1. Overview - information board on King Hintsa 1789-1835
Hintsa ka Khawuta (1780 – 12 May 1835), also known as Great or King Hintsa, was the king of the Xhosa Kingdom, founded by his great ancestor, King Tshawe. He ruled from 1820 until his death in 1835. The Xhosa Kingdom, at its peak, during his reign stretched from Mbhashe River, south of Mthatha to the Gamtoos River, (Xelexwa in isiXhosa) in the Southern Cape. The Sixth Frontier War (1834–1836) between the Xhosa and the British is sometimes known as the Hintsa War. The war broke out when a Cape government commando party patrolled land near the Kat River which was occupied by Rharhabe chiefs Maqoma, Tyali and Botumane in December 1834. These patrols increased the bitterness that Maqoma and Tyali had after they had been forcibly removed by the Cape government from the Tyume Valley in 1833. On 21 December 1834, large force of some 10 000 RharhabeXhosas led by Maqoma, and Tyali swept into the Cape Colony, devastated the country between the Winterberg and the sea. Hintsa offered moral support to the chiefs but never sent an army to assist them.[2] After fighting for several months, the British troops led by Sir Harry Smith and Sir Benjamin d'Urban realised that their campaign had gone on for too long and would make them unpopular with authorities in Britain. To bolster their attack, they requested Hintsa to attack the Rharhabe chiefs. In early February 1835, Hintsa offered 1000 men but as weeks went on it became clear that Hintsa was not willing to betray the Rharhabe chiefs. d'Urban used this as an excuse to declare war on Hintsa. However, Hintsa opted to talk things through with the British.[2] On 14 April 1835 British governor Sir Benjamin d'Urban confronted King Hintsa with a large army. d'Urban insisted that Hintsa was the leader of the entire Xhosa nation and held him responsible for initial attacks on the Cape Colony, and for taking back cattle that was initially stolen from the Xhosa's. d'Urban dictated the following terms to Hintsa: That all the country from the Cape's prior frontier, the Keiskamma River, as far as the Great Kei River would be annexed as the British "Queen Adelaide Province", and its inhabitants declared British subjects, and all the cattle initially claimed from the Xhosa's to be returned to the Cape Colony. (Wikipedia)
contributed by: Mike Kenyon
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