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Sir George Grey in South Africa, 1854-1861: His Policies, Scheme for Federation and Recall

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Sir George Grey in South Africa, 1854-1861: His Policies, Scheme for Federation and Recall University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Student Work 6-1-1970 Sir George Grey in South Africa, 1854-1861: His policies, scheme for federation and recall James Kozol University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork Recommended Citation Kozol, James, "Sir George Grey in South Africa, 1854-1861: His policies, scheme for federation and recall" (1970). Student Work. 440. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/440 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SIR GEORGE 6REY IN SGOfH AFRICA# 185**~X86jU HIS FOLICIBS# s o m m FOR FEDERATION AND RECALL A T h e sis Presented to the Department of History and th e Faculty of th® Graduate College University of Nebraska at Omaha In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by James Koaol June 1970 UMI Number: EP73078 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI Dissertation Publishing UMI EP73078 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code P r o O u e s t ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106- 1346 Accepted for the faculty of The Graduate College of the University of Nebraska at Omaha# In partial ful­ fillm ent of the requirements for the degree Master of A rts* Graduate Committee! ( ^ ' ' 1 A- Name Department - . # *; TABUS OF CONTENTS PREFACE .............. ..Ill C h a p te r Page I . INTRODUCTION! THE BRITISH PATH TOWARD RETRENCHMENT BEFORE SIR GEORGE GREY'S ARRIVAL IN I 85 E . ................ 1 II. GOVERNOR GREY IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIVE P O L I C Y ...................... 21 I I I . IMMIGRATION SCHEMES, AND THE INDIAN MUTINY 37 IV , FACTORS LEADING TO THE REDERATION PROPOSAL OP NOVEMBER, 1 8 5 8 . .............................. 5* V. THE PLAN FOR FEDERATION, AND THE RECALL OF GREY. 70 VI. CONCLUSION......................... 91 APPENDIX A................ 100 BIBLIOGRAPHY.. ........... .105 MAP OF THE GREAT TREK IN SOUTH AFRICA......................................... 8 PREFACE Sir Georg® Grey is widely recognized as one of th© ablest colonial adm inistrators in th© /I c tori an Age* He remainSt however, a controversial figure# Ihis is partly due to the numerous confrontations that ho had over the years with his various superiors in London. In any phase of his career, whether in South Australia, Hew Zealand or South Africa# Grey * s abilities cannot be questioned! yet, his lofty, idealistic goals were often hindered by his autocratic methods and egotistical manner, ibis is especially true in the years 135^-6.1 when sir George served as Governor of the Gape Colony and B ritish High Commissioner in South Africa. many aspects of Sir George Grey's life are worthy of extensive study, but his tour in South Africa seems especially significant# For even though Grey's life has been for the most part carefully studied, major emphasis seems always to be projected toward his early career in South Australia, New Zealand, and his later life in Now Zealand politico, with considerably less attention given to the years he spent in South Africa# Also, his years In South Africa serve as a reasonable compact unit, and are fairly indicative of Grey's whole career# i i i This paper is an attempt to illustrate some of the problems Grey faced as a representative of the British Crown in South Africa* and the difficulties he encountered while attempting to solve those problems# Essentially* the major problem In South Africa* aside from numerous native skirmishes* was the growing separatism between the British and the Boers (farm ers or cattle-herders o f Dutch d esen t)* By 185*** this separatism resulted in the creation o f th e Transvaal and the Orange Free state. Realising the existing problem In South Africa after a few years there, Grey proposed and supported a plan which aimed at the formation of a larger political unit brought about by the closer political association of the various states in South Africa. His conception of federa­ tion, was absolutely contrary to British policy for South Africa in the IB 50 * a• for at that time the British Govern­ ment was seeking to reduce its responsibilities in that part of the world# Consequently, the conflicting opinions resulted in the British Government recalling Sir George Grey from South Africa* The recall, however, cannot be studied o n ly as an i s o l a t e d ev e n t, instead, the complete specter of Bri fcish ■■■Boer relations before Grey's arrival in South Africa must b® observed,and also Grey's other policies in South Africa, because for the most part they were all unpopular with his superiors in London. iv My interest in this area of history was stimulated by Professor A* Stanley frlekett# to whom X am indebted for the advice and counsel that he was always willing to give me. It is hoped that this paper w ill in some way contribute further insight into the life and policies of S ir George Grey while in South Africa# and at the same time# illustrate some of the problems that plagued that country In the 1350*a# v C H A P ^ R I IH’mODUCTIONi THB BRITISH PATH TOWARD l^THEMCHMBNf BEFORE SIR OBOROE GREY'S ARRIVAL IK 1 &5& After the French invasion of Holland in 1?95» the Dutch Government requested that Great Britain occupy the Cape Colony in South Africa in order to prevent it from falling under French domination. After m initial period of British ocoupancy during the Napoleonic Wars* the Congress of Vienna recognised B ritish sovereignty o v e r th e formerly Dutch held Colony at the Cape* At the inception of British rule# the Cape Colony offered few attractions as an area for permanent British settlement. The British, however, accepted the responsibility mainly because of the Cape4s strategic value as a victualling station in the southern section of th® sea rout® to India.3, At the second B ritish occupation in 1815# the Cape Colony was politically, socially and economically a back­ ward community. The Dutch Huguenots who inhabited the "‘refreshment station in South Africa had little contact with the European world after the decline of the Netherlands %• L. Woodward, lit® Age of Reform 1815-1870 (Oxford Clarendon Press# 1938), p. 379* Hereafter cited as Woodward Am of Reform. 2 a® a colonial power during the eighteenth century, km a result, th# settlers there had little or no understanding o f the new political and s o c ia l philosophies which had gained wide acceptance in Europe during the eighteenth century. The Dutch Huguenots in the Cape Colony remained closely knit and clanish, consequently, the liberal innovations of the p British occupation came as an abrupt shock to them. The conflicting attitudes of the Calvinist Dutch (members of the Calvinist deformed Church of th© Netherlands) and the evangelizing British after 1815 were seemingly innolvable* Inevitably, the resulting clash had repercussions which fostered the ■.'nailah-Boar separatism in the later history o f Couth A fric a. The major problem between the British and the Dutch occurred over the st&tuo of the natives on the Cape’s b o rd e rs (members of the Bantu group# whom a t the tim e were referred to as K a f f ir s ) and the Hottentots within the Cape itself. As an open frontier was a constant factor on th# Cape border,* the Dutch gradually moved to the outskirts of the Colony and came into contact with the Bantu*- The British, however, 2L#o mrquard, .Th# Stqiy of south Africa (3rd ed.i London* Faber and Faber, 1963J, pp. 91-2. Hereafter cited as M&rqu&rd, South A frica. 3* . w. Be Kiewiet, A History of Louth Africa. Social and Econom ic (Oxford* Clarendon "Press , TffiLJt rp* ^ 9 , K af?T r I s derived from the Arabic "kafir” meaning infidel. The BT& Air Sou^h Africa loosely inferred all of the Bantu ^eoP^e 3 p refer re d that the Dutch should he shut off from such con* tact with the native tribes, but such a desire was impossi­ ble. As a result of the confrontation between the Bantu and th e Dutch, a series of Kaffir Wars periodically occurred along the eastern borders of the Cape Colony. The w ars o r ig in a t e d o v e r th e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f who a c t u a l l y *’ owned** the pastoral lands in the interior. For both the Dutch and the Bantu drove cattle, but the Dutch in order to insure individual ownership, branded their cattle and then let them grass on unfenced veldt (local name for p a s to ra l grasslands) The Bantu, however, more in a tradition of communal owner­ ship, supervised the gracing of their cattle, and looked upon any untended cattle as public property.^ The perplexing problem of p rop erty rights eventually resulted into a f e s t e r i n g c o n f l i c t between the two pastoral groups.
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