rharhabeland and Gcalekaland from eachother, and were created as the colony of British Kaffraria, from the Arabic word kaffir or infidel which had become applied to Xhosaland.
The high cost of the war, and the subsequent disquiet of the annexed areas, proved troubling for London and Cape Town alike, and thus when Andries Stockenström made an eloquent defence of the Xhosa, placing blame for much of the cattle disputes that had led to the Second Xhosa War on the colonists, and suggesting a policy of negotiation and installation of trusted ambassadors in the courts of the main chieftans, London was eager to accept. Stockenström was named governor of British Kaffraria, to which at his request the so called 'Ceded territories' were transferred from the Cape in 1847- a matter which caused some resentment but widely applauded for passing on such a rebellious area to be 'somebody else's problem'. Stockenström immediately began returning land to the Xhosa, including the whole of the ceded territories to Rharhabeland, but was neither able nor particularly willing to open negotiations with Cape Town and London for the full abandonment of the main colony in Kaffraria[10]. Nevertheless, this new policy brought about an unprecedented period of peace between colonists and Xhosa, though many believed that the presence of the military in their heartlands had more to do with it.
Meanwhile at the other end of Xhosaland, King Faku had encouraged the British settlement of the Somerset colony in order to secure western-style recognised borders for his kingdom of Pondoland[11]. His death in 1844 would bring an end to the Golden Age of the Pondo however. Though reasonably capable, his successor was unable to prevent the Fengu and Bhaca from declaring independence, taking with them half his inheritance. The next decade would be spent putting down internal dissent, including an uprising in Xisebeland. Colonial clashes between the Bhaca, the Xisebe and the Somerset Colony would cause an increase in tension here, and nearly sparked a Third Xhosa War in 1848, until Stockenström intervened and mediated a peace agreement.
Stockenström's tenure as governor of British Kaffraria was not to last however, and in 1854 he was relieved of his position and replaced with his great political opponent Robert Godlonton in a Cape Town sponsored bid to prevent the latter from speaking out against the ongoing drive for responsible government[12]. Godlonton took a much harsher line with the Xhosa, and violence was soon on the increase along the borders of British Kaffraria, though the Stockenström treaty system remained in place along the Cape border with Rharhabeland thanks to his increased influence in the Cape[13]. Spurred by the need to find land for the settling the British German Legion after the Crimean War[14], he proceeded to confiscate lands from the Xhosa within British Kaffraria, leading to population pressures increasing once more in Rharhabeland, Thembuland and Gcalekaland, a situation which saw flashpoint conflicts rise once again.
These pressures were particularly prevalent in Gcalekaland. Pondoland had her own internal issues but a large and relatively secure area of land, Fenguland was small but her fiercely independent fighters had already made themselves known as mercenaries par excellence and many had settled in Basutoland after 1863 and the clashes with the Oranje Free State in which they had been so vital. The Bhaca were engaged in their border conflict with the Somerset colony, but were comparatively speaking in a better position, while the Thembu had the advantage of land. Only Rharhabeland had some of the same pressures, and they at least benefited from a mostly secure, though somewhat deteriorating, border with the Cape Colony.
Matters came to a head in 1863 after a mass wave of cattle killing in parts of Gcalekaland and Thembuland through a population pressure driven millenialist movement, much the last before the great wave of Wesleyan Methodists spreading from their initial mission in Pondoland reached the rest of Xhosaland[15]. While it didn't have the backing of any major tribal leaders, the mass of vagrants now produced, many starving and poorly clothed, was the final straw full on war broke out once more between the British and Xhosa in 1865- despite a speech urging a negotiated solution from the aged and suffering Stockenström mere days before he passed away from bronchitis. The fighting soon became wrapped up in more complex affairs, with a joint Bhaca/Fengu war against the Pondo Kingdom beginning roughly concurrently. Pondoland called in aid from the Somerset colony to defend herself, at the price of severe concessions towards British influence, but the Fengu were soon proving their worth and with Britain distracted by the ever growing death toll from the war in Gcalekaland, Thembuland and Rharhabeland, the needed troops were unable to be diverted to the Somerset Colony. The war lasted two years, eventually seeing the annexation of the Transkei district of British Kaffraria, and the transfer of far-western Thembuland to Doleriet, but the gains in no way equalled the amount of blood and treasure expended. The war in Pondoland would end up dragging on for another 3 years before British troops were able to reach Matatiele and force Bhacaland to accept recognition of independence without gaining territory. The Fengu would accept the same deal a year later, though largely after pressure from Bhacaland.
The debacle of the Third Xhosa War saw governor Godlonton removed from his post in disgrace and found guilty of misconduct and gross incompetence and negligence both in his civilian and military handling of the position. He was replaced in 1868 by John Charles Molteno, a firm opponent of further expansion in the Xhosa lands, and strong believer in the treaty system who's diplomatic skills were in much need over his 6 years in office. The borders of Rharhabeland and Thembuland were now affirmed, while the King of Gcalekaland, who's people had suffered most and had largely abandoned both Kaffraria proper and the Transkei district, agreed to recognise British rule there (which had been bought too dearly for London to counternounce its surrender) in return for a large amount of economic support to recover from the war and famine.
Thus began the long, slow absorption of the Xhosa states into the British protectorate system. Pondoland was the first, agreeing to accept a British resident in return for territorial integrity and protection in 1873, with Gcalekaland, much weakened and subject to probing advances from Thembuland, accepted the year afterwards. The Fourth Xhosa War, launched in 1876 to protect Pondoland from a renewed Fengu/Bhaca attack, would end after 3 long, but much better fought, years with the latter two being forced to accept the status of protectorate also, many leaving for distant relatives in Basutoland as a result. Rharhabeland, which had by this time become a stable and relatively prosperous place, bowed down to the diplomatic pressure only in 1879 in a bid to ensure that the increasingly large numbers of German settlers in British Kaffraria, attracted there by a generous settlement package arranged by a governor concerned with the emptiness of the land and small white population, would not intrude on the land of that Kingdom. Finally Thembuland was forced to accept British protection in 1885 in a pre-emptive move to end German attempts at establishing their own outpost in the area. While outside British Kaffraria, now increasingly known as Kaffraria in contrast to Xhosaland, the native Kingdoms retained much power, all Xhosaland now lay in the British Empire.
Xhosaland was largely uninvolved in the process of confederation. Early suggestions, going back to before the granting of responsible government to the Cape, of annexing British Kaffraria to the Cape Province were rejected by Cape Town- Queenstown was seen as too unstable, too conservative and too German to comfortably fit into a province that was already well known for her extensive franchise and progressive attitudes towards the African population, and the white population of Queenstown- unwilling to even consider enfranchising the black population even though relations with the Xhosa had improved- were equally firm in their opposition to joining the Cape. Equally rejected was the suggestion from London that the protectorates of Xhosaland should be annexed into the neighbouring provinces or into an enlarged Kaffraria province, which horrified Cape Town, Somerset and Queenstown alike with its utter ignorance of the situation.
There was still a great desire from London especially, and to a lesser extent from within the negotiating parties, to bring the Xhosa states into the federal system that was being established the better to regulate the treaty system and ensure peaceful relations with the colonists- and cynically to prevent the Xhosa from acting against Britain and potentially make their lands available in the future. It was not until the Zulu Kingdom requested provincial status that the solution to how to do this became clear however. King Sigcawu kaSarili, ruler of Gcalekeland and nominally head of all the Xhosa, was approached with the offer of a place on the senate as representative of the Xhosa people. Unlike Zululand, which was powerful enough to argue for the status of associate Kingdom, equivalent to a full Province but without representation in the Lower House, Sigcawu was offered Protected Kingdom status for the Xhosa states- the current situation would be maintained, and his position as Paramount Chief of the Xhosa would grant him, or his representative, an ex officio seat in the senate council, but in a purely advisory role, without the voting powers granted to the Zulu Kingdom[16].
Despite being a significant step below what was being offered to the Zulu, the ability to at least influence policy as a recognised part of the government was a significant gain for the Xhosa, and a much needed boost for the prestige of Gcalekaland, now the weakest of the Xhosa states. British Kaffraria would thus become a founding member of the Federation, and Xhosaland, for a time at least, was considered a single protectorate within South Africa.
It was an unsustainable situation however. Kaffraria, taking his position as 'representative of the Xhosa', in combination with the right to assign the native Africans to a neighbouring protectorate, to its logical extreme began to approach Sigcawu, and his successor Salukaphathwa, with any grievances they had with the Xhosa in their own territory. Still further, they held him responsible for making restitutions, and ensuring that those accused were brought to the relevant authorities. Without any ability to do so within the boundaries of Kaffraria, they were thus free to blame him for not doing enough, and began to enact their own policies of 'concentration', moving much of the Xhosa population to the Transkei district- an area found to be less useful for white farmers.
By the time the reign of King Mpisekhaya began in 1923 the system was beginning to break down. The age-old divisions of the Xhosa Kingdoms had re-erupted, and only Rharhabeland truly followed Gcalekaland. Meanwhile within Kaffraria ethnic tensions were rising between displaced Xhosa in the increasingly poor conditions around Butterworth and in the segregated communities of Queenstown and East London. Matters came to a head in 1928. First the kings of Pondoland, Fenguland, Bhacaland and Thembuland presented a petition to the Federal Government seeking to have their own lands recognised as separate from the Kingship of the Xhosa. It was in Butterworth however that the biggest crisis in the Federation's history was to be sparked.
Seeking food, work and the restoration of confiscated lands, thousands of Xhosa, both original inhabitants and those displaced by the provincial government, began a mass march through the city, which eventually became a riot. The mansion of the district governor on the edge of town was stormed, the governor himself fleeing to Queenstown. For three days the town burned, and in the chaos a white family, the Peinke's, lately of East London, were killed. Heavy police and a small battalion of the army were sent in by the government in Queenstown to restore order, which was accomplished with significant violence. By itself, this would merely have led to greater tensions and outrage from the liberal press in the Cape, but the government in Queenstown now proceeded to embark on a course that was not simply shocking but downright explosive. Holding King Mpisekhaya responsible for the violence as a result of his failure to keep the Xhosa in line, Queenstown demanding a formal apology and extensive reparations to be payed both the relatives of the family and to the state for damage done during the riots. Mpisekhaya, while offering condolences and support in mediation and negotiating a peaceful solution to any grievances, refused to pay the reparations-indeed was quite unable to. Kaffraria, now determined to 'show these kaffirs they're rightful place' sent police, backed by a provincial militia as the army had refused to become involved, to the royal seat at Idutywa to arrest the king and force the payment of the demanded reparations, in land if needs be.
Mpisekhaya caught wind of this, and fled to Lusikisiki, the capital of Pondoland, where he called for the support of the other groups of Xhosaland. In a rare moment of Xhosa unity, this was given gladly, for none wanted to encourage a repeat performance, and Mpisekhaya departed from Port Michael[17] to address the Federal Parliament in Cape Town. In his absence, Kaffraria announced that the entire Gcaleka Kingdom was to be held in trust until the reparations had been gathered from the populace, immediately sparking more riots across Kaffraria and the Transkei in protest.
The rest of the federation was outraged. In the liberal Cape, the large black population held marches calling for the immediate liberation of Gcalekaland and the trial of the provincial government of Kaffraria. The kings of Zululand, Basutoland, Swaziland, Matabeleland and the Gaza Emperor made a joint protest and call for the immediate withdrawal of the Kaffrarian government and even in the Oranje Free State and far off Enkeldoorm where the view on Africans was poor as a rule, the potential impact this might have on calls for full emancipation of the blacks drove them to condemn the matter, a situation made easier to justify by the fact that the actions were against the constitutional ban on interference in provincial matters. Kaffraria, entering full siege mentality, attempted to justify the situation by arguing that the Xhosa states did not have full provincial status and so were not bound by the same restrictions on interference. It was a futile excuse, and with the security situation deteriorating in the province, a delegation of federal representatives from East London and Queenstown stepped up to request military assistance in restoring order.
While this at least was legal under the constitution and could be approved without provoking a wider debate, the question of what to do next was telling. It was clear that the government in Kaffraria had acted in a manner which was essentially illegal, particularly the raising of a provincial militia in a time of peace, but how to prevent a future reoccurrence proved difficult to agree. In providing security the military were largely sidestepping the provincial government, who had been forced to withdraw their agents from Gcalekaland when it became clear that they did not have the support of the rest of the country, especially in the Transkei where they were soon providing the best government the inhabitants had known since the acquisition of the area by Queenstown. A long running court case was begun which would eventually see Kaffraria forced to pay a small payment to Mpisekhaya for the 'insult to his person', a landmark decision though the amount was small. Meanwhile the Federal Government was divided on two key issues- how to ensure the Transkei district was administered peacefully and properly in future, and to what extent the government and constitution in Kaffraria should be restructured. The former would see the military rule in the area, as the Transkei Military District, continue indefinitely to form a de facto separation between Kaffraria and the Transkei, while the latter was to be a harbinger of the debates leading up to the 1958 constitution. With the Oranje Free State and Doleriet leading the opposition to extending the franchise, and concerns in general even among moderates over the extent to which attempts to do so represented a hypocritical breaking of the constitution, the end result was an unsatisfactory decision to keep the previous system, though some of those considered most responsible for the actions were barred from holding office or prosecuted for malpractice.
Matters remained tense but at peace until the signing of the new constitution in 1958. Kaffraria had been prominent among the groups opposed to full enfranchisement, and despite the fact that the flight of most the Xhosa in the province to the improving conditions and better treatment found in the Transkei and elsewhere in the federation had brought the white population to a plurality even excluding the coloureds, they Queenstown was strongly unwilling to go through with full enfranchisement. In the event, the proximity of the military forces in the Transkei meant that they only utilised legal battles in the courts rather than violence, and with the failure of the anti-enfranchisement case in 1969 the provincial government reluctantly acquiesced and moved onto less overt means of discrimination. The military district of the Transkei was now formally separated from Kaffraria and made into a separate province, and with full enfranchisement of the black population and the representation of the population of the Xhosa states in the lower house, the status of 'Protected Kingdom' became of lesser importance, becoming an indication that with their relatively small populations they were accorded a half-vote in the Senate.
Today, Xhosaland remains a land of contrasts. British Kaffraria, barely maintaining white rule through discriminatory electoral practices[18] is one of the most conservative and nationalist areas of the Federation, while Transkei remains particularly poor and suffering from social issues. Of the kingdoms, Rharhabeland is the most prosperous, while Gcalekaland has used the compensation from the Great Trouble to produce the best educated population in the Xhosa states. Overall, Xhosaland is one of the less developed areas of the Federation, and certainly the least developed in the heartlands of the nation, though a far-reaching movement to improve basic education and sanitation across the region has recently begun. There remain some ethnic tensions between Transkei and British Kaffraria, with the former objecting to the name change of Butterworth to Gcuwa, and the latter increasingly objecting to the name Kaffraria as the offensiveness of the term Kaffir has become more frequently voiced.
[1] One thing which made this update quite difficult to write is the fact that all the names rather unfortunately look as though they were made up by Dr. Seuss...
[2] Second sons of the Great House had no defined role and became destined to either serve as advisors or be killed in internecine conflict, and frequently both. They were also very infrequent (under Swazi law the heir to the throne is specifically the child of the Great Elephant, their equivalent to Great House, and who must have only one son).
[3] Apart from where the Fengu have settled and the mention of Doleriet this is essentially all OTL up to this point.
[4] The flight of the Boers and takeover of the colony meant that there were less whites in the area, and the Second and Third Xhosa Wars did not occur, though there were some clashes between farmers.
[5] Analogous to the Fourth and Fifth merged OTL, with OTL's First being considered little more than a minor flashpoint clash as it happened in the immediate run-up to British conquest and so was largely forgotten TTL.
[6] By having Makana's rebellion at the same time as the Fourth Xhosa War, the second set of boundary changes pushing the border of the Cape Colony to the Keiskamma are avoided at this time.
[7] Grahamstown OTL.
[8] Again, I've merged a couple of wars together here, the 6th and Seventh Wars in this case, as with the area between the Big Fish and Keiskamma still in Xhosa hands the population pressures take a bit longer to get through, and Doleriet is the first target for Cape Expansion. With the Fengu settled elsewhere, the war is much harder for Britain.
[9] OTL King William's Town.
[10] This is essentially consistent with his OTL thoughts and decisions on the subject.
[11] OTL on this point, though a different colony of course.
[12] As he did OTL.
[13] The treaty system is much more widely respected ITTL than OTL as it's actually been in place for nearly a decade and led to prolonged period of peaceful relations, rather than being undermined virtually as soon as it was implemented.
[14] Largely settled around King William's Town OTL.
[15]. This was earlier and more widespread OTL as the Xhosa were in a worse position, but they've reached that point locally by now TTL.
[16] Yes, they are thinking that he can, therefore, be safely ignored if needs be.
[17] OTL Port St Johns, which TTL is the name of Port Edward, the wreck site of the São João being correctly identified.
[18] Think the Ohio ID card situation.