Appendix A: Frontier Conflicts

Appendix A provides a conventional, numbered list of the major episodes of confrontation, or "Frontier Wars," that occurred on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony between 1781 and 1878. The appendix highlights the context, key events, and alternative designations for each conflict, summarising a history marked by increasing territorial expansion by white settlers. · First Frontier War (1781): A struggle for the land west of the Fish River, which the Dutch East India Company claimed as the boundary. Noted for the slaughter of Xhosa by Commandant Adriaan van Jaarsveld. · Second Frontier War (1793–1795): A confused conflict involving cattle-raiding in the Zuurveld (west of the Fish River) and a rebellion of frontier farmers against Cape Town's authority. · Third Frontier War (1799–1802): A major crisis for white settlement, threatened by both Xhosa groups and insurgent Khoi forces. · Fourth Frontier War (1811–1812): Resulted in the effective expulsion of Xhosa from the Zuurveld and the founding of Grahamstown and Cradock. · Fifth Frontier War (1818–1819): Featured the prophetic leadership of Makanna and included the pivotal Xhosa attack on Grahamstown in April 1819. · Sixth Frontier War (1834–1835): Preceded by years of tension and drought, it began with a Xhosa invasion and was met with harsh retaliation. It is remembered by settlers as an unprovoked attack and by Xhosa for the controversial murder of Hintsa. · Seventh Frontier War (1846–1847): Also known as the War of the Axe, precipitated by the erosion of the Stockenstrom Treaty System. It concluded with Sir Harry Smith's annexation of British Kaffraria and the intimidation of chiefs. · Eighth Frontier War (1850–1853): Increasingly known as the War of Mlanjeni. A bitterly fought conflict set against a backdrop of cattle disease, drought, and the spiritual call for renewal by the prophet Mlanjeni. This war also involved a major rebellion by coloured people. · Ninth Frontier War (1877–1878): The last major conflict, known as the War of Ngcayecibi (or the Ngqika-Gcaleka War). It escalated from a brawl between Mfengu and Gcaleka groups and saw the Nqika and Gcaleka move against the colonial authorities. The overarching trend between the First and Eighth Wars (1781 to 1853) was the consistent eastward expansion of the effective frontier, as white farmers claimed more land and demanded greater government protection from their African neighbours.