The expansion or/ extension of the Cape Colony boundaries up to 1795 was caused by geographical, social, economic and administrative factors to which we turn our attention;
In
the early years of the Dutch settlement, there was plenty of unoccupied
land in the interior of South Africa. It became easy and possible for
the settlers to acquire large pieces of land.
The
local inhabitants mainly the Khoisan were politically disunited and
weak, which enabled the better-armed and strong Dutch settlers to
displace the Khoisan on their expansive campaigns.
The
loose social structure of the Khoikhoi had been undermined by terrible
small pox epidemic of 1713, which lowered their resistance to Dutch
expansion.
The Dutch settlers had forced the
Khoisan to drier areas, which weakened them the more and offered no more
resistance against the Dutch.
There was no natural
barrier to their extension in the North and East as the mountain ranges
run East and West. There were also no river valleys to stop them.
The
land was semi-arid with scanty rainfall and therefore the Dutch farmers
had to get large pieces of land to avoid overgrazing.
The
Dutch farmers were mainly semi nomadic, as they moved in search of good
land with adequate rainfall, water and pasture. They took all the land
that they thought suitable for settlement and for other human
activities. The pioneer Dutch farmers had relatively large families, as
they encouraged their family members to get more land, which led to
expansion of the colony.
The Company had no manpower/ personnel to punish farmers who acquired farms beyond the boundary of the colony.
The
Company had rigid regulations, which restricted the economic activities
of the colonists, for example the settlers were only supposed to sell
their products to only the Company including contracts for meat and
wine.
The Dutch settlers hated this control and moved away northwards dissatisfied.
The Company had imposed too high and unfair taxes on the settlers, which forced several settlers to move away from the
Cape
and establish themselves in the interior in order to be free. As they
settled in the new areas, the Colony expanded. The Company officials
constantly conflicted with the settlers who moved away in protest to its
policies.
The Company policies were harsh,
restricted trade of settlers, transactions or trade and commerce.
Company officials appointed themselves in key positions and moved out of
Company control to start their own life.
The Company official’s monopolized sales and profits to passing ships for their own income.
The
settlers were not allowed to grow Tobacco, were restricted from
acquiring land yet their numbers were increasing, hence they were forced
to migrate.
Company officials abnormally over
taxed the farmers, for instance the annual rent of land by the white
Boer farmers was very high.
The Cape offered very
poor farming prospects for the white settlers compared to the interior
land. This had earlier caused bankruptcy.
The
availability of better land in the interior for expansion and for semi
nomadic pastoralism naturally attracted the settlers to move inland.
The settlers felt oppressed, exploited and suppressed by the Company officials, which generated a desire for migration inland.
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