A Griqua family at home as recorded by C.D. Bell in 1834. This way of life came to an end after the Orange Free State was proclaimed in 1854 and the Griqua trekked across the Drakensberg to Natal in the1860s.
In the 1840s and 1850s many Griqua continued to thrive economically. To the south, the advance of the merino wool belt allowed many to trade in horses with the farmers, and later to engage successfully in merino sheep farming. In the northern interior some took advantage of the thriving trade in ivory. Between 1850 and 1860 many were drawn into the mainstream of the country’s economic development, while some disposed of their land to the Boers.
In 1854 the Boer republic of the Orange Free State (OFS) was proclaimed between the Vaal and the Orange rivers. The Griqua under Adam Kok III grew uneasy, believing there was no future for them in the OFS. They had two choices – to cease as a community or to trek. They chose the latter. Reports filtered through from residents of a former ‘coloured’ community at Kat River in the Eastern Cape that there was unoccupied land across the Drakensberg, between the Mzimkhulu and Mzimvubu rivers, known as Nomansland – later Griqualand East. Kok’s followers sold off their land and began their epic trek in 1860, arriving in Griqualand East via Matatiele and Mount Currie.
They were moderately successful in setting up home there. The church maintained its unity, local African chiefdoms were driven out of Griqualand or brought under control, Griqua government was restored and a capital established at Kokstad. After some initial difficulty, their animals adapted to the new environment.
Several factors contributed to the disintegration of the East Griqualand community over the next decade. Firstly, though their occupation of the territory was supported by governors at the Cape, it antagonised the Natal government and its white colonists, who coveted the good farmland within its borders. Secondly, Adam Kok had no designated heir, and the disintegrative tendencies so common in Griqua society were to come to the fore after his death. The British began a slow takeover of East Griqualand from 1872, starting by imposing magisterial control. In 1874 J.M. Orpen, an avowed opponent of Griqua autonomy, was appointed as British Resident. There was no consultation, though Kok was appointed an official of the new dispensation. The Griquas’ view of themselves as a proud and independent people was dealt a severe blow.
In 1875 Kok died as a result of an accident in his cart. The British allowed the Griqua to sell off land to outsiders, and the ban Kok had imposed on selling alcohol was lifted. Many Griqua began to sell off their land and succumb to the temptations of drink. A new magistrate, William Blythe, was appointed whom the Griqua particularly resented.
In 1875 Lodewyk Kok was arrested for an alleged altercation with a white trader, and a group of Griqua left Griqualand, returning later with some Mpondo recruits and former ‘Kat River Rebels’ under Smith Pommer. Their intention was probably to discuss the arrest, but Blythe took it as a threat and attacked this party of about 500 men.
About 33 Griqua were killed and Pommer was executed. Prisoners were taken. The ‘rebellion’ was over.
In 1878 East Griqualand was annexed – the Griqua had lost their independence. At the funeral of Adam Kok III his cousin Adam ‘Eta’ Kok captured the disintegration in these words:
He is the last of his race. After him there will be no coloured king or chief in Colonial South Africa . . . Take a good look into that grave . . . Do you realise that our nationality lies there? There lie the remains of one South African chief who never fired at a British soldier though sometimes provoked beyond human endurance.
