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The Unexpected Treasures of Eastern Cape's Grahamstown (Makhanda)

Grahamstown (Makhanda) - Eastern CapeGrahamstown (Makhanda) - Eastern Cape
Grahamstown (Makhanda) - Eastern CapeGrahamstown (Makhanda) - Eastern Cape

The Unexpected Treasures of Eastern Cape's Grahamstown (Makhanda)

The British government at the Cape was able to move forward with its intentions for the colonization of this area after the expulsion of the Xhosa chief Ndlambe and some 20,000 of his supporters from the Zuurveld in 1811. The area's original inhabitants, however, were not as forgiving and made numerous attempts to reclaim their ancestral territories. Governor Sir John Cradock made the decision to put the Cape Hottentot Corps on the Zuurveld in an effort to "keep order." Colonel John Graham, the Regiment's commander, initially intended to locate his headquarters on the loan farm Noutoe, today known as Table Farm, but on the advice of Ensign Andries Stockenstrom, it was transferred to Lucas Meyer's homestead on the loan farm De Rietfontein. On the site of the current Church Square, work on the new headquarters, which Governor Cradock named after Colonel Graham, began in June 1812. Grahamstown was supposed to be transformed into the Hottentot Corps' new administrative center. The first plots were sold at public auction the following year after the village's plans were created in 1814. However, both its personality and demographic make-up significantly changed after it was chosen to serve as the Landdrost of Albany's capital. James Backhouse visited it in December 1838, and he recorded the following in his journal:

We were unimpressed with Grahams Town's location, which lies in a barren landscape at the base of a low, rocky, sandstone ridge, as we approached it. There are only a few streets in the existing town, one of which is big and acts as a market. The residences are clean, white or yellow, and the streets are symmetrically laid out. There are roughly 4,000 people living there, largely solely English. There are houses of worship for Independents, Methodists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and Baptists. Fingoes and Khoikhoi have kraals, or settlements, close to the town.

"We approached the town by New Street, which looked to have far more canteens and businesses than private dwellings," Thomas Baines reported after visiting the area in March 1848. 6,000 people, 25% of whom were black, and 750 dwellings made up Graham's Town when I arrived. "Its primary streets cross one other at right angles, and at their point of intersection is located the English Church, a basic Gothic building."

There were 8,072 people living in Grahamstown, according to the 1865 census. This number had fallen to 6,903 in 1875, but by 1891 it had risen to 10,498. It had grown to 13,887 people by 1904, of whom 7,605 were literate. www.gardenroute.org/grahamstown/

Article Courtesy of www.sahistory.org.za/place/grahamstown

Grahamstown (Makhanda) - Eastern Cape