Griqualand East

This article is about the former 19th-century country. For other uses, see Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Griqua.

Griqualand East Nieuw Griqualand Griekwaland-Oos
1862–1879 →
Griqua Flag† Seal of Griqualand EastX
Motto Pro Rege Lege et Grege Latin: For King, Law and the People
Location of Griqualand East in Southern Africa (~1862–1879)
Capital	Kokstad
Language(s)	Dutch(written) proto-Afrikaans(spoken) Xhosa
Government	Republic?
President?	Adam Kok III
Legislature	Raad/Volksraad (12 members)
History
-  Annexation of Philippolis Expulsion to Nomansland	1860 1862 (1863?)
- Laager	1862
- Move from Mt.Currie	1869
- Kokstad founded	1872
- Annexation	1874 ~ 1879
- Adam Kok's death	1875
Area
- Estimate‡	20,000 km2 (7,722 sq mi)
Population
- Griqua est.	1,100
- Xhosa* (Mpondo) est.	30,000
Currency	Tokens
X Rough replica of the seal depicted on a 1 pound-note issued in 1867 † The Griqua flag is a vertically flipped version of the "Vierkleur" used by Transvaal and the South African Republic. A single source dates its origin to 1903; whether or not independent Griqualand East actually deployed it is uncertain. ‡ Maximum extend given, defined as unclaimed/un-annexed by other established governments. Total area was in flux throughout history. Source for given figure under References (below). * +Zulu refugees from earlier Shaka war

Griqualand East (Dutch/English: Nieuw Griqualand on government-issued documents; colloquially Dutch/Afrikaans: Griekwaland-Oos/Oost) was one of four short-lived Griqua states in Southern Africa from the early 1860s until the late 1870s and was located between the Umzimkulu and Kinira Rivers, south of the Sotho Kingdom.

Griqualand East's capital, Kokstad, was the final place of settlement for a people that had migrated several times on their journey from the Cape of Good Hope and over the mountains of present-day Lesotho. Shortly before the death of its founder and only leader, Adam Kok III, the small country was annexed and incorporated into the British Empire's Cape Colony. Though for a long time overshadowed in history by the story of the Voortrekkers, the trek of the Griquas has been described as "one of the great epics of the 19th century."

History

Background

Before the arrival of migrants from the West and North, the area was part of the Mpondo kingdom under King Faku, who ruled as sovereign of the ethnically Xhosa dynasty from 1815–1867. During his reign, he initially welcomed many refugees who came over the territory's north-eastern border, fleeing from the incursions and raids by the army of Shaka, leader of the Zulu Kingdom. As Faku eventually realised that his warriors would be unable to defend the eastern part of his kingdom against Shaka, he decided to evacuate the area, leaving behind what became known as Nomansland, often spelled "No-man's land" in contemporary sources.

Meanwhile, a group of Griquas who had left the Cape of Good Hope and had settled in the area around present-day Philippolis were faced with the area's coming under the control of the emerging Orange Free State (Oranje Vrijstaat). It is undisputed that most of these inhabitants embarked on a tiresome and exhausting journey and left the area to move southwards over Quathlamba (today known as the Drakensberg mountain range), but the reasons and motivations for their last trek are given two differing narratives among first-hand witnesses.

Arrival and settlement

Griqua and Boer states in Southern Africa, 19th century.

According to the account of John Robinson, first Premier of Natal, the inhabitants of Philippolis were invited by Sir George Grey, administrator of the area on behalf of the United Kingdom, to settle in the aforementioned Nomansland, south of what had by then become the British Colony of Natal. Their settlement there was to avoid a potential conflict with the Free State and simultaneously serve as a buffer against Bushmen and "their predatory raids upon the farmers and natives of Natal" After their leader Adam Kok III had sent an advance party to survey the area, the entire group agreed to the arrangement and arrived there in 1862.

Adam Kok III

More recently recovered official documents, however, tell the story of a deal that was struck between the British Empire and the Free State in 1854, long before the Griquas had any knowledge of their fate. The British agreed to expel the entire population in exchange for a settlement of a border conflict between the Afrikaners and the Cape colonists. According to the sources, Adam Kok III and his followers only learned about the plans six years after the official document had been secretly signed. Realising that they could not muster a fighting-force that could match the colonial army, and after having voiced their opposition to becoming either subjects to the Crown in the Cape Colony or servants in the Free State, they were forcibly removed into exile in 1863.

Ultimately, all sources agree that the last great Griqua-leader's followers ended up in the area around Mount Currie and set up a Laager, a simple settlement site made up of small huts, where they remained for over half a decade. In 1869, Reverent Dower of the London Mission Society visited the place and agreed to establish a church if the people were to move once more; after consultation with the populace, an area farther south of the mountain was chosen, and upon arrival in 1872, the town of Kokstad was founded, named in honour of their leader.

Government

One Sterling Pound banknote of Nieuw Griqualand, 1868

A set of East Griqualand currency tokens, 1874

Though, in historical terms, constantly on the move, with permanent settlements existing only for short intervals, the people of Griqualand East managed to establish a Raad (or Volksraad), a gathering of 12 members which made decisions on behalf of the population and formed delegations to deal with the surrounding polities.

Currency

In 1867, after the Bank of Durban had begun printing its own banknotes, Kok and his followers embarked on a similar experiment of their own and had about 10,000 one pound-notes printed for use in the area. The plans to actually introduce them never materialised, and, with the exception of a few remaining samples, almost all of them were destroyed without ever being in circulation.
After the move to Kokstad, however, a new venture in introducing a local currency was more successful in 1874; designed by Strachan and Co. and minted in Germany, several coins were used (see picture) and remained in circulation long after the disestablishment of the country.

Symbolism

The seal included in the information-box is a rough replica of a seal shown on the first set of banknotes of 1867 which is the only known and surviving depiction. On the banknote itself, it is flanked to the left and right by a band or ribbon which reads "GOUVERNEMENT VAN | NIEUW GRIQUALAND" and includes a helm with mantling. The actual implied colours are unknown.
The Griqua flag is a vertically flipped version of the "Vierkleur" used by Transvaal and the South African Republic. A single source dates its first documented appearance to 1903, but the flag itself might have been in use earlier; whether or not independent Griqualand East actually deployed it is uncertain.

Annexation

"There you have it... we were not consulted. We can say nothing."

- Adam Kok III
(comment on looming British annexation, 1874)

In the differing sources and versions of history, the end of Griqualand East's story is as contested as its beginning. According to the Westminster Review, 1886, it was annexed into the Cape Colony in 1877, while the Scottish Geographical Magazine claims that the Griquas' last independent home continued to exist for another two years, until 1879. Apart from the chronological discrepancies, the reasons for the country's dissolution remain hazy as well. British sources claim that the Griquas sold their land voluntarily, and hence, that the annexation of the territory took place "at the wish of the inhabitants themselves." On the other hand, a quote by Adam Kok III, upon learning of the United Kingdom's plans, casts doubt upon these assertions: "There you have it... we were not consulted. We can say nothing."

What is known for a fact is that the Griqua leader, whose name still adorns the town he founded, died in December 1875 after being severely injured in a wagon-accident. At his funeral, his cousin commented that with Kok's death, the Griquas' last hope for an independent state in Southern Africa had died as well.

Contemporary Griqualand

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the Cape Colony changed its name to "Cape Province," and during the 1980s, part of former Griqualand East was partitioned off into the Transkei, one of the four nominally independent Bantustans. In 1994, shortly before the first all-inclusive elections, it was incorporated into the southern part of the KwaZulu-Natal province. Kokstad retained its name and is today one of the main cities of the Sisonke District Municipality.

See also

Historical states in present-day South Africa
before 1600 Mapungubwe (1050–1270)
1600-1700 Cape Colony (1652–1910)
1700-1800 Swellendam (1795) Graaff Reinet (1795–1796)
1800-1850 Waterboer's Land (1813–1871) Zulu Kingdom (1818–1897) Adam Kok's Land (1825–1861) Winburg (1836–1844) Potchefstroom (1837–1848) Natalia Republic (1839–1843)
1850-1875 Orange Free State (1854–1902) Republic of Utrecht (1854–1858) Lydenburg Republic (1856–1860) South African Republic (1857–1902) Griqualand East (1861–1879) Griqualand West (1870)
1875-1900 Stellaland (1882–1885) Goshen (1882–1883) Nieuw Republiek (1884–1888) Klein Vrystaat (1886–1891)
1900-present Cape Colony (1652–1910) Union of South Africa (1910–1961) Transkei (1976–1994) Bophuthatswana (1977–1994) Venda (1979–1994) Ciskei (1981–1994) Republic of South Africa (1961–present)
more

• Coloureds
• Natalia Republic