History of the Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape has a rich cultural history. Now most famous as the home of
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela, the Eastern Cape border region was
not always a place of peace. It is here that the Xhosas, Afrikaners &
English met for the first time. At the time of white settlement of the Cape,
Xhosa groups were living far inland, into the area between Bushman's River and
the Kei River. Since around 1770, they had been confronted with the Afrikaner
Trek Boers who approached from the west. Both the Boers and the Xhosa were
stock-farmers.
The competition for grazing land led first to quarrels between the two groups,
and eventually it came to a number of wars known as the grensoorlöe ("border
wars" in Afrikaans). The politics of the colonial government attempted to
enforce the separation of white and black settlement areas with the Fish River
as the border. But the more the colony developed into a modern state with a
strong military organization, the more the whites tended towards a policy of
land annexing and the subjugation of the black population. In the middle of the
19th century, all the land formerly inhabited by Xhosa was in the hands of
white settlers. With the founding of the South African Union in 1910, the
British colony and the independent Boer Republics were united. A modern
"democratic" state was formed. in which only the white population could execute
the right to vote.
You will still find evidence of these violent times in this area. There are
several buildings still standing where the Afrikaners and English sheltered
from fierce Xhosa onslaughts. You will also note that most old houses in the
Eastern Cape have small windows and thick walls to protect against unexpected
attacks.
Although today the Eastern Cape is well known as the home of the Xhosa
people, they weren't the only or indeed the first people in the Eastern
Cape. The Bushmen (or San) thrived in the Eastern Cape before the Nguni tribes
moved South from the North-East of Africa. Visitors can still find San
rock art all over the Eastern Cape, but there are some very good sights near
Barkly-East in the North-Eastern part of the Eastern Cape.
Nelson Mandela
The Eastern Cape is the home and birthplace of one of South Africa's brightest
sons. Nelson Mandela was born at Mvezo in the Eastern Cape. His umbilical cord
is still burried in the area in line with Xhosa tradition. When Rolihlahla's
(Nelson Mandela's tribal name) father was deposed by an English magistate the
Mandela family moved to Qunu.
Qunu is where Nelson Mandela has acknowledged he spent the happiest years of his
youth, diligently doing his herd-boy duties, playing in the river and sailing
down the “Sliding Stone”. When Nelson’s father was persecuted and deposed as
Mvezo chief by the white magistrate their family took refuge at Qunu. It is the
place where the young Rolihlahla in colonial tradition was named Nelson on his
first day at school.
Today Qunu is a cluster of villages surrounded by open veld and rolling hills.
The hills and valleys are covered with lush green grass and dotted with herds
of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats. A cock crow wakes up the community and
at sunset the herdsmen bring the cattle to the Qunu river to drink, where the
young Nelson enjoyed swimming and enriching his imagination with the games
played at the riverbank. Qunu is still the home of Nelson Mandela.