97-748: The South Africa Medal (1880) , often referred to as the Zulu War Medal , is a campaign medal instituted in 1880 and awarded by the British Government to members of the British Army , Royal Naval Brigade and Colonial Volunteers who were involved in a series of South African tribal wars in the Cape of Good Hope , Colony of Natal and Transvaal between 1877 and 1879, most notably for the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. In 1854, Queen Victoria had given approval for
194-573: 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
291-683: 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
388-534: 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
485-561: A greater or lesser degree (for instance Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster or Lord Privy Seal ). The government is sometimes referred to by the metonym " Westminster " or " Whitehall ", as many of its offices are situated there. These metonyms are used especially by members of the Scottish Government , Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to differentiate their government from His Majesty's Government. The United Kingdom
582-499: A larger force overran his fortress in November 1879. The defenders of the fortress were killed almost to a man, largely by African soldiery. Even though an independent commission had adjudged in 1878 that most of the Zulu claims to border territories were justified, the repeated infractions and raids which were either perpetrated or provoked by the Zulu subjects of Cetshwayo led to a decision by
679-478: A member of either House of Parliament. In practice, however, the convention is that ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords to be accountable to Parliament. From time to time, prime ministers appoint non-parliamentarians as ministers. In recent years such ministers have been appointed to the House of Lords. The government is required by convention and for practical reasons to maintain
776-518: 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
873-504: 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
970-412: A new House of Commons, unless the prime minister advises the monarch to dissolve Parliament , in which case an election may be held sooner. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons, usually by possessing a majority of MPs. Under the uncodified British constitution , executive authority lies with
1067-451: A programme to equip his army with muskets, while inciting revolts among other tribes all along the British and Boer borders with the Zulus. Actions to counter these revolts and attacks escalated and led to reinforcements being sent from Britain over the course of 1878 to quell Cetshwayo and his uprisings. The Gaika-Gcaleka War was a series of punitive campaigns which resulted from the attacks of
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#17328555881151164-519: 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
1261-767: 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
1358-594: A substantial grant from the government, the Sovereign Support Grant , and Queen Elizabeth II's inheritance from her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , was exempt from inheritance tax . In addition to legislative powers, His Majesty's Government has substantial influence over local authorities and other bodies set up by it, through financial powers and grants. Many functions carried out by local authorities, such as paying out housing benefits and council tax benefits, are funded or substantially part-funded by
1455-424: Is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch (that is, the king or queen who is the head of state at any given time) does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament. This constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with Magna Carta in 1215. Since
1552-596: Is not vital. A government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the responsible house . The prime minister is held to account during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject. There are also departmental questions when ministers answer questions relating to their specific departmental brief. Unlike PMQs, both
1649-400: 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
1746-478: The Anglo-Zulu War from 11 January to 1 September 1879, the action against the uprising in Basutoland under Chief Moirosi from 25 March to 20 November 1879 and the second action against Chief Sekhukhune from 11 November to 2 December 1879. King Cetshwayo kaMpande became King of the Zulus in 1873, but had been their effective ruler since 1856. Cetshwayo perceived the British as a threat to his rule and embarked upon
1843-533: The Bapedi of Chief Sekhukhune in the northern Transvaal. In 1880 a medal was sanctioned for these campaigns, which was a new version of the South Africa Medal (1853) with minor alterations to the reverse design. While Army Order no. 103 of August 1880, which instituted the new South Africa Medal (1880), made no mention of any change in design of the 1854 medal, the year "1853" in the older medal's reverse exergue
1940-467: The Battle of Ulundi , after which most of the Zulu chiefs sought peace. Cetshwayo became a fugitive and was eventually captured and imprisoned in Cape Town. The medal was struck in silver and is a disk, 36 millimetres in diameter, with a swivelling suspender. The medal's obverse displays the diademed head of Queen Victoria, facing left. The medal is inscribed "VICTORIA" at left and "REGINA" at right around
2037-687: 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
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#17328555881152134-616: The Egypt Medal for their services during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War , the committee's decision was reversed. This was therefore the earliest campaign in which women received a British campaign medal. The campaigns were the Gaika-Gcaleka War from 26 September 1877 to 28 June 1878, the action against Chief Pokwane from 21 to 28 January 1878, the Griqua War from 24 April to 13 November 1878, the action against Chief Sekhukhune in late 1878,
2231-726: The Gcaleka and Gaika tribes on a protected people, the Fengu . The campaigns against the insurgent Gcaleka and Gaika lasted some eight months and were carried out by local Colonial Forces as well as contingents of both the British Army and the Royal Navy serving ashore. The Gaika-Gcaleka War, which became known as the Ninth Cape Frontier War , ended with the annexation of the Transkei , homeland of
2328-473: The Greater London Authority disputed. Similarly, the monarch is immune from criminal prosecution and may only be sued with his permission (this is known as sovereign immunity ). The sovereign, by law, is not required to pay income tax, but Queen Elizabeth II voluntarily paid it from 1993 until the end of her reign in 2022, and also paid local rates voluntarily. However, the monarchy also received
2425-634: 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
2522-572: 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
2619-562: The Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. Hence, the medal is often referred to as the Zulu War Medal. Fourteen medals without clasp were awarded to nurses who served in Natal during the Anglo-Zulu War. A War Office committee, appointed to consider their claim, had previously ruled against granting medals, there being no precedent to award campaign medals to women. However, after a number of nurses received
2716-510: 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,
2813-467: 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
2910-664: 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
3007-408: 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
South Africa Medal (1880) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-517: The British commissioner in the area, Sir Henry Bartle Frere , to finally reduce the independence of the Zulu Kingdom. He demanded a complete disarmament on the part of the Zulus and the imposition of a British residency. When Cetshwayo ignored this demand, British forces invaded Zululand in January 1879. After an initial British defeat in the Battle of Isandlwana , reinforcements ensured British victory in
3201-615: 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
3298-540: 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
3395-464: 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
3492-503: The Crown, who may use them without having to obtain the consent of Parliament. The prime minister also has weekly meetings with the monarch. What is said in these meetings is strictly private; however, they generally involve government and political matters which the monarch has a "right and a duty" to comment on. Such comments are non-binding however and the King must ultimately abide by decisions of
3589-651: The European Parliament are immune from prosecution in EU states under any circumstance. As a consequence, neither EU bodies nor diplomats have to pay taxes, since it would not be possible to prosecute them for tax evasion. When the UK was a member of the EU, this caused a dispute when the US ambassador to the UK claimed that London's congestion charge was a tax, and not a charge (despite the name), and therefore he did not have to pay it—a claim
3686-527: 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
3783-519: The Gcaleka peoples, to the Cape of Good Hope. Once the Gaika-Gcaleka War was settled, those forces not embroiled in the developing conflict in Zululand were employed against a Basuto tribe in the northern Transvaal, the Bapedi of Chief Sekhukhune , whose raids had begun to affect tribes under British protection. After an initial sally against his fortress at Thaba Ya Leolo in late 1878 had proved ineffective,
3880-472: 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
3977-554: 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
South Africa Medal (1880) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-494: 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
4171-697: 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
4268-475: 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
4365-456: 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
4462-566: The United Kingdom , officially His Majesty's Government , abbreviated to HM Government , is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . The government is led by the prime minister (currently Keir Starmer since 5 July 2024) who selects all the other ministers . The country has had a Labour government since 2024. The prime minister Keir Starmer and his most senior ministers belong to
4559-672: 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
4656-466: 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
4753-472: 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
4850-403: 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
4947-478: 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
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#17328555881155044-522: 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
5141-455: The award of the South Africa Medal (1853) to members of the British Army who had served in any one of the three South African Xhosa Wars of 1834–36, 1846–47 and 1850–53 on the Eastern Frontier of the Cape of Good Hope. Between 1877 and 1879 a number of particularly difficult punitive expeditions were mounted by the British against Xhosa, Zulu and Basuto tribes in the eastern area of the Cape of Good Hope and northern Natal, as well as against
5238-406: 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
5335-422: 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
5432-440: The cabinet ministers for the department and junior ministers within the department may answer on behalf of the government, depending on the topic of the question. During debates on legislation proposed by the government, ministers—usually with departmental responsibility for the bill —will lead the debate for the government and respond to points made by MPs or Lords. Committees of both the House of Commons and House of Lords hold
5529-480: The central government. Xhosa Wars#Ninth war (1877–79) [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
5626-411: The charity commissions) are legally more or less independent of the government, and government powers are legally limited to those retained by the Crown under common law or granted and limited by act of Parliament. Both substantive and procedural limitations are enforceable in the courts by judicial review . Nevertheless, magistrates and mayors can still be arrested and put on trial for corruption, and
5723-454: 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
5820-467: The clasp. Only one clasp was awarded with each medal. In addition, 5,610 no clasp medals were awarded to members of the military who, during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, had been mobilised in Natal but who had not crossed the Tugela River into Zululand . This included Naval shore parties. Since fighting was confined to the northern side of the Tugela, the no-clasp medals are frequently viewed as non-combat awards. The number, rank, name and regiment of
5917-399: 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
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#17328555881156014-412: 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
6111-436: The confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply (by voting through the government's budgets) and to pass primary legislation . By convention, if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a general election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay,
6208-411: 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
6305-434: 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
6402-781: The exception of the Victoria Cross , which still took precedence before all other awards. Of the British campaign medals applicable to South Africans, the South Africa Medal (1880) takes precedence as shown below. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] British Government King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The government of
6499-409: The exchequer to be a member of the House of Lords was Lord Denman , who served for one month in 1834. The British monarch is the head of state and the sovereign , but not the head of government . The monarch takes little direct part in governing the country and remains neutral in political affairs. However, the authority of the state that is vested in the sovereign, known as the Crown , remains
6596-421: 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
6693-437: 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
6790-481: 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
6887-469: The government has powers to insert commissioners into a local authority to oversee its work, and to issue directives that must be obeyed by the local authority if the local authority is not abiding by its statutory obligations. By contrast, as in European Union (EU) member states, EU officials cannot be prosecuted for any actions carried out in pursuit of their official duties, and foreign country diplomats (though not their employees) and foreign members of
6984-755: The government on the statement. When the government instead chooses to make announcements first outside Parliament, it is often the subject of significant criticism from MPs and the speaker of the House of Commons . The prime minister is based at 10 Downing Street in Westminster , London. Cabinet meetings also take place here. Most government departments have their headquarters nearby in Whitehall . The government's powers include general executive and statutory powers , delegated legislation , and numerous powers of appointment and patronage. However, some powerful officials and bodies, (e.g. HM judges, local authorities , and
7081-477: The government to account, scrutinise its work and examine in detail proposals for legislation. Ministers appear before committees to give evidence and answer questions. Government ministers are also required by convention and the Ministerial Code , when Parliament is sitting, to make major statements regarding government policy or issues of national importance to Parliament. This allows MPs or Lords to question
7178-514: The government. Royal prerogative powers include, but are not limited to, the following: While no formal documents set out the prerogatives, the government published the above list in October 2003 to increase transparency, as some of the powers exercised in the name of the monarch are part of the royal prerogative . However, the complete extent of the royal prerogative powers has never been fully set out, as many of them originated in ancient custom and
7275-414: 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
7372-413: 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
7469-466: 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
7566-492: 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
7663-741: The order of wear prescribed by the British Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood , but are grouped together as taking precedence after the Queen's Medal for Chiefs and before the Polar Medals , in order of the date of the campaign for which awarded. On 6 April 1952 the Union of South Africa instituted its own range of military decorations and medals. These new awards were worn before all earlier British decorations and medals awarded to South Africans, with
7760-465: The pacification by force of the local tribes. The medal could be awarded to all personnel, including British regular forces, Colonial Volunteers and native levies, who had served in any of the campaigns in South Africa between September 1877 and December 1879. The military operations during this period were a series of separate campaigns against specific tribes and the unrest would eventually culminate in
7857-402: The perimeter. The reverse shows a crouching lion on a plinth in front of a protea bush with a single flower. The medal is inscribed "SOUTH AFRICA" around the top perimeter and has a military trophy consisting of a Zulu ox-hide shield and four crossed assegais in the exergue. Seven clasps were awarded, inscribed as shown below, to recipients who had served in a campaign in the year(s) denoted on
7954-433: The period of absolute monarchy , or were modified by later constitutional practice. As of 2019, there are around 120 government ministers supported by 560,000 civil servants and other staff working in the 24 ministerial departments and their executive agencies . There are also an additional 20 non-ministerial departments with a range of further responsibilities. In theory, a government minister does not have to be
8051-483: The recipient is engraved on the rim of the medal in capital letters. The ribbon is similar to that of the South Africa Medal (1853), but with wider blue pinstripe bands. It is 32 millimetres wide, with a 2½ millimetres wide golden yellow band, a 4 millimetres wide blue band, a 3 millimetres wide golden yellow band and a 1 millimetre wide blue band, repeated in reverse order and separated by an 11 millimetres wide golden yellow band. Campaign medals are not listed by name in
8148-480: 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 ,
8245-433: The source of executive power exercised by the government. In addition to explicit statutory authority , the Crown also possesses a body of powers in certain matters collectively known as the royal prerogative . These powers range from the authority to issue or withdraw passports to declarations of war. By long-standing convention, most of these powers are delegated from the sovereign to various ministers or other officers of
8342-642: The sovereign, although this authority is exercised only after receiving the advice of the Privy Council . The prime minister, the House of Lords, the Leader of the Opposition, and the police and military high command serve as members and advisers of the monarch on the Privy Council. In most cases the cabinet exercise power directly as leaders of the government departments , though some Cabinet positions are sinecures to
8439-400: The start of Edward VII 's reign in 1901, by convention, the prime minister has been an elected member of Parliament (MP) and thus answerable to the House of Commons, although there were two weeks in 1963 when Alec Douglas-Home was first a member of the House of Lords and then of neither house. A similar convention applies to the position of chancellor of the exchequer . The last chancellor of
8536-572: The supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet . Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit; they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords . The government is dependent on Parliament to make primary legislation , and general elections are held every five years (at most) to elect
8633-458: 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
8730-589: 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
8827-456: 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
8924-603: 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
9021-401: 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
9118-479: Was replaced by a military trophy consisting of a Zulu ox-hide shield and four crossed assegais . The obverse of the new medal remained identical to that of the earlier medal. A total of approximately 36,600 medals were awarded. The new version of the medal was instituted in 1880 to recognise service in a number of campaigns over the preceding three years to bring the eastern area of the Cape of Good Hope and northern Natal under British control, which effectively meant
9215-482: 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
9312-479: 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
9409-479: 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
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