The Final Tragedy of the Xhosa People

By Keith Smith

The Wedding Feast War by Keith Smith describes the 9th and final frontier war between the Cape Colony and the various chiefdoms that made up the Xhosa people of South Eastern South Africa, during the years 1779 – 1878. Smith says that he wrote the book because there were thorough discussions of the previous 8 wars, but little information published about the 9th and final war. On the British side, many of the same combatants would appear a few years later in the Zulu war, which has also been written about extensively.

The 9th war led to the subjugation of the Xhosa and annexation of their land. It also resulted in wider legislation for disarmament of native Africans who did not participate in war with the expanding colony. The war would set the stage for apartheid, which wouldn’t officially start until the 1940s. It did this by disarming native Africans, removing them from their lands, eroding their tribal structures, and dissuading them of their customs. While their lands were auctioned off to Europeans, they were forced to occupy the lowest rungs, as citizens of the colony.

Unfortunately this story is told largely through the lens of the British colonial forces. This is most likely due to the fact that the British empire kept written records and the Xhosa did not, and not due to any failings by the author, himself. When there are quotes or oral history from the Xhosa, Smith provides them. I was reminded of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Great Boer War, where he makes claims about the fairness of the British Empire, especially, he says, “when it comes to the native,” and can’t help but think he would see things differently if he had read this account. Of course he could not, have read it. Not only did he die long before it was published, He did not have the benefit of seeing the Empire from the outside.