Effects of the establishment of the Boer Republics over the Africans in the interior of South Africa

Effects of the establishment of the Boer Republics over the Africans in the interior of South Africa

The effects were mainly negative.

Africans lost their land, e.g. the Zulu and the Basuto lost Natal.

Loss of African social and cultural institutions.

The Boers became masters while the colored and Africans became servants.

The formation of the Republics generally disrupted economic activities.

Africans became assimilated in the Boer culture, e.g. dressing and behaviors.

Africans were also made to fight wars with the Boers, e.g. The Boer- Basuto wars; the Boer- Ndebele wars where

Many Africans were killed.

Famine resulted since there was no settled agriculture.

Africans were pushed into reserves and land was taken away.

The Dutch became the official language and the official religion was the Dutch Reformed Church.

Problems faced by the Boers in their new Republics up to 1870

The experienced a problem of severe labor shortage in the production of sugarcane, cotton and coffee.

Their economy developed at a slow pace.

Their agricultural crops took a long gestation period.

They constantly competed for land with the Africans.

They practiced pastoralist which needs large areas

They only produced for consumption and not for sale. They therefore ended with little or no revenue.

They imported cheap Indian labor, which later formed a large population force and was a threat as they both competed for employment

There were very few roads and railway network in the interior.

The Boers in republics 'of the Orange Free State and Transvaal were poorer than those living at the Cape and Natal Boers settlers. Even the Africans were better off than the Boers.

They lacked funds to develop the Republics. They were insolvent or undercapitalized.

Cattle and Sheep raids from the African increased insecurity in the region.

Conflicts and quarrel among the Boers themselves.

They lost lives and property at the hands of the African raiders.

For many years they failed to e united.

The Boers republics faced African threats for years until the British intervened.

The British ended up annexing the Boers republics like in 1843 in Natal, 1848 in the OFS and Transvaal in 1877.

The British over protected the Africans by refusing the Boers to evict them from their land.

Their political independence and freedom was short lived until the 1852 sand River convention and the 1854 Bloemfontein Convention.

The British were ever envious of prosperity and economic growth due to their Diamond and Gold wealth.

The Africans outnumbered the Boers which made them insecure.

Transvaal and the OFS had mainly military hardliners than experienced administrators.

Before 1867 the Boers were living in object poverty or even a poverty trap.

They were not dependable and trust by the African communities,

They lack a dependable and reliable source of fire arms and gun powder.

Relations between the Boers and the British 1836-1855

When the Boers moved in the Great Trek, the British passed the 1836 Cape Parliament Act in order to prevent more Boer emigration(s). By the Act all those Boers as far as latitude 25° degrees north were still under British control and influence. Therefore they were still liable to British law for any crime they could commit.

The Cape Parliamentary Act became a working document when Natal started to depend on the cape colony in 1840. This was due to the influence of the British- Natal citizens strategic factor (s) and other ambitious schemes.

To bring the Boers under complete British control, by 1840 Natal became a British colony. Issues that remained were peace and how to control the Boers.

They were completely controlled, subjugated by former which made many of them leave for the interior of South Africa in the High Veld of Transvaal and the Orange Free State, as some remained in Natal, Goshen and Stella land (s), the Kosi Bay, Lydenburg, St. Lucia and the state of Utrecht.

With the above events the British policy had to be enforced. In fact the British set up Treaty- States on the Eastern and northern frontiers. These states were under Chiefs Andries WaterBoer and Adam Kok III created in 1834 and 1843 respectively. Others included the Basuto state of chief Moshoeshoe created 1843 and the Pondo of Faku in 1844. These chiefs were given a salary to ensure that they keep peace and stability of the area.

By 1850's the high administrative costs for the British forced them to abandon the scheme of Treaty-states.

By December 1847, the British annexed much African land due to conflicts in the interior. They annexed the land between the Keiskamma and Vaal rivers as the Orange River Sovereignty.

The intention of the annexation of these lands by Governor Sir. Harry Smith was to ensure that law and order the British policy and imperialism prevails; Other reasons for annexation included-economic developments need to control the Boers, the Africans and to enforce British supremacy.

The "Philanthropic (humanitarian) role. the cost of administration and conflicts with Africans made the British grant freedom and independence to the Boers.

In 1852 they signed the Sand River Convention and the Bloemfontein Convention in 1854 which recognized the independence of Transvaal and the Orange Free State respectively.

By these two conventions, the whites committed themselves not to sell arms to the Africans; they also favored racial segregations and or discrimination which were also favored by the Boers.

The Boers were in a position to lay ground for Afrikaaner nationalism and to oppose the British imperial rivalry.

From 1854, the Orange River Sovereignty came to be called the Orange Free State and Transvaal officially from 1852 and came to be recognized with independence.

Sir George Grey also initiated the idea of Federation! Union! Confederation of all the white states in South Africa from me early 1850's.

From 1852 to 1860, the situation appeared a balance of power between the British and the Boers; but suspicion, conflicts and rivalry to a smaller degree remained.

By 1853, the Cape colony was granted a representative government and its first Parliament sat in 1854. In the same year Natal also became a separate colony of the British.

Generally the relationship was rivalry, intrigue, foci, restrictive, which led to annexations, ambitions and counter ambitions.