ABSTRACT
In 1877 the Cape Eastern Frontier had enjoyed more than twenty-five years of peace. There had been ugly moments of disquiet when a sudden movement of unrest amongst the tribes raised the spectre of another native war. At the time of the last war in 1851 the Cape Government had been concerned mainly with the tribes on its immediate frontier. Within South Africa there was not to be found a single tribe that was sufficient unto itself. The distinction drawn between the civilization of the European and the barbarism of the native no longer corresponded in an adequate manner to the difference in their relative economic and social positions. What the tribes exported and sold was not really their agricultural produce. It was their principal defence against drought, low selling prices, high buying prices and overcrowding. Popular opinion was inclined to insist even during the drought that the natives had their own indolence and shiftlessness to thank for their plight.
