210-408: [REDACTED] British Empire The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars ) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. These events were the longest-running military resistance against European colonialism in Africa . The reality of
420-682: A Bantu ethnic group native to South Africa . They are the second largest ethnic group in South Africa and are native speakers of the isiXhosa language . Presently, over nine million Xhosa-speaking people are distributed across Southern Africa, although their traditional homeland is primarily the Eastern Cape province of South Africa . Their language, isiXhosa, is one of South Africa's most populous languages. The pre-1994 apartheid system of Bantustan assigned them to have self-governing "homelands" (native reserves), namely; Transkei and Ciskei , both
630-470: A South African cultural group who emphasise traditional practices and customs inherited from their forefathers. Each person within the Xhosa culture has their place which is recognised by the entire community. Starting from birth, a Xhosa person goes through graduation stages which recognise their growth and assign them a recognised place in the community. Each stage is marked by a specific ritual aimed at introducing
840-417: A blemish may be slaughtered for others. Further customs include the emptying the main bedroom of the bereaving family, known as ' indlu enkulu '. This room is where most of the last respects will be paid by family and friends. The emptying of the room is done in order to create space for extended family members to be able to mourn in the main room. The first family members and/or neighbours to arrive arrange
1050-573: A brother of the chief who had been killed, swept across the frontier into the Cape Colony, pillaged and burned the homesteads, and killed all who resisted. Among the worst sufferers was a colony of freed Khoikhoi who, in 1829, had been settled in the Kat River Valley by the British authorities. Refugees from the farms and villages took to the safety of Grahamstown, where women and children found refuge in
1260-635: A buffer zone between the Cape Colony and Xhosa territory, empty of the Boers and British to the east and the Xhosa to the west. In 1811, the Xhosa occupied the area, and flashpoint conflicts with encroaching settlers followed. An expeditionary force under the command of Colonel John Graham drove the Xhosa back beyond the Fish River in an effort that the first Governor of the Cape Colony , Lieutenant-General John Cradock , characterized as involving no more bloodshed "than
1470-465: A contest of ideologies between the two nations. It was not only Britain's position on the world stage that was at risk: Napoleon threatened to invade Britain itself, just as his armies had overrun many countries of continental Europe . The Napoleonic Wars were therefore ones in which Britain invested large amounts of capital and resources to win. French ports were blockaded by the Royal Navy , which won
1680-466: A custom, but as a medical procedure to curb HIV infections. All these rituals are symbolic of one's development. Before each is performed, the individual spends time with community elders to prepare for the next stage. The elders' teachings are not written, but transmitted from generation to generation by oral tradition. The iziduko (clan) for instance—which matters most to the Xhosa identity (even more than names and surnames) are transferred from one to
1890-532: A death toll of anywhere from 100 to 200, including Jalamba. Soon after this, the Van Jaarsveld commandoes began attacking and looting the cattle of multiple other chiefdoms in the Zuurveld which included the amaGwali, amaNtinde, and amaMbalu. A large amount of the Xhosa population west of the river became dispersed, and Van Jaarsveld disbanded his commandoes on July 19, 1781, feeling he had fulfilled his job of expelling
2100-612: A decisive victory over a French Imperial Navy - Spanish Navy fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Overseas colonies were attacked and occupied, including those of the Netherlands, which was annexed by Napoleon in 1810. France was finally defeated by a coalition of European armies in 1815. Britain was again the beneficiary of peace treaties: France ceded the Ionian Islands , Malta (which it had occupied in 1798), Mauritius , St Lucia ,
2310-690: A dependency of the New South Wales colony. From 16 June 1840 New South Wales laws applied in New Zealand. This transitional arrangement ended with the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand on 16 November 1840. The Charter stated that New Zealand would be established as a separate Crown colony on 3 May 1841 with Hobson as its governor. During the 19th century, Britain and the Russian Empire vied to fill
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#17328455043302520-606: A form that attempted to be more inclusive by showcasing the empire as a family of newly birthed nations with common roots. The last decades of the 19th century saw concerted political campaigns for Irish home rule . Ireland had been united with Britain into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the Act of Union 1800 after the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , and had suffered a severe famine between 1845 and 1852. Home rule
2730-495: A goat or sheep or even a fowl is slaughtered. A cleansing ritual is done the day after the burial, in which the bereaved women of the family go to the nearest river to wash all the materials and blankets that were used by the deceased before death. Furthermore, the clothes of the deceased are removed from the house and the family members shave their hair. The shaving of hair is an indication that life continues to spring up even after death. The Xhosa settled on mountain slopes of
2940-568: A minor settlement, and other treaty ports including Shanghai . During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British Crown began to assume an increasingly large role in the affairs of the company. A series of Acts of Parliament were passed, including the Regulating Act of 1773 , Pitt's India Act of 1784 and the Charter Act of 1813 which regulated the company's affairs and established
3150-469: A monument was erected there for the fallen Xhosa in 2001. During the Fifth Frontier War in 1818, after a two-decade long conflict, King Ngqika ka Mlawu and his uncle Ndlambe's people clashed again in a battle called the Battle of Amalinde over several issues, including land ownership. The king appointed his eldest son Maqoma (despite him lacking experience in battle) and the renowned Jingqi to lead
3360-504: A nearby mountain ridge. The meeting was initially tense – the fathers of both Sarhili and Stockenström had been killed whilst unarmed. Both men were also veterans of several frontier wars against each other and, while they treated each other with extreme respect, Stockenström nonetheless made the extreme demand that Sarhili assume responsibility for any future Ngqika attacks. After protracted negotiations, Sarhili agreed to return any raided cattle & other property and to relinquish claims to
3570-431: A new life, respectively. Xhosa people regard white as the colour of purity and mediation; white beads are still used as offerings to spirits or to the creator. Amagqirha/diviners use white beads when communicating with the ancestors . These diviners also carry with them beaded spears, which are associated with the ancestors that inspire the diviner; beaded horns; and calabashes, to hold medicinal products or snuff. "Amageza",
3780-635: A part of the Eastern Cape Province where most Xhosa remain. A notable population also thrives in the Western Cape province of the country. Cape Town ( eKapa in Xhosa), East London ( eMonti ), and Gqeberha ( e-Bhayi ). As of 2003, the majority of Xhosa speakers, approximately 5.3 million, lived in the Eastern Cape, followed by the Western Cape (approximately 1 million), Gauteng (971,045),
3990-541: A perceived violation of the guaranteed Rights of Englishmen . The American Revolution began with a rejection of Parliamentary authority and moves towards self-government. In response, Britain sent troops to reimpose direct rule, leading to the outbreak of war in 1775. The following year, in 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence proclaiming the colonies' sovereignty from
4200-472: A rapid escalation in the number of slaves transported. British ships carried a third of all slaves shipped across the Atlantic—approximately 3.5 million Africans —until the abolition of the trade by Parliament in 1807 (see § Abolition of slavery ). To facilitate the shipment of slaves, forts were established on the coast of West Africa, such as James Island , Accra and Bunce Island . In
4410-524: A security threat to Great Britain or mark the beginning of the break-up of the empire. A second Home Rule bill was defeated for similar reasons. A third bill was passed by Parliament in 1914, but not implemented because of the outbreak of the First World War leading to the 1916 Easter Rising . By the turn of the 20th century, fears had begun to grow in Britain that it would no longer be able to defend
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#17328455043304620-442: A sense of belonging and cultural identity and traditions hence people draw their cultural ways of living and meanings, as Xhosa people use them as social markers. Xhosa people believe that the beads also create a link between the living and the ancestors as diviners use them during rituals. Thus beads have some spiritual significance. Social identities/markers with regards to age, gender, grade, marital status, social rank or role and
4830-812: A series of Anglo-Mysore wars in Southern India with the Sultanate of Mysore under Hyder Ali and then Tipu Sultan . Defeats in the First Anglo-Mysore war and stalemate in the Second were followed by victories in the Third and the Fourth . Following Tipu Sultan's death in the fourth war in the Siege of Seringapatam (1799) , the kingdom became a protectorate of the company. The East India Company fought three Anglo-Maratha Wars with
5040-427: A specific sequence of events and rituals which need to be performed in order to regard a funeral as dignified. Once the family has been notified that a member has died, the extended family comes together in preparation for the burial of the deceased. The " umkhapho " (to accompany) ritual is performed in order to accompany the spirit of the deceased to the land of the ancestors. The local male clan leader or his proxy
5250-517: A string of clashes. The government then made peace with the Xhosa and allowed them to stay in Zuurveld. In 1801, another Graaff-Reinet rebellion started forcing more Khoi desertions and farm abandonments. The commandos could achieve no result, so in February 1803 a peace was arranged, leaving the Xhosas still in the big Zuurveld. The Fourth War was the first experienced under British rule. The Zuurveld acted as
5460-717: A string of defeats on the Ngqika, Stockenström took a small and select group of his mounted commandos across the Colony's border and rapidly pushed into the independent Xhosa lands beyond the frontier. They rode deep into the Transkei Xhosa heartland, directly towards the kraal of Sarhili ("Kreli"), the paramount chief of all the Xhosa. Due in part to the speed of their approach, they were barely engaged by Xhosa forces and rode directly into Sarhili's capital. Paramount Chief Sarhili and his generals agreed to meet Stockenström (with his commandants Groepe , Molteno and Brownlee ), unarmed, on
5670-556: A traditional dress code informed by the individuals social standing portraying different stages of life. The 'red blanket people' (Xhosa people) have a custom of wearing red blankets dyed with red ochre, the intensity of the colour varying from tribe to tribe. Other clothing includes beadwork and printed fabrics. Although in general, Xhosa lifestyle has been adapted to Western traditions, the Xhosa people still wear traditional attire for special cultural activities. The various tribes have their own variations of traditional dress which includes
5880-489: A veil made of beads, is also part of their regalia, they use these beads by swaying them in someone's eyes so as to induce a trance-like state. Inkciyo is a beaded skirt that serves as a garment covering the pubic area. Among the Pondo people (Xhosa clan) the beads are turquoise and white in colour. This skirt is worn during a virginity testing ceremony among Xhosa people undergoing their rites of passage into womanhood. Impempe
6090-602: A way station for its ships travelling to and from its colonies in the East Indies . Britain formally acquired the colony, and its large Afrikaner (or Boer ) population in 1806, having occupied it in 1795 to prevent its falling into French hands during the Flanders Campaign . British immigration to the Cape Colony began to rise after 1820, and pushed thousands of Boers , resentful of British rule, northwards to found their own—mostly short-lived— independent republics , during
6300-467: Is a wedding song called " Qongqothwane ", performed by Miriam Makeba as "Click Song #1". Besides Makeba, several modern groups record and perform in Xhosa. Missionaries introduced the Xhosa to Western choral singing. " Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika ", part of the National anthem of South Africa is a Xhosa hymn written in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga . The first newspapers , novels, and plays in Xhosa appeared in
6510-433: Is a whistle that has a necklace on it. The whistle symbolises one's introduction to adolescence. Xhosa beadwork and other cultural beadworks have cultural ties, but nowadays beads are also worn as fashion pieces, too, either as cultural appreciation or appropriation. The use of cultural beadworks as fashion pieces means that anyone can wear these pieces without having to belong to that cultural group. The Xhosa culture has
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6720-405: Is dependent on numerous things such as her level of education, the wealth status of her family in comparison to that of the man's family, what the man stands to gain in the marriage and the overall desirability of the woman. The payment of the bride-price could be in either cattle or money depending on the family of the woman. The modern Xhosa families would rather prefer money as most are situated in
6930-551: Is seen by some historians as the event defining the transition between the first and second empires, in which Britain shifted its attention away from the Americas to Asia, the Pacific and later Africa. Adam Smith 's Wealth of Nations , published in 1776, had argued that colonies were redundant, and that free trade should replace the old mercantilist policies that had characterised the first period of colonial expansion, dating back to
7140-399: Is the case of chief Ngqika and his uncle, chief Ndlambe. The conflicts between the amaXhosa and British were covered extensively in the metropolitan British press, generating increased demand among the British public for information about their country's far-off colonial conflicts. The first European colonial settlement in modern-day South Africa was a small supply station established by
7350-405: Is the one who facilitates the process. The purpose of umkhapho is to keep the bonds between the deceased person and the bereaved alive so that the deceased may be able to return later and communicate as an ancestor. During this ritual, an animal such as a goat is slaughtered. A larger animal like a cow may also be slaughtered for an important person like a head of the family whilst a goat without
7560-480: Is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as " the empire on which the sun never sets ", as the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France , and
7770-698: The Acts of Union 1707 . The 18th century saw the newly united Great Britain rise to be the world's dominant colonial power, with France becoming its main rival on the imperial stage. Great Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire continued the War of the Spanish Succession, which lasted until 1714 and was concluded by the Treaty of Utrecht . Philip V of Spain renounced his and his descendants' claim to
7980-802: The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruling political party in the government . Xhosa is an agglutinative tonal language categorized under Bantu linguistic classification. While the Xhosas call their language "isiXhosa", it is usually referred to as "Xhosa" in English. Written Xhosa uses a Latin alphabet –based system. Xhosa is spoken by about 18% of the South African population, and has some mutual intelligibility with Zulu, especially Zulu spoken in urban areas. Many Xhosa speakers, particularly those living in urban areas, also speak Zulu and/or Afrikaans and/or English. The Xhosa are
8190-656: The American War of Independence towards the end of the 18th century, has been referred to by some historians as the "First British Empire". England's early efforts at colonisation in the Americas met with mixed success. An attempt to establish a colony in Guiana in 1604 lasted only two years and failed in its main objective to find gold deposits. Colonies on the Caribbean islands of St Lucia (1605) and Grenada (1609) rapidly folded. The first permanent English settlement in
8400-833: The Battle of Vimy Ridge in a similar light. The important contribution of the Dominions to the war effort was recognised in 1917 by British prime minister David Lloyd George when he invited each of the Dominion prime ministers to join an Imperial War Cabinet to co-ordinate imperial policy. Xhosa people Eastern Cape : 5,102,053 Western Cape : 2,326,704 Gauteng : 862,124 Free State : 320,645 KwaZulu-Natal : 405,140 North West : 225,023 Northern Cape : 101,062 Mpumalanga : 50,225 The Xhosa people , or Xhosa -speaking people ( / ˈ k ɔː s ə / KAW -sə , / ˈ k oʊ s ə / KOH -sə ; Xhosa pronunciation: [kǁʰɔ́ːsa] ) are
8610-631: The British economy . Added to this was the cost of suppressing regular slave rebellions . With support from the British abolitionist movement, Parliament enacted the Slave Trade Act in 1807, which abolished the slave trade in the empire. In 1808, Sierra Leone Colony was designated an official British colony for freed slaves. Parliamentary reform in 1832 saw the influence of the West India Committee decline. The Slavery Abolition Act , passed
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8820-823: The Caribbean in the British West Indies , British colonial expansion turned towards Asia, Africa , and the Pacific . After the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century and expanded its imperial holdings. It pursued trade concessions in China and Japan, and territory in Southeast Asia . The " Great Game " and " Scramble for Africa " also ensued. The period of relative peace (1815–1914) during which
9030-634: The Dutch East India Company in 1652 at present-day Cape Town as a place for their merchant ships to resupply en route to and from the East Indies and Japan . Quickly expanding as a result of increasing numbers of Dutch , German , and Huguenot immigrants, the supply station soon expanded into a burgeoning settler colony . Colonial expansion from the Cape into the valleys led to the Khoikhoi–Dutch Wars between encroaching trekboers and
9240-519: The Eastern Cape . According to oral tradition, the modern Xhosa Kingdom was founded somewhere before the 15th century by Tshawe (whom the royal clan of the Xhosas is named after) who overthrew his brother Cirha (assisted by his brother Jwarha) with the help of the amaNgwevu clan of the amaMpondomise Kingdom. Tshawe and his army then incorporated formerly independent Nguni clans into the Xhosa Kingdom. Khoekhoe tribes were incorporated, including
9450-764: The First Anglo-Afghan War was a disaster for Britain. When Russia invaded the Ottoman Balkans in 1853, fears of Russian dominance in the Mediterranean and the Middle East led Britain and France to enter the war in support of the Ottoman Empire and invade the Crimean Peninsula to destroy Russian naval capabilities. The ensuing Crimean War (1854–1856), which involved new techniques of modern warfare ,
9660-561: The Free State (546,192), KwaZulu-Natal (219,826), North West (214,461), Mpumalanga (46,553), the Northern Cape (51,228), and Limpopo (14,225). There is a small but significant Xhosa-speaking ( Mfengu ) community in Zimbabwe, and their language, isiXhosa, is recognised as an official national language . This community is the remnant migrated from central Africa into South Africa upon
9870-658: The Government of India Act 1858 , establishing the British Raj , where an appointed governor-general administered India and Queen Victoria was crowned the Empress of India . India became the empire's most valuable possession, "the Jewel in the Crown", and was the most important source of Britain's strength. A series of serious crop failures in the late 19th century led to widespread famines on
10080-729: The Great Trek of the late 1830s and early 1840s. In the process the Voortrekkers clashed repeatedly with the British, who had their own agenda with regard to colonial expansion in South Africa and to the various native African polities, including those of the Sotho people and the Zulu Kingdom . Eventually, the Boers established two republics that had a longer lifespan: the South African Republic or Transvaal Republic (1852–1877; 1881–1902) and
10290-635: The Khedivate of Egypt into the 20th century, it was officially a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire and not part of the British Empire. The French were still majority shareholders and attempted to weaken the British position, but a compromise was reached with the 1888 Convention of Constantinople , which made the Canal officially neutral territory. With competitive French, Belgian and Portuguese activity in
10500-417: The Khoekhoe . By the second half of the 18th century, European colonists gradually expanded eastward up the coast and encountered the Xhosa in the region of the Great Fish River . The Xhosa were already established in the area and herded cattle, which led to tensions between them and the colonists; these tensions were the primary reason for the Cape Frontier Wars. The Dutch East India Company had demarcated
10710-414: The Mahdist Army in 1896 and rebuffed an attempted French invasion at Fashoda in 1898. Sudan was nominally made an Anglo-Egyptian condominium , but a British colony in reality. British gains in Southern and East Africa prompted Cecil Rhodes , pioneer of British expansion in Southern Africa , to urge a " Cape to Cairo " railway linking the strategically important Suez Canal to the mineral-rich south of
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#173284550433010920-447: The Maratha Confederacy . The First Anglo-Maratha War ended in 1782 with a restoration of the pre-war status quo . The Second and Third Anglo-Maratha wars resulted in British victories. After the surrender of Peshwa Bajirao II on 1818, the East India Company acquired control of a large majority of the Indian subcontinent. Britain was challenged again by France under Napoleon, in a struggle that, unlike previous wars, represented
11130-542: The Middle East . Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies , some of which were formally reclassified as Dominions by the 1920s. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britain's economic lead. Military, economic and colonial tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War , during which Britain relied heavily on its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on its military, financial, and manpower resources. Although
11340-639: The Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia . A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left Britain the dominant colonial power in North America . Britain became a major power in the Indian subcontinent after the East India Company 's conquest of Mughal Bengal at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The American War of Independence resulted in Britain losing some of its oldest and most populous colonies in North America by 1783. While retaining control of British North America (now Canada ) and territories in and near
11550-409: The Orange Free State (1854–1902). In 1902 Britain occupied both republics, concluding a treaty with the two Boer Republics following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). In 1869 the Suez Canal opened under Napoleon III , linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean . Initially the Canal was opposed by the British; but once opened, its strategic value was quickly recognised and became
11760-411: The Royal African Company was granted a monopoly on the supply of slaves to the British colonies in the Caribbean. The company would transport more slaves across the Atlantic than any other, and significantly grew England's share of the trade, from 33 per cent in 1673 to 74 per cent in 1683. The removal of this monopoly between 1688 and 1712 allowed independent British slave traders to thrive, leading to
11970-500: The Saint John and Saint Croix river valleys, then part of Nova Scotia , felt too far removed from the provincial government in Halifax , so London split off New Brunswick as a separate colony in 1784. The Constitutional Act of 1791 created the provinces of Upper Canada (mainly English speaking ) and Lower Canada (mainly French-speaking ) to defuse tensions between the French and British communities, and implemented governmental systems similar to those employed in Britain, with
12180-443: The Seychelles , and Tobago ; Spain ceded Trinidad ; the Netherlands ceded Guiana , Ceylon and the Cape Colony , while the Danish ceded Heligoland . Britain returned Guadeloupe , Martinique , French Guiana , and Réunion to France; Menorca to Spain; Danish West Indies to Denmark and Java and Suriname to the Netherlands. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution , goods produced by slavery became less important to
12390-441: The Treaty of Paris of 1763 had important consequences for the future of the British Empire. In North America, France's future as a colonial power effectively ended with the recognition of British claims to Rupert's Land, and the ceding of New France to Britain (leaving a sizeable French-speaking population under British control) and Louisiana to Spain. Spain ceded Florida to Britain. Along with its victory over France in India,
12600-417: The Victorian gold rush , making its capital Melbourne for a time the richest city in the world. The British also expanded their mercantile interests in the North Pacific. Spain and Britain had become rivals in the area, culminating in the Nootka Crisis in 1789. Both sides mobilised for war, but when France refused to support Spain it was forced to back down, leading to the Nootka Convention . The outcome
12810-454: The War of 1812 , and invaded Canadian territory. In response, Britain invaded the US, but the pre-war boundaries were reaffirmed by the 1814 Treaty of Ghent , ensuring Canada's future would be separate from that of the United States. Since 1718, transportation to the American colonies had been a penalty for various offences in Britain, with approximately one thousand convicts transported per year. Forced to find an alternative location after
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#173284550433013020-423: The amaXhosa , commanded authority over all of the Xhosa tribes and therefore held him responsible for the initial attack on the Cape Colony, and for the looted cattle. D'Urban came to the frontier in May 1835, and led a large force across the Kei river to confront Hintsa at his Great Place and dictate terms to him. The terms stated that all the country from the Cape's prior frontier, the Keiskamma River, as far as
13230-545: The metropole and the entirety of the empire while at the same time maintaining the policy of "splendid isolation". Germany was rapidly rising as a military and industrial power and was now seen as the most likely opponent in any future war. Recognising that it was overstretched in the Pacific and threatened at home by the Imperial German Navy , Britain formed an alliance with Japan in 1902 and with its old enemies France and Russia in 1904 and 1907, respectively. Britain's fears of war with Germany were realised in 1914 with
13440-413: The privateers John Hawkins and Francis Drake to engage in slave-raiding attacks against Spanish and Portuguese ships off the coast of West Africa with the aim of establishing an Atlantic slave trade . This effort was rebuffed and later, as the Anglo-Spanish Wars intensified, Elizabeth I gave her blessing to further privateering raids against Spanish ports in the Americas and shipping that
13650-440: The protectionism of Spain and Portugal. The growth of trade between the newly independent United States and Britain after 1783 seemed to confirm Smith's view that political control was not necessary for economic success. The war to the south influenced British policy in Canada, where between 40,000 and 100,000 defeated Loyalists had migrated from the new United States following independence. The 14,000 Loyalists who went to
13860-399: The spice trade of the East Indies archipelago to the Netherlands and the textiles industry of India to England, but textiles soon overtook spices in terms of profitability. Peace between England and the Netherlands in 1688 meant the two countries entered the Nine Years' War as allies, but the conflict—waged in Europe and overseas between France, Spain and the Anglo-Dutch alliance—left
14070-475: The "Sugar Revolution" transformed the Caribbean economy in the mid-17th century. Large sugarcane plantations were first established in the 1640s on Barbados, with assistance from Dutch merchants and Sephardic Jews fleeing Portuguese Brazil . At first, sugar was grown primarily using white indentured labour , but rising costs soon led English traders to embrace the use of imported African slaves. The enormous wealth generated by slave-produced sugar made Barbados
14280-480: The "jugular vein of the Empire". In 1875, the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli bought the indebted Egyptian ruler Isma'il Pasha 's 44 per cent shareholding in the Suez Canal for £4 million (equivalent to £480 million in 2023). Although this did not grant outright control of the strategic waterway, it did give Britain leverage. Joint Anglo-French financial control over Egypt ended in outright British occupation in 1882. Although Britain controlled
14490-428: The 1730s. This trade, illegal since it was outlawed by China in 1729, helped reverse the trade imbalances resulting from the British imports of tea, which saw large outflows of silver from Britain to China. In 1839, the confiscation by the Chinese authorities at Canton of 20,000 chests of opium led Britain to attack China in the First Opium War , and resulted in the seizure by Britain of Hong Kong Island , at that time
14700-467: The 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the largest empire in history and, for a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 percent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional , legal , linguistic , and cultural legacy
14910-405: The 19th century, and Xhosa poetry is also gaining renown. Several films have been shot in the Xhosa language. U-Carmen eKhayelitsha is a modern remake of Bizet 's 1875 opera Carmen . It is shot entirely in Xhosa, and combines music from the original opera with traditional African music. It takes place in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha . The movie Black Panther also features
15120-805: The Amatola and the Winterberg Mountains. Many streams drain into great rivers of this Xhosa territory, including the Kei and Fish Rivers. Rich soils and plentiful rainfall make the river basins good for farming and grazing making cattle important and the basis of wealth. Traditional foods include beef ( Inyama yenkomo ), mutton ( Inyama yegusha ), and goat meat ( Inyama yebhokwe ), sorghum , milk (often fermented , called " amasi "), pumpkins ( amathanga ), Mielie-meal (maize meal), samp ( umngqusho ), beans ( iimbotyi ), vegetables , like "rhabe" , wild spinach reminiscent of sorrel , " imvomvo " ,
15330-583: The Americas the following year but did not return; it is unknown what happened to his ships. No further attempts to establish English colonies in the Americas were made until well into the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , during the last decades of the 16th century. In the meantime, Henry VIII 's 1533 Statute in Restraint of Appeals had declared "that this realm of England is an Empire". The Protestant Reformation turned England and Catholic Spain into implacable enemies. In 1562, Elizabeth I encouraged
15540-682: The Americas was founded in 1607 in Jamestown by Captain John Smith , and managed by the Virginia Company ; the Crown took direct control of the venture in 1624, thereby founding the Colony of Virginia . Bermuda was settled and claimed by England as a result of the 1609 shipwreck of the Virginia Company's flagship , while attempts to settle Newfoundland were largely unsuccessful. In 1620, Plymouth
15750-510: The Boer retaliation against cattle raiders as being what instigated the conflict. As a result, the Boer community lost faith in the British justice system and often took the law into their own hands when cattle rustlers were caught. The territorial expansion and creation of "Queen Adelaide Province" was also condemned by London as being uneconomical and unjust. The province was disannexed in December 1836,
15960-648: The British Caribbean, the percentage of the population of African descent rose from 25 per cent in 1650 to around 80 per cent in 1780, and in the Thirteen Colonies from 10 per cent to 40 per cent over the same period (the majority in the southern colonies). The transatlantic slave trade played a pervasive role in British economic life, and became a major economic mainstay for western port cities. Ships registered in Bristol , Liverpool and London were responsible for
16170-542: The British Empire as the new United States of America . The entry of French and Spanish forces into the war tipped the military balance in the Americans' favour and after a decisive defeat at Yorktown in 1781, Britain began negotiating peace terms. American independence was acknowledged at the Peace of Paris in 1783. The loss of such a large portion of British America , at the time Britain's most populous overseas possession,
16380-466: The British Empire became the global hegemon was later described as Pax Britannica (Latin for "British Peace"). Alongside the formal control that Britain exerted over its colonies, its dominance of much of world trade, and of its oceans, meant that it effectively controlled the economies of, and readily enforced its interests in, many regions , such as Asia and Latin America . It also came to dominate
16590-410: The British Empire's frontier policy later informed his government's decisions to oppose the British in the final frontier war. However, British Imperial General Peregrine Maitland rejected the treaty and sent an insulting letter back to the Xhosa paramount-chief, demanding greater acts of submission and servility. Furious, Stockenström and his local commandos resigned and departed from the war, leaving
16800-663: The British Imperial troops and the local commandos broke down completely during the war. On the Xhosa side, the Ngqika (known to the Europeans as the "Gaika") were the chief tribe engaged in the war, assisted by portions of the Ndlambe and the Thembu . The Xhosa forces were greater in number, and some of them had by this time replaced their traditional weapons with firearms. Both sides engaged in
17010-408: The British and the Xhosa – both starving and afflicted by fever – to a long, drawn-out war of attrition. The effects of the drought were worsened through the use, by both sides, of scorched earth tactics . Gradually, as the armies weakened, the conflict subsided into waves of petty and bloody recriminations. At one point, violence flared up again after Ngqika tribesmen supposedly stole four goats from
17220-589: The British defeated the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, left the British East India Company in control of Bengal and as a major military and political power in India. France was left control of its enclaves but with military restrictions and an obligation to support British client states , ending French hopes of controlling India. In the following decades the British East India Company gradually increased
17430-614: The Cape Colony government about stolen cattle and their restitution by the Xhosa. An issue of ducks and geese overcrowding the area brought on a civil war between the Ngqika (royal clan of the Rharhabe Xhosa) and the Gcaleka Xhosa (those that remained in their homeland). A Cape Colony-Ngqika defence treaty legally required military assistance to the Ngqika request (1818). The Xhosa prophet Nxele (also known as Makhanda) emerged at this time and promised "to turn bullets into water". Under
17640-453: The Cape by Europeans in 1652, the native populations were gradually pushed eastwards until, in the 1700s, the borders of the Cape Colony had pushed populations far enough east (with relations between colonist and native significantly broken down) to create a critical mass of hostile population to resist the colonists in the Eastern Cape. This sparked off the Cape frontier wars , which represent some of
17850-539: The Cape's border was re-established at the Keiskamma river, and new treaties were made with the chiefs responsible for order beyond the Fish River. In the aftermath of the previous frontier war, the new lieutenant-governor of the Eastern Province, Andries Stockenström , instituted a completely new border policy. Stockenström, who professed considerable respect for the Xhosa, developed a system of formal treaties to guard
18060-463: The Cape; his death proved to be an enduring memory in the collective imagination of the Xhosa nation. Originally assured of his personal safety during the treaty negotiations, Hintsa rapidly found himself held hostage and pressured with massive demands for cattle "restitution". Other sources say he offered himself as a hostage until the indemnity was paid and even suggested that he accompany Colonel Smith in collecting Xhosa cattle. He attempted to escape at
18270-595: The English a stronger colonial power than the Dutch, who were forced to devote a larger proportion of their military budget to the costly land war in Europe. The death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and his bequeathal of Spain and its colonial empire to Philip V of Spain , a grandson of the King of France , raised the prospect of the unification of France, Spain and their respective colonies, an unacceptable state of affairs for England and
18480-527: The Fish River to the Keiskamma River . The resulting empty territory was designated as a buffer zone for loyal Africans' settlements, but was declared to be off limits for either side's military occupation. It came to be known as the "Ceded Territories". The Albany district was established in 1820, on the Cape's side of the Fish River, and was populated with some 5,000 settlers . The Grahamstown battle site continues to be called "Egazini" ("Place of Blood"), and
18690-673: The French throne, and Spain lost its empire in Europe. The British Empire was territorially enlarged: from France, Britain gained Newfoundland and Acadia , and from Spain, Gibraltar and Menorca . Gibraltar became a critical naval base and allowed Britain to control the Atlantic entry and exit point to the Mediterranean . Spain ceded the rights to the lucrative asiento (permission to sell African slaves in Spanish America ) to Britain. With
18900-520: The Gqunukhwebe. Panic ensued and farms were abandoned. The third war started in January 1799 with a Xhosa rebellion that General T. P. Vandeleur crushed. Discontented Khoikhoi then revolted, joined with the Xhosa in the Zuurveld, and started attacking, raiding farms occupied by European and Dutch settlers, reaching Oudtshoorn by July 1799. Commandos from Graaf-Reinet and Swellendam then started fighting in
19110-552: The Great Fish River as the eastern boundary of the colony in 1779, though this was ignored by many settlers, leading to the First Cape Frontier War breaking out. The First Frontier War broke out in 1779 between Boer frontiersmen and the amaXhosa. In December 1779, an armed clash occurred, resulting from allegations of cattle theft by Xhosa people. In November 1780, the Cape governor, Baron van Plettenberg declared that
19320-541: The Great Kei River, was annexed as the British "Queen Adelaide Province" , and its inhabitants declared British subjects. A site for the seat of the province's government was selected and named King William's Town . The new province was declared to be for the settlement of loyal tribes, rebel tribes who replaced their leadership, and the Fengu (known to the Europeans as the "Fingo people"), who had recently arrived fleeing from
19530-606: The Inqua, the Giqwa, and the amaNgqosini (both Khoi and Sotho origin). Formerly independent clans (many of Khoekhoe origin) and chiefdoms in the region became tributary to the amaTshawe and spoke isiXhosa as their primary language. The Xhosa polity achieved political ascendancy over most of the Cape Khoe extending to the very fringes of the Cape Peninsula. With the settlement of
19740-695: The Khoi escort. The Xhosa refused to surrender the murderer and war broke out in March 1846. The regular British forces suffered initial setbacks. A British column sent to confront the Rharhabe King, Sandile kaNgqika , was delayed at the Amatola Mountains, and the attacking Xhosa captured the centre of the three-mile long wagon train which was not being defended, carrying away the British officer's supply of wine and other supplies. Large numbers of Xhosa then poured across
19950-549: The Māori population. The UK government finally decided to act, dispatching Captain William Hobson with instructions to take formal possession after obtaining native consent. There was no central Māori authority able to represent all New Zealand so, on 6 February 1840, Hobson and many Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi in the Bay of Islands; most other chiefs signing in stages over
20160-634: The Netherlands as a colonial power, in the short term the Netherlands' more advanced financial system and the three Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century left it with a stronger position in Asia. Hostilities ceased after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when the Dutch William of Orange ascended the English throne, bringing peace between the Dutch Republic and England. A deal between the two nations left
20370-428: The Ngqika land west of the Kei. He also promised to use his limited authority over the frontier Ngqika to restrain cross-border attacks. A treaty was signed and the commandos departed on good terms. Also leading his commando on this campaign was a young man named John Molteno , who in later life became the Cape's first Prime Minister. Significantly, his experience of what he believed to be the ineptitude and injustice of
20580-453: The Ngunis lived in for some time before continuing with their migration. Upon crossing mountains and rivers in South Africa, these farm-working agro-pastoralists brought their cattle and goats with them and absorbed the weaker San groups in the region. They also brought weapons, notably their assegais and their shields and would form groups or chiefdoms and kingdoms mainly in what is now
20790-456: The Nqabarha River but was pursued, pulled off his horse, and immobilized with shots through the back and the leg. Immediately, a soldier named George Southey (brother of colonial administrator Sir Richard Southey ) came up behind Hintsa and shot him in the back of the head; furthermore, Hintsa's ears were cut off after his death. Other sources say his horse bolted and Harry Smith tried to shoot
21000-468: The Pacific between 1769 and 1777, James Cook visited New Zealand . He was followed by an assortment of Europeans and Americans which including whalers, sealers, escaped convicts from New South Wales, missionaries and adventurers. Initially, contact with the indigenous Māori people was limited to the trading of goods, although interaction increased during the early decades of the 19th century with many trading and missionary stations being set up, especially in
21210-650: The Pacific for the extension of the North American fur trade . Alexander Mackenzie of the North West Company led the first, starting out in 1792, and a year later he became the first European to reach the Pacific overland north of the Rio Grande , reaching the ocean near present-day Bella Coola . This preceded the Lewis and Clark Expedition by twelve years. Shortly thereafter, Mackenzie's companion, John Finlay , founded
21420-554: The Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War, and the two continued to co-operate in arenas outside India: the eviction of the French from Egypt (1799), the capture of Java from the Netherlands (1811), the acquisition of Penang Island (1786), Singapore (1819) and Malacca (1824), and the defeat of Burma (1826). From its base in India, the company had been engaged in an increasingly profitable opium export trade to Qing China since
21630-758: The San were made out of ostrich egg shells which were chipped to small size, bored and polished and strung into sinews. Producing them took a long time, so they were scarce, highly priced, valued and in demand. It is recorded that it was only in the 1930s that the Portuguese introduced glass beads through trade. Adornments serve a particular purpose across different cultures as social markers . They are used to ascertain where one belongs to with regards to identity, history and geographical location. They reveal personal information with regards to age and gender and social class as some beads were meant to be worn by royalty. Beadwork creates
21840-497: The Seven Years' War therefore left Britain as the world's most powerful maritime power . During the 1760s and early 1770s, relations between the Thirteen Colonies and Britain became increasingly strained, primarily because of resentment of the British Parliament's attempts to govern and tax American colonists without their consent. This was summarised at the time by the colonists' slogan " No taxation without representation ",
22050-740: The Spanish, and in 1666 succeeded in colonising the Bahamas . In 1670, Charles II incorporated by royal charter the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), granting it a monopoly on the fur trade in the area known as Rupert's Land , which would later form a large proportion of the Dominion of Canada . Forts and trading posts established by the HBC were frequently the subject of attacks by the French, who had established their own fur trading colony in adjacent New France . Two years later,
22260-717: The Xhosa although many of them were able to move back into the area soon after. The second war involved a larger territory. It started when the Gqunukhwebe clans of the Xhosa started to penetrate back into the Zuurveld , a district between the Great Fish and the Sundays Rivers . Some frontiersmen, under Barend Lindeque, allied themselves with Ndlambe (regent of the Western Xhosas) to repel
22470-466: The Xhosa chiefs came to hold Stockenström in exceptionally high regard as a man who, although he had defeated the Xhosa armies on multiple occasions, nonetheless treated them as diplomatic equals. The treaty system began to unravel as the settlers gained a determined leader and spokesman in the form of Robert Godlonton , who led a large colonist movement to dismantle Stockenström's system and allow seizure of Xhosa lands. As one settler ominously declared of
22680-449: The Xhosa language. Beads are small round objects made of glass, wood, metal, nutshell, bone seed and the likes, which are then pierced for stringing. Before glass beads were introduced, people used natural materials to make beads. Xhosa people relied on the San to sell beads to them through trade or barter exchange. Xhosa people would give hemp to the San in exchange for beads. The beads made by
22890-472: The Xhosa territories. In the framework of this new system, the frontier settled and saw nearly a decade of peace. The Xhosa chiefs generally honoured Stockenström's treaty and returned any cattle that their people had raided. On the Cape side, Stockenström, who saw the major problem as being the land management of the colonists, used his influence to rein in the frontier settlers and prevent any expansion onto Xhosa land. A level of trust also began to develop, and
23100-402: The Xhosa territory: "The appearance of the country is very fine, it will make excellent sheep farms." Godlonton also used his considerable influence in the religious institutions of the Cape to drive his opinions, declaring that: "the British race was selected by God himself to colonize Kaffraria" . In the face of massive pressure and ruinous lawsuits, Stockenström was eventually dismissed and
23310-516: The Zulu armies and had been living under Xhosa subjection. Magistrates were appointed to administer the territory in the hope that they would gradually, with the help of missionaries, undermine tribal authority. Hostilities finally died down on 17 September 1836, after having continued for nine months. Hintsa was the King of the Xhosa Kingdom and was recognised as Paramount by all Xhosa-speaking tribes and states in
23520-642: The annexation of the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1664, following the capture of New Amsterdam , which was renamed New York . Although less financially successful than colonies in the Caribbean, these territories had large areas of good agricultural land and attracted far greater numbers of English emigrants, who preferred their temperate climates. The British West Indies initially provided England's most important and lucrative colonies. Settlements were successfully established in St. Kitts (1624), Barbados (1627) and Nevis (1628), but struggled until
23730-555: The apprenticeship system was abolished in 1838. The British government compensated slave-owners. Between 1815 and 1914, a period referred to as Britain's "imperial century" by some historians, around 10 million sq mi (26 million km ) of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleon left Britain without any serious international rival, other than Russia in Central Asia . Unchallenged at sea, Britain adopted
23940-523: The armies of the Dominions , as well as many thousands of volunteers from the Crown colonies. The contributions of Australian and New Zealand troops during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign against the Ottoman Empire had a great impact on the national consciousness at home and marked a watershed in the transition of Australia and New Zealand from colonies to nations in their own right. The countries continue to commemorate this occasion on Anzac Day . Canadians viewed
24150-522: The attack had reached Cape Town. It was from Grahamstown that the retaliatory campaign was launched and directed. The campaign inflicted a string of defeats on the Xhosa, such as at Trompetter's Drift on the Fish River, and most of the Xhosa chiefs surrendered. However, the two primary Xhosa leaders, Maqoma and Tyali, retreated to the fastnesses of the Amatola Mountains . British governor Sir Benjamin d'Urban believed that Hintsa ka Khawuta , King of
24360-446: The beads are representative of the stages of one's life. Motifs on the beads often used include trees, diamonds, quadrangles, chevrons, triangles, circles, parallel lines that form a pattern that is exclusive to certain age groups. Although the beadwork has some cultural significance with certain motifs having exclusive meanings, the creator of the beadwork has creative control and can create and draw meaning from individual preference. Thus
24570-460: The border and return any stolen cattle from either side (cattle raiding was a regular grievance). Diplomatic agents were exchanged between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa Chiefs as reliable "ambassadors", and colonial expansion into Xhosa land was forbidden. Land annexed from the Xhosa in the previous war was also returned and the displaced Xhosa moved back into this land, assuaging overpopulation in
24780-422: The border as the outnumbered imperial troops fell back, abandoning their outposts. The only successful resistance was from the local Fengu, who heroically defended their villages from the Xhosa forces. On 28 May, a force of 8,000 Xhosa attacked the last remaining British garrison, at Fort Peddie, but fell back after a long shootout with British and Fengu troops. The Xhosa army then marched on Grahamstown itself, but
24990-440: The bride's family. To solidify their unity the family of the bride will head to the groom's household where the elders will address her with regards to how to carry herself and dress appropriately at her newly found household, this is called Ukuyalwa . Furthermore, a new name will also be given to her by the women of the groom's family and this name signifies the bond of the two families. Burial practices and customs include
25200-568: The bulk of British slave trading. For the transported, harsh and unhygienic conditions on the slaving ships and poor diets meant that the average mortality rate during the Middle Passage was one in seven. At the end of the 16th century, England and the Dutch Empire began to challenge the Portuguese Empire 's monopoly of trade with Asia, forming private joint-stock companies to finance
25410-576: The business of establishing its own overseas colonies. The British Empire began to take shape during the early 17th century, with the English settlement of North America and the smaller islands of the Caribbean, and the establishment of joint-stock companies , most notably the East India Company , to administer colonies and overseas trade. This period, until the loss of the Thirteen Colonies after
25620-426: The celebrations would commence. These include slaughtering of the livestock as a grateful gesture to their ancestors as well as pouring a considerable amount of the alcoholic beverages on the ground of the bride's household to give thanks to their ancestors. The groom's family is then welcomed into the family and traditional beer, Umqombothi , will be prepared for the groom's family as a token of appreciation from
25830-515: The church. The response was swift and multifaceted. Boer commandos mobilised under Piet Retief and inflicted a defeat on the Xhosa in the Winterberg Mountains in the north. Burgher and Khoi commandos also mobilised, and British Imperial troops arrived via Algoa Bay . The British governor, Sir Benjamin d'Urban , mustered the combined forces under Colonel Sir Harry Smith , who reached Grahamstown on 6 January 1835, six days after news of
26040-581: The coasts of Africa and Brazil to China , and France had begun to settle the Saint Lawrence River area, later to become New France . Although England tended to trail behind Portugal, Spain, and France in establishing overseas colonies, it carried out its first modern colonisation, referred to as the Munster Plantations , in 16th century Ireland by settling it with English and Welsh Protestant settlers. England had already colonised part of
26250-465: The colony was abandoned two years later. The Darien scheme was a financial disaster for Scotland: a quarter of Scottish capital was lost in the enterprise. The episode had major political consequences, helping to persuade the government of the Kingdom of Scotland of the merits of turning the personal union with England into a political and economic one under the Kingdom of Great Britain established by
26460-399: The command of Mdushane , AmaNdlambe 's son, Nxele led a 10,000 Xhosa force attack (22 April 1819) on Grahamstown , which was held by 350 troops. A Khoikhoi group led by Jan Boesak enabled the garrison to repulse Nxele, who suffered the loss of 1,000 Xhosa. Nxele was eventually captured and imprisoned on Robben Island . The British colonial authorities pushed the Xhosa further east beyond
26670-412: The commandoes to forcefully remove Xhosa polities out of the area. When the imiDange refused to move, Van Jaarsveld and his commandoes had their chief, Jalamba, agree to another meeting for discussions. During the meeting he scattered large amounts of tobacco around and let the Xhosa have it. While some were distracted picking up the tobacco, Van Jaarsveld and his gunmen proceeded to shoot at them leading to
26880-411: The conflicts between the Europeans and Xhosa involves a balance of tension. At times, tensions existed between the various Europeans in the Cape region, tensions between Empire administration and colonial governments, and tensions within the Xhosa Kingdom, e.g. chiefs rivalling each other, which usually led to Europeans taking advantage of the situation to meddle in Xhosa politics. A perfect example of this
27090-457: The continent. During the 1880s and 1890s, Rhodes, with his privately owned British South Africa Company , occupied and annexed territories named after him, Rhodesia . The path to independence for the white colonies of the British Empire began with the 1839 Durham Report , which proposed unification and self-government for Upper and Lower Canada, as a solution to political unrest which had erupted in armed rebellions in 1837. This began with
27300-426: The corn was taken from the family food reserves as well as donated by family members and neighbours. In the 21st century, it is regarded as taboo to feed mourners with ' inkobe ' and, as a result of shame, funeral catering has become a lucrative business for the industry during burial events. On the day of burial, before extended family members disperse to their homes, the ukuxukuxa (cleansing) ritual occurs and
27510-555: The country following the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. Several people who helped establish the Munster plantations later played a part in the early colonisation of North America, particularly a group known as the West Country Men . In 1578, Elizabeth I granted a patent to Humphrey Gilbert for discovery and overseas exploration. That year, Gilbert sailed for the Caribbean with
27720-477: The decline of the empire. India , Britain's most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence in 1947 as part of a larger decolonisation movement, in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The Suez Crisis of 1956 confirmed Britain's decline as a global power, and the handover of Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997 symbolised for many the end of the British Empire, though fourteen overseas territories that are remnants of
27930-426: The descendants of the amaMfengu are part of the Xhosa people and they speak isiXhosa and practice the Xhosa culture. Xhosa unity and ability to fight off colonial encroachment was to be weakened by the famines and political divisions that followed the cattle-killing movement of 1856–1858 . Historians now view this movement as a millennialist response, both directly to a lung disease spreading among Xhosa cattle at
28140-433: The eastern border of the Cape colony was the entire length of the Great Fish river despite many amaXhosa polities being already established west of the river, and no negotiations involving this decision were made with them beforehand. Van Plettenberg appointed Adreaan Van Jaarsveld to lead commandoes to force the Xhosa to move east of the river, if they were unresponsive to requests to do so. This led to multiple attacks by
28350-418: The empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after the First World War, Britain was no longer the world's preeminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War , Britain's colonies in East Asia and Southeast Asia were occupied by the Empire of Japan . Despite the final victory of Britain and its allies , the damage to British prestige and the British economy helped accelerate
28560-477: The empire remain under British sovereignty . After independence, many former British colonies, along with most of the dominions, joined the Commonwealth of Nations , a free association of independent states. Fifteen of these, including the United Kingdom, retain the same person as monarch , currently King Charles III . The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England , following
28770-462: The establishment of Rhodesia with Cecil Rhodes . Some archaeological evidence has been discovered that suggests that Xhosa-speaking people have lived in the Eastern Cape area since at least the 7th century . The modern Xhosa are Nguni people, a stock of Bantu The Xhosa people are descendants of the ancestors of Ngunis. Xhosa oral history also mentions a historical settlement called 'Eluhlangeni' believed to have been in East Africa in which
28980-517: The exception of international relations . Australia and New Zealand achieved similar levels of self-government after 1900, with the Australian colonies federating in 1901 . The term "dominion status" was officially introduced at the 1907 Imperial Conference . As the dominions gained greater autonomy, they would come to be recognized as distinct realms of the empire with unique customs and symbols of their own. Imperial identity, through imagery such as patriotic artworks and banners, began developing into
29190-421: The fight that lasted from midday to the evening. Ngqika was defeated, losing about 500 men during what is considered by some as one of the most historical battles in Southern Africa. The earlier Xhosa Wars did not quell British-Xhosa tension in the Cape's eastern border at the Keiskamma River. Insecurity persisted because the Xhosa remained expelled from territory (especially the so-called "Ceded Territories") that
29400-439: The first permanent European settlement in British Columbia , Fort St. John . The North West Company sought further exploration and backed expeditions by David Thompson , starting in 1797, and later by Simon Fraser . These pushed into the wilderness territories of the Rocky Mountains and Interior Plateau to the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Coast, expanding British North America westward. The East India Company fought
29610-437: The fleeing man but both his pistols misfired. Giving chase, he caught hold of Hintsa and dragged him heavily to the ground. Hintsa was still full of fight. "He was jabbing at me furiously with his assegai," Colonel Smith recalled in his autobiography, and the king succeeded in breaking away to find cover in a nearby stream bed. There, while pleading for mercy, the top of his skull was blown off by one of Smith's officers; his corpse
29820-404: The following months. William Hobson declared British sovereignty over all New Zealand on 21 May 1840, over the North Island by cession and over the South Islnd by discovery (the island was sparsely populated and deemed terra nullius ). Hobson became Lieutenant-Governor, subject to Governor Sir George Gipps in Sydney, with British possession of New Zealand initially administered from Australia as
30030-419: The following year, abolished slavery in the British Empire on 1 August 1834, finally bringing the empire into line with the law in the UK (with the exception of the territories administered by the East India Company and Ceylon, where slavery was ended in 1844). Under the Act, slaves were granted full emancipation after a period of four to six years of "apprenticeship". Facing further opposition from abolitionists,
30240-481: The frontier in order to survive. In addition, politician Robert Godlonton continued to use his newspaper the Graham's Town Journal to agitate for Eastern Cape settlers to annex and settle the land that had been returned to the Xhosa after the previous war. The event that actually ignited the war was a trivial dispute over a raid. A Khoi escort was transporting a manacled Xhosa thief to Grahamstown to be tried for stealing an axe, when Xhosa raiders attacked and killed
30450-679: The government on the suitability of Botany Bay for the establishment of a penal settlement , and in 1787 the first shipment of convicts set sail, arriving in 1788. Unusually, Australia was claimed through proclamation. Indigenous Australians were considered too uncivilised to require treaties, and colonisation brought disease and violence that together with the deliberate dispossession of land and culture were devastating to these peoples. Britain continued to transport convicts to New South Wales until 1840, to Tasmania until 1853 and to Western Australia until 1868. The Australian colonies became profitable exporters of wool and gold, mainly because of
30660-413: The hands of the Gcaleka and, in return for the land they were given by the Cape, they became the Cape Colony 's formidable allies. They swiftly acquired firearms and formed mounted commandos for the defense of their new land. In the following wars, they fought alongside the Cape Colony as invaluable allies, not as subordinates, and won considerable renown and respect for their martial ability. The conflict
30870-426: The increasingly healthy profits of colonial trade remained in English hands, Parliament decreed in 1651 that only English ships would be able to ply their trade in English colonies. This led to hostilities with the United Dutch Provinces —a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars —which would eventually strengthen England's position in the Americas at the expense of the Dutch. In 1655, England annexed the island of Jamaica from
31080-404: The individual to their counterparts and also to their ancestors. Starting from imbeleko , a ritual performed to introduce a new born to the ancestors, to umphumo (the homecoming), from inkwenkwe (a boy) to indoda (a man). These rituals and ceremonies are sacrosanct to the identity and heritage of the Xhosa and other African descendants. Though some western scholars question
31290-424: The intention of asserting imperial authority and not allowing the sort of popular control of government that was perceived to have led to the American Revolution. Tensions between Britain and the United States escalated again during the Napoleonic Wars , as Britain tried to cut off American trade with France and boarded American ships to impress men into the Royal Navy . The United States Congress declared war,
31500-426: The intention of engaging in piracy and establishing a colony in North America, but the expedition was aborted before it had crossed the Atlantic. In 1583, he embarked on a second attempt. On this occasion, he formally claimed the harbour of the island of Newfoundland, although no settlers were left behind. Gilbert did not survive the return journey to England and was succeeded by his half-brother, Walter Raleigh , who
31710-450: The kraal, inkundla , of the woman's family. If the family does not possess a kraal they will simply be kept outside the household as they will not be allowed to enter the household without the acknowledgment and acceptance of the woman's family. It is here where the lobola ( dowry ) negotiations will begin. The family of the woman will give them a bride-price and a date for which they must return to pay that price. The bride-price
31920-436: The larger trade, by 1720, in terms of sales, the British company had overtaken the Dutch. During the middle decades of the 18th century, there were several outbreaks of military conflict on the Indian subcontinent , as the English East India Company and its French counterpart , struggled alongside local rulers to fill the vacuum that had been left by the decline of the Mughal Empire . The Battle of Plassey in 1757, in which
32130-413: The last month of the war (December 1847) Sir Harry Smith reached Cape Town as governor of the colony, and on the 23rd, at a meeting of the Xhosa chiefs, announced the annexation of the country between the Keiskamma and the Kei rivers to the British crown, thus reabsorbing the territory abandoned by order of Lord Glenelg. It was not, however, incorporated with the Cape Colony, but made a crown dependency under
32340-449: The longest military resistance to colonialism. The historical end result would be the containment of large portions of the Cape native population into native reserves in the Easternmost part of the Cape. However, these populations would also continually serve as labour inside the Cape Colony. These native reserves would be re-branded "homelands" in the 20th century and would only be fully dismantled in 1994, with populations moving back into
32550-455: The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in 1783, the British government looked for an alternative, eventually turning to Australia . On his first of three voyages commissioned by the government, James Cook reached New Zealand in October 1769. He was the first European to circumnavigate and map the country. From the late 18th century, the country was regularly visited by explorers and other sailors, missionaries , traders and adventurers but no attempt
32760-509: The lower Congo River region undermining orderly colonisation of tropical Africa, the Berlin Conference of 1884–85 was held to regulate the competition between the European powers in what was called the " Scramble for Africa " by defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of territorial claims. The scramble continued into the 1890s, and caused Britain to reconsider its decision in 1885 to withdraw from Sudan . A joint force of British and Egyptian troops defeated
32970-429: The main bedroom to accommodate this seating arrangement by placing a traditional grass mat ( ukhukho ) or mattress on the floor. Mourners do not require an invitation to attend a funeral and everyone who can and would like to attend is welcome. This means that the bereaved family has to cater for an unknown number of mourners. Traditionally, mourners were fed with ' inkobe ', which is boiled dried corn and water, and
33180-422: The marriage as per tradition. Following Ukuthwala , the man will then be in discussion with his parents or relatives to inform them of his choice in bride. During this discussion the clan name, isiduko , of the woman would be revealed and researched. If it were found that the woman and the man share the same clan name they would not be allowed to proceed with the marriage as it is said that people with
33390-465: The meanings drawn from the beadwork are not rigidly set. Among the Thembu (a tribe in the Eastern Cape often erroneously referred to be a Xhosa tribe), after circumcision, the men wore, and still wear, skirts, turbans and a wide bead collar. A waistcoat, long necklaces, throat bands, armbands, leggings and belts are part of his regalia. The dominant colours in the beadwork are white and navy blue, with some yellow and green beads symbolising fertility and
33600-433: The most successful colony in the Americas, and one of the most densely populated places in the world. This boom led to the spread of sugar cultivation across the Caribbean, financed the development of non-plantation colonies in North America, and accelerated the growth of the Atlantic slave trade , particularly the triangular trade of slaves, sugar and provisions between Africa, the West Indies and Europe. To ensure that
33810-436: The name of British Kaffraria Colony, with King William's Town as capital. British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions , colonies , protectorates , mandates , and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height in
34020-463: The neighbouring Kat River Settlement. When the rains came, floods turned the surrounding lands into a quagmire. The violence slowly wound down as both sides weakened, immobile and fever-ridden. The war continued until Sandile was captured during negotiations and sent to Grahamstown. Although Sandile was soon released, the other chiefs gradually stopped fighting, and by the end of 1847 the Xhosa had been completely subdued after 21 months of fighting. In
34230-444: The new British governor, Maitland, abrogated the treaties. The Seventh Xhosa War is often referred to as the "War of the Axe" or the "Amatola War". On the colonial side , two main groups were involved: columns of imperial British troops sent from London, and local mixed-race "Burgher forces", which were mainly Khoi, Fengu, British settlers and Boer commandos , led by their commander-in-chief, Andries Stockenström . Relations between
34440-428: The north. The first of several Church of England missionaries arrived in 1814 and as well as their missionary role, they soon become the only form of European authority in a land that was not subject to British jurisdiction: the closest authority being the New South Wales governor in Sydney. The sale of weapons to Māori resulted from 1818 on in the intertribal warfare of the Musket Wars , with devastating consequences for
34650-454: The other powers of Europe. In 1701, England, Portugal and the Netherlands sided with the Holy Roman Empire against Spain and France in the War of the Spanish Succession , which lasted for thirteen years. In 1695, the Parliament of Scotland granted a charter to the Company of Scotland , which established a settlement in 1698 on the Isthmus of Panama . Besieged by neighbouring Spanish colonists of New Granada , and affected by malaria ,
34860-456: The other through oral tradition. Knowing your isiduko is vital to the Xhosas and it is considered a shame and uburhanuka (lack-of-identity) if one doesn't know one's clan. This is considered so important that when two strangers meet for the first time, the first identity that gets shared is isiduko . It is so important that two people with the same surname but different clan names are considered total strangers, but two people from
35070-495: The outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739, Spanish privateers attacked British merchant shipping along the Triangle Trade routes. In 1746, the Spanish and British began peace talks, with the King of Spain agreeing to stop all attacks on British shipping; however, in the 1750 Treaty of Madrid Britain lost its slave-trading rights in Latin America . In the East Indies, British and Dutch merchants continued to compete in spices and textiles. With textiles becoming
35280-421: The outbreak of the First World War. Britain quickly invaded and occupied most of Germany's overseas colonies in Africa. In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand occupied German New Guinea and German Samoa respectively. Plans for a post-war division of the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war on Germany's side, were secretly drawn up by Britain and France under the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement . This agreement
35490-434: The passing of the Act of Union in 1840, which created the Province of Canada . Responsible government was first granted to Nova Scotia in 1848, and was soon extended to the other British North American colonies. With the passage of the British North America Act, 1867 by the British Parliament , the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were formed into Canada, a confederation enjoying full self-government with
35700-448: The power vacuums that had been left by the declining Ottoman Empire , Qajar dynasty and Qing dynasty . This rivalry in Central Asia came to be known as the "Great Game". As far as Britain was concerned, defeats inflicted by Russia on Persia and Turkey demonstrated its imperial ambitions and capabilities and stoked fears in Britain of an overland invasion of India. In 1839, Britain moved to pre-empt this by invading Afghanistan , but
35910-417: The practice has caused controversy, with over 825 circumcision- and initiation-related deaths since 1994, and the spread of sexually transmitted infections , including HIV , via the practice of circumcising initiates with the same blade. In March 2007, a controversial mini-series dealing with Xhosa circumcision and initiation rites debuted on South African Broadcasting Corporation . Titled Umthunzi Wentaba ,
36120-405: The region in 1878 and on all outstanding matters in 1907 with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente . The destruction of the Imperial Russian Navy by the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 limited its threat to the British. The Dutch East India Company had founded the Dutch Cape Colony on the southern tip of Africa in 1652 as
36330-434: The relevance of these practices today, even urbanised Xhosa people do still follow them. The ulwaluko and intonjane are also traditions which separated this tribe from the rest of the Nguni tribes. These are performed to mark the transition from child to adulthood. Zulus once performed the ritual but King Shaka stopped it because of war in the 1810s. In 2009, it was reintroduced by King Goodwill Zwelithini Zulu, not as
36540-432: The return of the Xhosa to areas they previously inhabited did not dissipate Xhosa frustration toward the inability to provide for themselves, and they thus resorted to frontier cattle-raiding. Cape responses to the Xhosa cattle raids varied, but in some cases were drastic and violent. On 11 December 1834, a Cape government commando party killed a chief of high rank, incensing the Xhosa: an army of 10,000 men, led by Maqoma ,
36750-450: The role of global policeman, a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica , and a foreign policy of " splendid isolation ". Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many countries, such as China, Argentina and Siam , which has been described by some historians as an " Informal Empire ". British imperial strength
36960-399: The same clan but with different surnames are regarded as close relatives. This forms the roots of ubuntu (human kindness) – a behaviour synonymous to this tribe as extending a helping hand to a complete stranger when in need. Ubuntu goes further than just helping one another – it is so deep that it even extends to looking after and reprimanding your neighbour's child when in the wrong. Hence
37170-428: The same clan name are of the same relation and cannot be wed. Once discussions with the family are complete and satisfactory information about the woman is acquired then the family of the man will proceed to appoint marriage negotiators. It is these very negotiators that will travel to the family of the woman to make known the man and his intentions. Once the negotiators reach the family of the woman they will be kept in
37380-458: The saying "it takes a village to raise a child". One traditional ritual that is still regularly practiced is the manhood ritual, a secret rite that marks the transition from boyhood to manhood, ulwaluko . After ritual circumcision , the initiates ( abakwetha ) live in isolation for up to several weeks, often in the mountains. During the process of healing they smear white clay on their bodies and observe numerous customs. In modern times
37590-422: The series was taken off the air after complaints by traditional leaders that the rites are secret and not to be revealed to non-initiates and women. In January 2014 the website ulwaluko.co.za was released by a Dutch medical doctor. It features a gallery of photographs of injured penises, which sparked outrage amongst traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape. The South African Film and Publication Board ruled that
37800-423: The size of the territories under its control, either ruling directly or via local rulers under the threat of force from the Presidency Armies , the vast majority of which was composed of Indian sepoys , led by British officers. The British and French struggles in India became but one theatre of the global Seven Years' War (1756–1763) involving France, Britain, and the other major European powers. The signing of
38010-450: The sovereignty of the Crown over the territories that it had acquired. The company's eventual end was precipitated by the Indian Rebellion in 1857, a conflict that had begun with the mutiny of sepoys, Indian troops under British officers and discipline. The rebellion took six months to suppress, with heavy loss of life on both sides. The following year the British government dissolved the company and assumed direct control over India through
38220-420: The spiritual state can be ascertained through Xhosa beadwork. Symbolic references are drawn from the beads through the colour, pattern, formation and motifs. However, it ought to be taken into cognisance that some of these messages are limited to a certain group or between two people. In Xhosa culture beads represent the organisational framework of the people and the rites of passage that people have gone through as
38430-419: The subcontinent in which it is estimated that over 15 million people died. The East India Company had failed to implement any coordinated policy to deal with the famines during its period of rule. Later, under direct British rule, commissions were set up after each famine to investigate the causes and implement new policies, which took until the early 1900s to have an effect. On each of his three voyages to
38640-418: The successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, commissioned John Cabot to lead an expedition to discover a northwest passage to Asia via the North Atlantic. Cabot sailed in 1497, five years after the first voyage of Christopher Columbus , and made landfall on the coast of Newfoundland . He believed he had reached Asia, and there was no attempt to found a colony. Cabot led another voyage to
38850-404: The sweet sap of an aloe , or " ikhowa " , a mushroom that grows after summer rains. Traditional crafts include bead-work, weaving, woodwork and pottery. Traditional music features drums, rattles, whistles, flutes, mouth harps, and stringed-instruments and especially group singing accompanied by hand clapping. There are songs for various ritual occasions; one of the best-known Xhosa songs
39060-407: The time, and less directly to the stress to Xhosa society caused by the continuing loss of their territory and autonomy. Some historians argue that this early absorption into the wage economy is the ultimate origin of the long history of trade union membership and political leadership among Xhosa people. That history manifests itself today in high degrees of Xhosa representation in the leadership of
39270-509: The upkeep of Xhosa traditional practices. These rituals have been practiced for decades by the Xhosa people and have been incorporated into modern day Xhosa marriages as well. The purpose of the practices is to bring together two different families and to give guidance to the newly wed couple throughout. To start off the procedures the male intending to marry goes through Ukuthwalwa which entails him choosing his future bride and making his intentions of marriage known, however this practice
39480-417: The urban cities where there would be no space nor permits for livestock. Upon return of the man's family on the given date, they will pay the bride-price and bring along gifts of offering such as livestock and alcoholic beverages, iswazi , to be drunk by the family of the bride. Once the lobola from the man's negotiators is accepted then they will be considered married by the Xhosa tradition and
39690-457: The use of firearms by Xhosa armies, scoring many victories for King Sandile, gaining him a reputation as a Xhosa hero and mighty warrior. Tension had been simmering between farmers and marauders, on both sides of the frontier, since the dismantlement of Stockenstrom's treaty system. Governor Maitland imposed a new system of treaties on the chiefs without consulting them, while a severe drought forced desperate Xhosa to engage in cattle raids across
39900-443: The village. This is reflected in the traditional greeting Inkaba yakho iphi ? , literally "where is your navel?" The answer "tells someone where you live, what your clan affiliation is, and what your social status is and contains a wealth of undisclosed cultural information. Most importantly, it determines where you belong". Xhosa marriage, umtshato , is one that is filled with a number of customs and rituals which relate to
40110-413: The violence of the Mfecane. British soldiers generally characterised the Xhosa as treacherous savages and merciless barbarians, stereotypes which were used to justify their violent dispossession. King Sandile kaNgqika led the Ngqika people in the Seventh Frontier War (1846–47), Eighth Frontier War (1850–53) and the Ninth Frontier War (1877–78), in which he was killed. These clashes marked the beginning of
40320-440: The voyages—the English, later British, East India Company and the Dutch East India Company , chartered in 1600 and 1602 respectively. The primary aim of these companies was to tap into the lucrative spice trade , an effort focused mainly on two regions: the East Indies archipelago , and an important hub in the trade network, India. There, they competed for trade supremacy with Portugal and with each other. Although England eclipsed
40530-407: The website was "scientific with great educative value", addressing a "societal problem needing urgent intervention". Girls are also initiated into womanhood (Intonjane). They too are secluded, though for a shorter period. Female initiates are not circumcised . Other rites include the seclusion of mothers for ten days after giving birth, and the burial of the afterbirth and umbilical cord near
40740-490: The wider Cape. In the 19th century, the Xhosas fought and repulsed many tribes that were escaping the Zulus in the Colony of Natal , this was during the historical mfecane . Those who were accepted were assimilated into the Xhosa cultural way of life and followed Xhosa traditions. The Xhosas called these various tribes AmaMfengu , meaning wanderers, and were made up of clans such as the amaBhaca , amaBhele , amaHlubi , amaZizi and Rhadebe. To this day,
40950-407: The widespread use of scorched earth tactics . The conflict was also marked by widespread massacres of Xhosa and Thembu people by both British settlers and Fengu auxiliaries, many of them justified as revenge for earlier Xhosa attacks on British settlements and for the Xhosa's oppression and treatment of the Fengu people as second class citizens following their refugee exodus into the Xhosa Kingdom from
41160-405: Was a humiliation for Spain, which practically renounced all sovereignty on the North Pacific coast. This opened the way to British expansion in the area, and a number of expeditions took place; firstly a naval expedition led by George Vancouver which explored the inlets around the Pacific North West, particularly around Vancouver Island . On land, expeditions sought to discover a river route to
41370-481: Was founded as a haven by Puritan religious separatists, later known as the Pilgrims . Fleeing from religious persecution would become the motive for many English would-be colonists to risk the arduous trans-Atlantic voyage : Maryland was established by English Roman Catholics (1634), Rhode Island (1636) as a colony tolerant of all religions and Connecticut (1639) for Congregationalists . England's North American holdings were further expanded by
41580-472: Was granted his own patent by Elizabeth in 1584. Later that year, Raleigh founded the Roanoke Colony on the coast of present-day North Carolina , but lack of supplies caused the colony to fail. In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended (as James I) to the English throne and in 1604 negotiated the Treaty of London , ending hostilities with Spain. Now at peace with its main rival, English attention shifted from preying on other nations' colonial infrastructures to
41790-498: Was held up when a sizable army of Ndlambe Xhosa were defeated on 7 June 1846 by General Somerset on the Gwangu , a few miles from Fort Peddie. However the slow-moving British columns, were considerably hampered by drought and were becoming desperate. After much debate, they were forced to call in Stockenström and the local Burgher forces. The local Commandos were much more effective in the rough and mountainous terrain, of which they had considerable local knowledge. After inflicting
42000-404: Was made to settle the country or establish possession. The coast of Australia had been discovered for Europeans by the Dutch in 1606 , but there was no attempt to colonise it. In 1770, after leaving New Zealand, James Cook charted the eastern coast, claimed the continent for Britain, and named it New South Wales . In 1778, Joseph Banks , Cook's botanist on the voyage, presented evidence to
42210-400: Was necessary to impress on the minds of these savages a proper degree of terror and respect". About four thousand 1820 Settlers subsequently (after the fifth war) settled on the Fish River. "Graham's Town" arose on the site of Colonel Graham's headquarters; in time this became Grahamstown . The fifth frontier war, also known as the "War of Nxele", initially developed from an 1817 judgment by
42420-429: Was not divulged to the Sharif of Mecca , who the British had been encouraging to launch an Arab revolt against their Ottoman rulers, giving the impression that Britain was supporting the creation of an independent Arab state. The British declaration of war on Germany and its allies committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military, financial and material support. Over 2.5 million men served in
42630-426: Was not done by all the tribes within the Xhosa people. In modern day, the man and woman would most likely have been in courtship or a relationship prior to Ukuthwalwa . Decades before Ukuthwalwa would entail legal bridal abduction, where the man could choose a woman of his liking to be his bride and go into negotiations with the family of the bride without her knowledge or consent. She would have to abide to
42840-440: Was returning across the Atlantic, laden with treasure from the New World . At the same time, influential writers such as Richard Hakluyt and John Dee (who was the first to use the term "British Empire") were beginning to press for the establishment of England's own empire. By this time, Spain had become the dominant power in the Americas and was exploring the Pacific Ocean, Portugal had established trading posts and forts from
43050-432: Was subsequently badly mutilated by Smith and his men. These actions shocked the government in London, which condemned and repudiated Governor D'Urban. Hintsa's murder angered the Xhosa for decades thereafter. By the end of the sixth war, 7,000 people of all races were left homeless. The settlement of the Fengu in the annexed territory had far-reaching consequences. This wandering peoples claimed to be escaping oppression at
43260-427: Was supported by the British prime minister , William Gladstone , who hoped that Ireland might follow in Canada's footsteps as a Dominion within the empire, but his 1886 Home Rule bill was defeated in Parliament. Although the bill, if passed, would have granted Ireland less autonomy within the UK than the Canadian provinces had within their own federation, many MPs feared that a partially independent Ireland might pose
43470-427: Was the catalyst for Piet Retief 's manifesto and the Great Trek . In total, 40 farmers (Boers) were killed and 416 farmhouses were burnt down. In addition, 5,700 horses, 115,000 head of cattle, and 162,000 sheep were plundered by Xhosa tribespeople. In retaliation, sixty thousand Xhosa cattle were taken or retaken by colonists . The British minister of colonies, Lord Glenelg , repudiated d'Urban's actions and accused
43680-481: Was the only global war fought between Britain and another imperial power during the Pax Britannica and was a resounding defeat for Russia. The situation remained unresolved in Central Asia for two more decades, with Britain annexing Baluchistan in 1876 and Russia annexing Kirghizia , Kazakhstan , and Turkmenistan . For a while, it appeared that another war would be inevitable, but the two countries reached an agreement on their respective spheres of influence in
43890-421: Was then settled by Europeans and other African peoples. They were also subjected to territorial expansions from other Africans that were themselves under pressure from the expanding Zulu Kingdom . Nevertheless, the frontier region was seeing increasing amounts of admixture between Europeans, Khoikhoi, and Xhosa living and trading throughout the frontier region. The vacillation by the Cape Government's policy towards
44100-401: Was underpinned by the steamship and the telegraph , new technologies invented in the second half of the 19th century, allowing it to control and defend the empire. By 1902, the British Empire was linked together by a network of telegraph cables, called the All Red Line . The East India Company drove the expansion of the British Empire in Asia. The company's army had first joined forces with
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