SOUTH AFRICA - EASTERN CAPE / XHOSA WARS: [UNTITLED MANUSCRIPT SKETCH MAP OF THE 'EASTERN FRONTIER' OF THE CAPE COLONY / GRAHAMSTOWN-GREAT FISH RIVE

Anon.

Published by Manuscript, pen and brown ink, with pencil, on paper (Good, chipping along edges with minor loss, old folds), 39 x 20.5 cm (15.5 x 8 inches).

About this Item

['Eastern Frontier', Cape Colony An original manuscript sketch map of the Grahamstown-Great Fish River region of South Africa, the strategically critical 'Eastern Frontier' of the Cape Colony, made immediately in the wake of the Sixth European-Xhosa War (1834-6). - This intriguing manuscript sketch map was made by an English settler, in 1837, and depicts the 'Eastern Frontier' region of the British Cape Colony, in the immediate wake of the Sixth European-Xhosa War (1834-6). Importantly, and as will be explained further, the map features the locations of several of the conflict's key battles. The map's scope embraces the "Sea" (Indian Ocean) coast roughly between the mouths of the Kareeg and Great Fish Rivers, and extends inland to include Grahamstown, a good stretch of the Great Fish River, a tract of the Keiskamma River, and further inland to a point just beyond Beaufort. Most of the territory depicted, being the lands west of the lower Great Fish and the Kat Rivers (known as the Albany and Beaufort Districts), is implicitpe Colony, inhabited largely by recently arrived English settlers. The territory beyond the lower Great Fish and Kat Rivers is labeled 'Kafir Territory', also known as Kaffreria, being the lands of the Xhosa, a nation of skilled warriors who had long resisted European encroachment. It is important to note that 'Kafir' is today considered a derogatory term for Black Africans, although curiously the word originally comes from an Arabic term for "infidel". The English settlements along the Eastern Frontier of the Cape Colony were anchored by the centres of Grahamstown, Bathurst and Beaufort, as shown here. However, the map features a wealth of other information, revealing the region to be a military frontier, including the locations of current and former British army outposts, such as "Fort Brown" and "Fort Willshire (abandoned)" (a forward position located in Xhosa territory); numerous trading posts; . Seller Inventory # 65468

Bibliographic Details

Title: SOUTH AFRICA - EASTERN CAPE / XHOSA WARS: [...

Publisher: Manuscript, pen and brown ink, with pencil, on paper (Good, chipping along edges with minor loss, old folds), 39 x 20.5 cm (15.5 x 8 inches).