Alice, Eastern Cape

Alice
—  Town  —
Alice Location of Alice
Alice
Coordinates: 32°47′S 26°50′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Amatole
Municipality	Nkonkobe
Area
• Total	21.97 km2 (8.48 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	8,009
• Density	365/km2 (950/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)
• Black African	91.2%
• Coloured	8.1%
• Indian/Asian	0.3%
• White	0.4%
First languages (2001)
• Xhosa	83.2%
• Afrikaans	8.9%
• English	2.1%
• Sotho	1.6%
• Other	4.2%
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)

Alice, a town in South Africa, is named after Princess Alice, daughter of the British Queen Victoria. Many of the current political leaders in South Africa were educated at the University of Fort Hare, also the alma mater of former President Nelson Mandela. The university is also the repository of the archives of the African National Congress documents and houses one of the most significant collections of African art.

History

The location was named Lovedale by European missionaries who settled there in 1824. It was named after Dr. John Love of the Glasgow Missionary Society. During the Frontier War it was abandoned and the mission resettled on the west bank of the Tyumi River. On the east bank a fort was built, called Fort Hare, after Major-General John Hare, who was acting Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern Cape. Alice was the administrative and magisterial capital of the old district of Victoria East.