Heritage Cases

The military engagements between the burgher farmers or Boers and the British army in the Orange River Sovereignty during the 1840s provide insight into the political development within this sought-after area. This project will contribute archaeologically to the existing knowledge, historiography, and understanding of the shifting colonial frontiers in this area of South Africa during the early to mid-nineteenth century. The migration of the burgher farmers from the Cape Colony during the 1830s, known as the Great Trek, saw them first settle in Natal. After clashing with the British forces in 1842 near the current city of Durban, they migrated into the interior of South Africa. Many of them subsequently settled in an area between the Vet and Orange rivers, which was already occupied by the Griqua, Basuto, Bataung and Barolong people, and by various Trekboers. Landownership soon became contentious as the burgher farmers bartered land from the Griqua people, who enjoyed some autonomy. The ongoing disputes about land, grazing and livestock theft culminated in sporadic armed conflict between the burgher farmers and the Griqua. Although these conflicts continued for some time, there was no loss of life. These disputes eventually resulted in a skirmish at Zwartkoppies on 30 April 1845 between the Griqua and the burgher farmers with the British forces intervening. A few years later, the battle at Boomplaats occurred on the 29th of August 1848 and was a fierce encounter between the burgher farmers and the British army, supported by the Griqua people. Although land disputes appear to be at the heart of these clashes, these conflicts occur at the forefront of the expansion of the colonial frontier into the interior of southern Africa. The burgher farmers and the British military drove the expanding frontier. The burgher farmers’ expansion and settlement on farms were mostly characterised by negotiation and force, whilst the British expansion was generally through military force and authority. These two parallel processes together form the core of colonial expansion in southern Africa, but we need to unravel these processes into their fundamental elements, as both also included aspects of force and negotiation. Historians have provided insight into these engagements during the 1840s but compared to other events during the 1800s, such as the Great Trek and the later South African War, these conflicts are not well researched. Historians only provided vague descriptions of the events, whilst the primary source base they used is limited. The documentary research and an archaeological perspective on these events will provide material insight into the processes playing out during the early parts of the shifting colonial frontier in southern Africa. These battles form part of the period from 1835 to 1854, which began with the burgher farmers invading the interior of southern Africa and ended in the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854. This convention or treaty between the burgher farmers and Britain gave the burgher farmers their independence and led to the establishment of the Republiek van die Oranje-Vrystaat. Two years earlier, in 1852, at the Sand River Convention, the burgher farmers across the Vaal River had received their independence from Britain and established the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek. The proposed archaeological research will provide insight into the armed conflict occurring at the forefront of the shifting colonial frontier in the Orange River Sovereignty during the 1840s. I will achieve this by documenting and evaluating the role and contributions of the three groups involved in these conflicts, which represent the engagement of a civilian farming community with a professional British military. The proposed research will: • Provide an archaeological perspective into the course and development of both the skirmish at Zwartkoppies and the battle at Boomplaats; • Provide insight into the material and strategic preparedness of the burgher farmers, as a militia, to engage with a well-trained, well-equipped army by analysing the identified archaeological material; and • Develop an understanding of the geopolitical domain and dynamics of the social organisation of the burgher farmer community, the Griqua people and the British army. I will assess the interactions between three distinct groups to understand the geopolitical and social environments, and together with the archaeology of the battlefields, it will provide insight into the military engagements in the Orange River Sovereignty during the 1840s. Further, the archaeology will also reveal the weaponry and tactics to clarify the burgher farmers’ preparedness to engage with a well-trained and well-equipped army, which, in turn, will provide insight into the expanding colonial frontier into the interior of southern Africa.