Boer History1796 at the Cape of Good Hope: Bressler at Graaff Reinet, Saldanha, and Submission
Burgher Senate — End of January 1796
The committee of the high court of justice was dissolved, and in its stead a burgher senate of six members was created, the senior of whom was president. Vacancies were filled by the head of the government from a fourfold list of names furnished by the board itself. Members were not by virtue of office judges in the high court, though any of them could be appointed judges without resigning their seats. The board was to represent to government matters affecting the colonists, keep the roads in order, provide watchmen for the town, propose how taxes for those purposes should be levied, farm out the public windmills, regulate the prices of bread and meat, and fix tradesmen’s wages — in short, to perform all the duties, except judicial, of the old burgher councillors and of the commissioners of the high court. The creation of the board was announced soon after the capitulation of 16 September 1795, but the arrangements could not be completed before the end of January 1796. [3]
Those measures had equally good effects in Stellenbosch as in Capetown. Landdrost Hendrik Lodewyk Bletterman had asked to retire, assigning age and health; his resignation was accepted, and on the 7th of November 1795 he was succeeded by Ryno Johannes van der Riet. In the district no opposition was made to the new authorities. Swellendam had already been induced to submit without a struggle. Fieldcornet Daniel du Plessis had been made much of by the British officers. Two days after the capitulation Craig had given him a paper to make known: monopoly for the Company’s profit was at an end; there was free trade and a free market; no new taxes would be levied; oppressive ones would be taken under consideration; paper money would hold its value, while the English paid in hard coin; and the districts were invited to send fit persons to Capetown if anything remained unexplained. Anthony Alexander Faure was sent back as landdrost, and the past acts of the Nationals were to be buried in oblivion if they would submit. At a special meeting of heemraden on the 4th of November 1795 Hillegard Mulder, Pieter Pienaar, Pieter du Pré, and Hermanus Steyn — the last named the landdrost under the Nationals — sat with Jacobus Steyn, Ernst du Toit, and Anthonie van Vollenhoven of the national assembly. All who were present gave in their submission and took the oath; Steyn transferred the drostdy and thereafter took his seat with the heemraden. [3] [4]
A few months later a man of marked ability, Andries Stockenstrom, was appointed secretary of the district of Swellendam. He was by birth a Swede, had entered the Dutch East India Company’s service, and in 1786 became a clerk in an office in Capetown. He had been employed as supercargo of a vessel transporting slaves from Madagascar to the Cape — it was he who purchased the negroes and collected them for embarkation — and had next been bookkeeper of the naval establishment until the surrender. In March 1796 he was selected by Major-General James Henry Craig to fill the Swellendam secretaryship. The oath required of officials and generally of the burghers of the Cape, Stellenbosch, and Swellendam districts ran: to be true and faithful to His Majesty George the Third, by God’s grace king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, for so long a time as His Majesty should remain in possession of this colony. [3] [4]
Paper still sat where gold and silver had sat. The paper currency of the colony amounted to £258,255 — in rixdollars 1,291,276, of which about 677,366 rixdollars had been lent through the Lombard Bank on security of estates and movables, leaving about 613,910 rixdollars to be secured on the Company’s lands and buildings. There was no metallic coin in circulation. On the 1st of October 1795 the British commanders had fixed the rate of exchange at two hundred and sixty-four stivers in paper for a golden guinea, sixty stivers in paper for a Spanish silver dollar, and twelve stivers in paper for an English silver shilling. Persons owing money in Europe could not obtain bills under twenty to thirty per cent premium; in common dealings three shillings in silver would purchase as much as a paper rixdollar. Copper paid to the troops was sought by shopkeepers, and penny pieces passed as two stivers instead of one. Calendar 1796 therefore opened from the gardens of 1652 on a six-member senate that was at last complete, on Stellenbosch quiet under Van der Riet, on Swellendam with Faure restored and Stockenstrom named secretary, and on Graaff Reinet still unsubmitted. [3] [4]
Bresler at Graaff Reinet — 9 February 1796
The people of Graaff Reinet had not yet submitted, but on the 27th of October 1795 — one account dates the burghers’ letter the 29th — the leaders of the Nationals wrote to the British commanders explaining their conduct, which led to the belief that they were ready to come to terms. The letter, signed by Carel David Gerotz, Adriaan van Jaarsveld, A. A. Smit, G. F. Enslin, A. H. Krugel, and J. Joubert, hoped to disabuse Craig of misrepresentations by revengeful Company servants. They pointed to intolerable taxation, an unprotected state, restrictions on trade, and base paper money; they had never opposed the States General nor commissary Sluysken, but the unlawful servants of the Company. They had appointed Gerotz provisional landdrost and J. V. Oertel provisional secretary, asked for a parson — a church was in course of construction, but the one sent had run away — and hoped to be made acquainted with His Excellency’s orders. Craig replied on the 23rd of November in reassuring terms: monopolies abolished, restrictions on trade removed, no revenge for the Company’s quarrels, the temporary appointments approved. As a permanent official he named Frans Reinhard Bresler, a colonist who had been an officer in De Lille’s regiment, quite unconnected with any party, and trusted as a man of honour. It was hoped that by sending him instead of returning the hated Honoratus Maynier due deference would be paid to their wishes. He was to conciliate the farmers: they would be required to obey him as a father, but he was to act as such, to study their welfare, and to protect them against their enemies. If the San, grown bold through want of proper exertions, had become formidable, he needed only to say so to be supplied with powder and ball from the government stores. [3] [4]
On the 9th of February 1796 Bresler arrived at the village of Graaff Reinet. He was accompanied by the reverend Von Manger, who had retired to Capetown some time before. On his journey he met a party of seventeen farmers, who made no objection to take the oath of fidelity, and he sent out a commando under Matthys de Beer against San marauders. Upon reaching the village the national landdrost Gerotz gave him quarters in the drostdy, but he was not permitted to enter the courtroom, and was informed that the landdrost, the secretary, and the minor officials had been instructed by the representatives of the people to retain their posts and to allow no one else access to the records until after a meeting which was to be held on the 22nd. The disposition of the inhabitants was very different from that which it was supposed had inspired the October letter. There was a determination to refuse to acknowledge any authority except that which they themselves had constituted. [3] [4]
On the day appointed the heemraden Jan Booysen, David van der Merwe, Schalk Burger, and Andries van der Walt were present, as were also the militia officers Adriaan van Jaarsveld, Andries Burger, Andries Smit, David van der Merwe junior, and Pieter Kruger. At a separate table sat the representatives of the people: Hendrik Krugel, Jan Durand, Christoffel Letter, and Jacob Kruger. A messenger invited Bresler to appear and inform the assembly for what purpose he had visited Graaff Reinet. He read his commission and added that he would convene a meeting of the heemraden that afternoon and preside in it. Asked if the representatives of the people would be admitted, he replied that he could not acknowledge them. At two in the afternoon he caused the drostdy bell to be rung and directed one of his servants to hoist the English flag on the staff. A few minutes later a number of excited people crowded about him, and Jacobus Joubert ordered him to have the flag lowered at once. He refused. Joubert, Jan Groning, and Jan Kruger then hauled it down. Amid uproar Bresler demanded to know whether they would acknowledge the king of England as their sovereign, Major-General Craig as their governor, and himself as their landdrost, and whether they would take the oath of fidelity. Not one was willing. He was informed that they had elected Marthinus Prinsloo of the Boschberg to be protector of the voice of the people, and that they had instructions from him which they would obey. District secretary Samuel Oertel was directed to read the letter of instructions. It forbade all persons from taking the oath of allegiance to the king of England, and announced that another meeting would be held on the 22nd of March to settle matters finally. [3] [4]
Bresler remained to learn the result of that meeting. The day before it was to take place, Jan Pieter Woyer returned to the village from a tour he had just made through the district. Woyer, who had studied medicine in Europe and was generally well informed, had not been long in South Africa, but had filled the post of district surgeon of Graaff Reinet since December 1794 and had thus an opportunity of acquiring influence. He was a warm upholder of French principles, and hated England to a corresponding extent. At this time he was doing all that he could to induce the farmers not to submit. Bresler had found Gerotz and Oertel men of sound sense and moderate opinions, so that he hoped to be able to convince them of the uselessness of resistance; but when Woyer appeared, he recognised at once that his cause was hopeless. [3] [4]
On the 22nd of March there was a large gathering at the drostdy. The heemraden, militia officers, and representatives of the people took their seats in the courtroom, and a son of Adriaan van Jaarsveld was then sent to call Bresler. There was a crowd outside the building, and upon Bresler’s making his appearance Marthinus Prinsloo ordered silence that they might hear what he had to say. He commenced to read some proclamations issued by General Craig, but was interrupted by Carel Triegard and others. At length Van Jaarsveld stated that they intended to retain their own government, and would only agree to terms which he wished to be taken down in writing. These were: that the people of Graaff Reinet were willing to take to Capetown for sale such articles as their land produced, according to the ancient custom; and that they would observe all reasonable orders and laws, provided the English governor would supply them with powder, lead, clothing, and such other articles as they needed. Hendrik Krugel dictated two additional articles: that the people of Graaff Reinet would not draw the sword against the English; and that their only reason for refusing to take the oath required was that when the States General of the Netherlands should retake the country they would not be able to justify themselves if they did so. These articles were confirmed by all present, and the crowd outside then dispersed. Next morning Van Jaarsveld and some others proposed to Von Manger that he should remain under their government, but he declined, on the ground that he had taken an oath of fidelity to the king of England. On the 25th of March he and Bresler left the drostdy to return to Capetown, which Bresler reached on the 19th of April. [3] [4]
Early in March a rumour had reached Capetown that a body of burghers was in arms with the intention, in the first place, of marching to Graaff Reinet to expel Bresler, and then of proceeding to Swellendam to dispossess Faure once more and to attack those who had taken the oath. Although perhaps unfounded, the rumour gained additional credence in Bresler’s unexpected reappearance. Considering that the British had really very few friends throughout the colony, and that what obedience was shown was due to the inability to resist the force at hand, Craig felt that the utmost caution was necessary. [4]
Hottentot Corps and the Cut-Off
On hearing of these proceedings Craig sent Major King with three hundred men of the 84th regiment — one return names the 2nd battalion of the 84th, with three pieces of cannon — to Stellenbosch, to be in readiness to move forward at short notice. Supplies of ammunition and goods of all kinds were cut off from the district of Graaff Reinet. During the next three or four months the distant eastern districts were practically left to themselves. Cut off from the necessary supplies of ammunition and a market for their produce, the disadvantages of the situation began to become apparent. [3] [4]
A corps of Khoikhoi was raised for service in the interior. They were enlisted for a year, were provided with arms, clothing, and rations, and each man received sixpence a week in money. When Craig was endeavouring to establish permanent peace, the problem of the large number of wandering and discontented Khoikhoi presented itself. As these people, while in the service of the farmers, had become experienced in the use of the musket and had at various times acted in a loose kind of way as soldiers, the idea was to attach them to His Majesty’s government by collecting as many as possible and, by the allurement of a multi-coloured uniform, rations, and sixpence a week in cash, to induce them to become organised into a corps. Although it was hoped that this corps might be of service against the burghers of the interior, the principal motive was more the desire to obtain some control over them than to increase the military force of the colony. Within six months about two hundred were enlisted. The uniform in the first place consisted of a short scarlet jacket with yellow collar and cuffs trimmed with a kind of white lace, blue cloth trousers with a black and red stripe, and a round felt hat. The corps was placed under the command of a subaltern from one of the infantry regiments; it had its headquarters at Riet Vlei near Capetown, and was known as the Hottentot Corps. They were found amenable to discipline, albeit there were predictions that as soon as they were clothed and accoutred they would desert and steal the property entrusted to their care. During the early troubles in Graaff Reinet the corps was in readiness for action, but their services were not required. At that time 147 more readily enlisted in the British service. [3] [4]
The town and district had in 1796 been declared a magistracy, and a Khoikhoi police, led by English officers, was organised for maintaining order and, if necessary, subduing rebellion. This gave great offence, and was looked upon by the burghers as an unconstitutional act and as a violation of their rights as white inhabitants under the laws of the colony, which had never sanctioned the employment of coloured militia or military forces against burghers. Most of the inhabitants of the frontier country still refused to take the oath of allegiance to the king of England. [7]
Meantime dissensions broke out among the people of Graaff Reinet. The farmers of the fieldcornetcies of Zwartkops River, the Zuurveld, and Bruintjes Hoogte remained faithful to the government they had established, but the others came to a conclusion that it would be better to submit to the English than to be deprived of a market to buy and sell in. In Graaff Reinet itself Gerotz and Oertel advocated submission, while the inhabitants of the Zuurveld, Boschberg, and Bruintjes Hoogte resolutely maintained their own government. Woyer, for whose apprehension the government was striving, suddenly disappeared. [3] [4]
Lucas at Saldanha — 6–18 August 1796
Since the 19th of June it had been known at the Cape that a Dutch squadron was approaching, but it was not supposed that it would attempt to enter any port west of Agulhas. Admiral Elphinstone with the fleet under his command had returned from Madras a short time before. During the night of the 3rd of August 1796 an express arrived at Capetown from Saldanha Bay with information that nine large ships were off that harbour. Craig immediately forwarded the intelligence to Elphinstone at Simonstown. The admiral therefore at once put to sea, with the object of intercepting the hostile ships off the Cape of Good Hope. Lieutenant McNab of the 98th regiment was sent with twenty mounted men to the coast below Saldanha Bay to watch their movements. On the 6th he reported that they had anchored in the bay that morning. [3] [4]
On the 7th a proclamation was issued by General Craig, ordering all persons living within thirty miles of Saldanha Bay to drive their cattle inland, and announcing that any one found communicating with or endeavouring to join the Dutch fleet, or supplying the Dutch forces with provisions, cattle, horses, or assistance of any kind whatever, would be punished with immediate death. There was a strong garrison in the Cape peninsula, and some transports on the way to India had just put into Simon’s Bay, having on board the 25th and 27th regiments of light dragoons, the 33rd regiment of infantry, and five companies of the 19th. These were landed, and every exertion was made to mount the dragoons. All the saddle horses in the town and neighbourhood were required to be brought in by their owners, but were paid for on a valuation made by two dragoon officers and two members of the court of justice. Waggons for transport were also pressed into service, but without being purchased. One owner of a waggon — a wealthy resident in Capetown — declined to supply it on the demand of the commissariat officer. Craig promptly warned others by sending a sergeant and ten soldiers to live at free quarters in his house. [3]
Leaving nearly four thousand soldiers in the Cape peninsula under command of Major-General Doyle, Craig marched to Saldanha Bay to meet any Dutch troops that might be landed, and arrived on its eastern shore in the morning of the 16th of August with a well-equipped force of two thousand five hundred men and eleven field-guns. Meantime Elphinstone, having encountered stormy weather at sea, had returned to Simon’s Bay on the 12th, and learned there that the Dutch fleet was in Saldanha Bay. The weather was so boisterous that he could not put to sea again until the 15th, but next morning he cast anchor within gunshot of the Dutch ships. As the troops under Craig approached on one side, they saw the English fleet drawing in on the other. [3] [4]
The British fleet consisted of two ships of the line — the Monarch and the Tremendous — of seventy-four guns each; five ships of the line — the America, Stately, Ruby, Sceptre, and Trident — of sixty-four guns each; the Jupiter, of fifty guns; the Crescent, of thirty-six guns; the Sphinx, of twenty-four guns; the Moselle, Rattlesnake, and Echo, each of sixteen guns; and the armed brig Hope. As soon as the anchors were down, Elphinstone sent a letter to the chief Dutch officer, demanding surrender without shedding blood, as resistance to his overwhelming force must be useless. He received a verbal reply that a decided answer would be given next morning. Upon this he required an assurance that no damage would be done to the ships, and received a written promise to that effect from Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas, who was in command of the Dutch fleet. [3]
At nine o’clock in the morning of the 17th a Dutch officer was sent on board the flagship Monarch with a draft of terms of surrender, but the British admiral would grant no other conditions than the retention of private property by every one and permission for the officers to remain in the colony under parole until they could return to the Netherlands in neutral ships. The Dutch fleet with everything that belonged to it must be surrendered intact. At five in the evening these terms were agreed to, and on the 18th possession was taken of the Dutch ships. They were the Dordrecht and the Revolutie, each of sixty-six guns; the Admiral Tromp, of fifty-four guns; the Castor, of forty-four guns; the Brave, of forty guns; the Bellona, of twenty-eight guns; the Sirene, of twenty-six guns; the Havik, of eighteen guns; and the Maria storeship, all in excellent condition and well fitted out. There were nearly two thousand soldiers and sailors on board, who became prisoners of war. Most of the soldiers were Germans, who asserted that they had been prisoners to the French and had been compelled to take service with the Dutch. They were very willing to change sides, and the next transports that sailed to India took most of them away in English uniforms. A considerable number of the seamen also offered to enter the English service, and were gladly taken over. After firing a few ineffectual shots, the Dutch ships had been hemmed in and surrendered. The British officers congratulated themselves on having secured not only a number of excellent ships, but a fine body of recruits, just then much needed in India. [3] [4]
Graaff Reinet Submits — August–December 1796
Before the news of the disaster to the invading fleet could have reached the malcontents of the east, rumours were still rife as to the hostile intentions of the burghers. Those rumours probably had their origin in a meeting which was held at Marthinus Prinsloo’s in the Boschberg in the previous June. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss the question of their particular submission to British rule, as they did not consider themselves bound by any decision which might be arrived at in Graaff Reinet. Not only was it resolved that matters should remain as they were, but, probably encouraged by the expectation of the fleet from Holland, the more irresponsible talked of using force to compel obedience to the dictates of their convention. Craig felt the time had arrived when the discontents should realise the power with which they had to contend, and be convinced that though so far distant from the seat of government they were nevertheless within the reach of British soldiery. [3] [4]
On the 22nd of August there was a public meeting at the drostdy, attended, however, by no one from Zwartkops River, the Zuurveld, or Bruintjes Hoogte, except Adriaan van Jaarsveld. Gerotz and Oertel exerted themselves to bring about submission to the authorities at the Cape, with the result that a document was signed by all the people of note present — including Van Jaarsveld — in which they promised fidelity to the English government. Two deputies — Pieter Ernst Kruger and Christiaan Rudolph Opperman — were sent to Capetown with it. The deputies reached their destination on the 8th of September, bringing a letter of a most submissive character, signed by forty of the most respectable men. Two days earlier, on the 6th of September, Major King had left Stellenbosch with two hundred dragoons, five companies of light infantry, one hundred and fifty pandours, and three field-guns, to commence military operations in Graaff Reinet. An express was sent to recall this force, and overtook it at Roodezand, on the third day of their march. Craig empowered Gerotz to act as landdrost and Oertel as secretary until further instructions, promised that the past should be forgotten, and issued a general amnesty from which only Woyer was excluded. The surrender of the Dutch fleet very greatly disheartened the patriots throughout the colony, and finding they were cut off from all possible assistance, they could do nothing else but accept the new condition of things. [3] [4]
The other party still held out. By November the want of ammunition and clothing materials was so pressing that some of the least resolute resolved to send a deputation to Capetown to proffer submission and to make certain requests. The burghers Willem Prinsloo junior and Frans Labuschagne accordingly brought to General Craig a letter dated the 12th of November and signed by twenty-nine persons — another return counts thirty-one names, including Marthinus Prinsloo — which professed to explain the wishes of the farmers of Bruintjes Hoogte and the Zuurveld, writing from the Little Fish River. They desired the approval of the government to their entering Xhosa country for the purpose of recovering cattle that had been stolen from them, requested permission to occupy land along the Koonap and Kat rivers, objected to the appointment of Bresler as landdrost and asked that some one possessing greater sympathy with the farmers should be sent in his stead, suggested a slight alteration in the constitution of the board of heemraden, hoped that a proclamation would be issued to secure them from being forced to serve in either the British army or navy, and asked that all arrears of rent on their loan places might be remitted. They said they were all perfectly inclined to submit, and hoped every circumstance which might have happened would be buried in oblivion. Asked for his opinion on the cattle claim, Bresler stated that at the period referred to the total number of cattle of which the farmers acknowledged to be possessed, when asked for returns for taxation purposes, was 8,004, but when a little later they were asked to give the numbers they had lost by Xhosa inroads, the number was estimated at 65,327. [3] [4]
General Craig replied in writing on the 31st of December. He informed them that they became subjects of the king of England by the capitulation, and could not expect special terms — resistance became rebellion, and it was unbecoming to ask terms or to attempt to treat with that government to which they owed allegiance. He strictly ordered them not to make war upon the Xhosa to recover their cattle, or to occupy land beyond the boundary, and advised them to treat the Xhosa with all possible kindness. He could not allow them to dictate the nomination of a landdrost. No alteration in the form of government of the district could be made, and the heemraden would be appointed as of old. He advised them to abandon the absurd idea of an independent government, and warned them against further opposition. He would not furnish them with powder and shot until they paid due obedience to the lawful authorities. He assured them there was no intention of pressing them into either the army or navy, though they might be expected to do their duty as armed burghers as had already been the case under their former government. [3] [4]
The deputies hereupon declared that they were willing to submit, and with this the matter ended for a time. Gerotz remained as acting landdrost, and administered justice in the name of the king of England, without any open opposition, though without any strong hold upon the people. The national party was by no means extinct, but recognised the uselessness under existing circumstances of attempting to set the British authorities at defiance. Many of them hoped that aid from abroad would shortly reach them, for Woyer had been confident of French assistance and had gone to procure it. For about two years from this the political ferment in the east subsided. There was, however, no doubt but that a brooding over the unhappy conditions of life, together with the continued dissemination of Jacobinism, might at any time renew the disturbances. [3] [4]
Craig’s Paper and the Poor Harvest
Craig did his utmost to place English rule before the colonists in as favourable a light as possible. As a conqueror he could not be loved, but as a man he was highly respected. His government was just without being severe, and though the system was retained of civil servants deriving the larger part of their incomes from fees, bribery and corruption were not tolerated. The salary of the landdrost of Stellenbosch at this time was £120 a year, with house and garden, but his perquisites were officially stated to amount to at least £1,500 a year. Much of Craig’s attention was occupied with strengthening old fortifications and constructing new ones. Some blockhouses which he caused to be built on the slope of Devil’s Peak are still in existence, and a tower near the mouth of Salt River, which was called by his name, remained standing until 1888, when it was broken down, and a large earthen fort was built upon its site. [3]
In one matter only he made a great mistake. When the colony was surrendered there were over thirty-six thousand muids of wheat in the magazines, and the crops which were gathered a few months later were the best known for many years. Against the advice of men of experience in South Africa, Craig sent a quantity of the prize wheat to England, and maintained that the demand created by the troops and naval forces would be met by increased production. But the harvest of the summer of 1796–7 was a very poor one, and famine was barely averted by sending in haste to India for wheat and rice and to Europe for flour at any cost. It was necessary to adopt very stringent measures to obtain bread for the troops, and a farmer who was at all dilatory in furnishing grain, if he had any, might make sure of soldiers being quartered upon him. During the period of scarcity there was not sufficient money in the military chest to provide for urgent requirements, and coin was not to be had for treasury bills. Craig therefore issued paper to the amount of £60,000, similar to that already in use in the colony. It was appropriated solely to purposes connected with the support of the troops. [3]
Craig had promised the colonists free trade, and he kept his word as well as he could. By free trade must of course be understood what the words implied in those days. A duty of five per cent of the value was charged upon both imports and exports, as under the Dutch East India Company. No merchandise whatever was allowed to be landed from a vessel under a foreign flag, unless by special permission under urgent circumstances, and then double import duties were charged upon such goods. The only exception to this rule was the case of a Portuguese vessel from Mozambique, which put into Table Bay with three hundred and fifty slaves on board. Craig was of opinion that slaves were so greatly required for the extension of agriculture in the colony that he allowed this cargo to be landed and sold by auction on payment of the ordinary duty of £2 a head. Any produce required by the government could be demanded at stated prices. Before the arrival of a civilian governor, direct commerce with England was not established, but goods were obtained from ships that called for supplies. [3]
The colony had been seized by the British government under the plea of keeping it out of the possession of the French and holding it in trust for the prince of Orange until his restoration to the stadtholdership of the Netherlands. But in 1796 the English ministry openly declared their intention not to give it up. It was to be kept as a crown colony and a station of great value as commanding the highway to India. A civilian of eminence was to be placed at the head of its government, and next to him in authority was to be a military officer of high rank and having command of a strong garrison. The king’s ministers selected as governor the earl of Macartney, an Irish gentleman who had recently been raised to the peerage, and as lieutenant-governor and commander of the forces Major-General Francis Dundas. At the end of 1796 the British government decided to appoint some distinguished civilian to act as governor of the Cape and to intrust all military affairs to an officer of high rank, who should also act as lieutenant-governor. As governor, Earl Macartney was appointed on the 28th of December 1796. From the date of his appointment — the 1st of August 1796 — the governor drew from the colonial revenue £10,000 a year, besides a table allowance of £2,000; and he had the promise of a pension upon his retirement of £2,000 a year for life. The whole revenue of 1796, the year before the new staff took office, was £28,903 19s. [3] [4]
In April 1796 the repatriated Abraham Josias Sluysken appeared before the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic in The Hague to apply for an investigation into his rôle in the surrender of the Cape Colony. On the 2nd of December of the same year the Assembly accepted the findings of its Commission for Foreign Affairs, to whom the matter had been referred, and ruled that Sluysken had done his duty and deserved well of the Fatherland. [9]
Gaika Defeats Ndlambe — 1796
The evils arising from the struggle for power, combined with the opportunities offered to an able and ambitious man to take advantage of the minority of a hereditary chief, were at no time more pronounced than in the case of the descendants of Rarabe. The great son Umlao died before Rarabe was killed by the Thembu, and left, as heir, an infant son, Ngqika or Gaika. Umlao’s younger brother, also a son of the great wife, was Ndlambe. He would have succeeded as paramount chief of all the Rharhabe had Gaika not been born. Ndlambe was a man of considerable ability and withal a bold warrior, albeit at times his valour got the better of his discretion. He became the most powerful chief among the Xhosa to the west of the Kei, and the one who gave the greatest trouble, both directly and indirectly, to the British government in subsequent years. During the minority of Gaika, Ndlambe was entrusted with the guardianship of the young chief and the government of the tribe. His popularity gathered around him a very numerous and loyal party during his regency, and to add further to his power and influence, Cebo, the right-hand son of Rarabe, had died childless and left no other legal successor to his portion of the tribe. Ndlambe therefore placed his own son Dushani in that position and thus increased the number of his own adherents. [4]
When Gaika became old enough to take the reins of government into his own hands, Ndlambe found himself sufficiently powerful to refuse to resign. The conservatism of the race, however, revolting at this breach of the immemorial custom, raised up a strong party determined to resist this usurpation and place Gaika at the head of the Rharhabe. The result of this conflict was a war in 1796 in which Gaika was victorious, took his uncle Ndlambe prisoner, and kept him in captivity for about two years. Gaika treated Ndlambe with great consideration and kindness, allowing him to keep all his cattle and wives, and even consulting him on matters of the government of the tribe. The missionary Vanderkemp later recorded that when Gaika formally released Ndlambe, he thus addressed him: uncle, I thank you for the education you have given me, which has taught me to acquit myself with honour as a sovereign; for this I will forget that you ever acted unkindly towards me, and deal with you as you yourself have taught me to do; in like manner do you learn of me to behave as becomes a true and faithful subject. [4]
From the capture of Ndlambe the bitterest of feuds raged between his adherents and those of Gaika, so that the nation of the Rharhabe became the two powerful tribes of the AmaNgqika, or Gaikas, and the AmaNdlambe. According to Xhosa tradition later current, it would appear that Gaika did not gain his position in the tribe entirely on the ground of birth, if at all, but on the arbitrary dictate of Kauta. The tale goes that Kauta paid a visit of condolence to those who were mourning the deaths of Rarabe, Umlao, and Cebo, and at the same time took upon himself the duty of appointing the new chief. The clans having assembled, four men chosen by the people approached Kauta and drew his attention to two boys sitting apart. Their names were Ntimbo and Ngqika. The delegates stated that the people desired Ntimbo as their new leader. Kauta went up to the boys and, taking from his own neck a necklace of large red royal beads, fastened it upon the neck of Ngqika. On Ntimbo’s neck he placed a necklace of small beads and, taking an arrow from an attendant, placed it in his right hand, and then without speaking turned and walked away. By this it was understood that Ngqika was elected to rule the people in place of Umlao. [4]
That split among the Rharhabe sat beside the eastern districts’ own unfinished quarrel. The Boschberg letter of the 12th of November still lay unanswered until the 31st of December, when Craig wrote that the farmers were subjects by the capitulation, were not to make war upon the Xhosa or take land beyond the boundary, could not name a landdrost, and would have no powder until they obeyed. Gaika held his uncle; Gerotz still sat the drostdy in the king’s name; Macartney’s appointment of the 28th of December had not yet reached the Cape. [3] [4]