Xhosa Wars

Xhosa Wars
Part of the colonisation of Africa
A column of Xhosa warriors, crossing a ravine in the frontier mountains
Date 1779–1879 Location Nowadays Eastern Cape, currently South Africa, Cape Colony frontier Result Defeat of the Xhosas Territorial changes Cape expansion to the east
Belligerents
Xhosa Kingdom Xhosa	British Empire Dutch Cape Colony (1st and 2nd) Trekboers British Cape Colony (4th to 9th)

The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars^[1]) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. These events were the longest-running military resistance against European colonialism in Africa.^[a][3]

The reality of the conflicts between the Europeans and Xhosa involves a balance of tension. At times, tensions existed between the various Europeans in the Cape region, tensions between Empire administration and colonial governments, and tensions within the Xhosa Kingdom, e.g. chiefs rivalling each other, which usually led to Europeans taking advantage of the situation to meddle in Xhosa politics. A perfect example of this is the case of chief Ngqika and his uncle, chief Ndlambe.

The conflicts between the Xhosa and British were covered extensively in the metropolitan British press, generating increased demand among the British public for information about their country's far-off colonial conflicts.^[4]

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