
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1834 Excerpt:... CHAPTER X. Other causes of war among the tribes--Unrighteous conduct of colonists--Gonaqua's "Tale of wo"--Extraordinary barbarity--Colonial boundaries--Commandoes--Battle between S'Lhambi and Gaika--History of Makanna--Cession of Kaffer territory. While feudal systems have for ages been thus lamentably desolating the interior of the country, the destroyer has had yet other engines in awful play upon the more southern tribes. The unrighteous conduct of colonists, who from time to time settled in their borders, frequently proved a far more serious and destructive cause of warfare to the Kaffers, than any originating among themselves. Not satisfied with encroaching upon their territories, they ofttimes reduced whole hordes from a state of pastoral affluence to one of extreme indigence. Nor was this the worst: many were decoyed from their homes and enslaved; and their offspring, born in the houses of their task-masters, often sold among goods and chattels belonging to the estate. Making every allowance for exaggeration occasioned by excitement of feeling on the recollection of past wrongs, the accounts of the natives themselves cannot be heard without pain and indignation. But official documents, under seal and signature of the colonial government, are quite sufficient, independently of oral testimony, to prove the oppression and tragic scenes of former days. The black nations of Southern Africa were doubtless known, and that advantageously, to the Dutch, Portuguese, and other navigators, long before the commencement of the eighteenth century; but a despatch sent to Holland by the governor and council of the Cape of Good Hope, under date of April 1st, 1703, furnishes the first official account of intercourse between them and the colonists. From the contents of...
Page Count:
298
Publication Date:
2012-02-01
ISBN-10:
1458988333
ISBN-13:
9781458988331
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