Why did the Boers emigrate northwards beyond the boundaries of the British-controlled Cape Colony?

In the year 1806, the British took control of the Cape Colony. This occurred because it was a convenient place for them in terms of shipping ease. The British were trading over great distances with important Asian markets at the time.

The Boers, who numbered in the tens of thousands, lived in the Cape Colony. The number of native African slaves owned by these Boers was enormous—almost as many as the Boers themselves. Upon their arrival, the British were quick to outlaw slave trade by putting up laws that go against the act and enforcing heavy taxation upon the Boers. Obviously, this was perceived negatively by the Boers, who felt oppressed by such measures, robbing them of part of the lifestyle they had gotten accustomed to.

This difficult situation prompted the Boers to exit from the Cape Colony, in search of new lands to live on, where the British would not interfere with them.

The Boers initially left and headed eastwards, but shifted northwards in the eastern direction. Their first choice in direction was blocked by the Xhosa people, forcing them to modify their plans accordingly.

This massive Exodus of the Boers northwards is commonly referred to as The Great Trek. This name comes up because of two reasons. First, the Boers had exit the Cape Colony in large numbers of ten to fourteen thousand. Second, the Boers went a long way eventually to find a place to settle, something that involved covering a great distance.

Discuss and Compare “Frontier Wars” in South Africa and in the United States.

Frontier Wars, in South Africa, refers to a series of nine wars between the Xhosa and the Boers. The wars were as a result of competition for land after the British arrived and took over Cape Colony. As a direct consequence, the Boers who previously occupied the Cape Colony sought new lands. In this pursuit of better, they ran into the Xhosa as they headed eastwards. Conflict arose as a means of competition to eliminate one another and keep the land to one the winning party. These events were set in motion in 1779 and went on gradually until 1879.

Frontier Wars, in the United States of America, were also a series of wars between various European parties against the native people of North America. These wars involved a great loss of lives on both sides, involved many treaties signed and violated and lastly led to the creation and uptake of Indian reservations within North America. The wars are similar since both began as a conflict over land and ended up having a major hand in shaping the involved communities to be as they are today.

Response to Question 2

The Khoisan people are descended from two African tribes in the Northern Cape, as depicted in Danielle Thomas’ answer. Namely, the tribes are the San, the original inhabitants who were gatherers. They were initially located at the current position of Botswana. The second tribe, the Khoikhoi, later joined them from the western part of South Africa, bringing a new way of life with them, which was herding. The San are said to have lived in the Northern Cape for an estimated a hundred thousand years. The Khoikhoi joined them only two thousand years ago,

Response to Question 3

There was a series of conflicts, which took part on three separate occasions, with the first being in 1659, the second in 1673 and lastly, the final one between 1675 and 1677. The first clash was a result if disagreement over land that escalated into violence. The second war occurred after negotiations over grazing fields broke down, causing the Dutch to attack and acquire livestock from the native Africans in devastating numbers. The third war was an all-out attack by the Dutch to attempt acquisition of as much livestock as technically possible. The end result was overwhelming bloodshed and over five thousand head of cattle lost to the Dutch.

Therefore, the Khoisan attack on the Dutch in 1652 was in retaliation to unfair trading guidelines and being robbed of livestock. This took place before the three wars began, hence the attack set the communities on a definite path to war.