"The History of South Africa: From an American Protectorate to an African Superpower"

Written by Viwe Pikisa in Fort Hope, South Africa

"... When the United States acquired Fort Hope in 1790, it marked the beginning of America's expansion of influence across the globe. While the United States was extremely young (just over a decade old), it was also large and rapidly growing. Since Spain maintained a minimal presence in Louisiana and Britain barely held onto Rupert's Land, the young republic turned its eyes overseas and sought to join in on the 'Empire' games with a different purpose: to build a network of protectorates and establish a global American presence. To do this, the United States heavily favored diplomacy over direct warfare, especially since its military (mainly the navy) was small. Utilizing its newfound wealth and stability, America signed the Treaty of Amsterdam [1790] with the Netherlands to acquire a small port outside the Dutch Cape Colony's borders, which laid the foundations for the modern South African nation. While it remains unclear why Amsterdam gave up its monopoly over the southern African region and the only gateway to Asia (at the time), historians suspect that Kim may have bribed the Dutch government into accepting the offer. Especially since five hundred thousand dollars was nowhere near the amount of money that the land was worth at the time since the Netherlands raked in millions of dollars from its monopoly over the Dutch Cape Colony. However, others argue that the Dutch government had no official control over the areas around present-day Fort Hope. In fact, it discouraged the Boer settlers from trekking into the region due to the Xhosa people (that directly bordered the outer borders of the Dutch Cape Colony). Thus, by accepting America's proposal to purchase Algoa Bay, the Netherlands received money for an area they did not directly control and set up the possibility of seizing the small area once the United States managed to push back the Xhosa people...

In 1791, Colonel Nathaniel Napoleon Bonapart planted the American flag in South Africa and claimed the small slice of territory 'granted' by the Dutch for the United States. Within a year, he and his unit of five hundred men quickly built a fort and named it 'Fort Hope,' which became the main hub of American trade and military presence for decades (even after South Africa's independence, the United States maintained a naval base in Fort Hope). In the Treaty of Amsterdam, the site of America's port city was declared to be the very eastern borders for the Dutch Cape Colony, which was both an attempt to stop the mass migration of Boers to the east and to create a 'buffer' zone between the Xhosa and the Cape Colony. For the first decade of its existence, Fort Hope was isolated and mostly occupied by American soldiers. While a few traders and adventurers settled into Fort Hope, the town was dangerous as it suffered over a dozen attacks from the Xhosa tribes from 1791-1796. Additionally, Cape Town served as a much safer and more established port city for American and European ships to transit through, which meant little attention was drawn to the small American fort. A few American ships did drop by Fort Hope every once in a while, but they were far and few in between. Records reveal that no more than forty ships docked at Fort Hope from 1792 to 1801, half of them resupply ships for the small port's inhabitants.

The Xhosa people proved to be a dangerous foe and a huge threat to Fort Hope's existence. Even before the arrival of the United States in Algoa Bay, Boer frontiersmen had fought in two separate 'wars' against the Xhosa people. The Second Boer-Xhosa War (1789-1790) between the two factions resulted in the Boers being expelled west of Algoa Bay and away from Zuurveld (which the Boers managed to capture during the First Boer-Xhosa War, which lasted from 1779-1781). When Colonel Bonaparte established Fort Hope, he was encroaching on Xhosa lands and, expectedly, faced stiff opposition. Three months after the colonel arrived in South Africa, he and his men were attacked by two hundred Xhosa warriors that believed that the Boers were attempting to expand eastward again. The chiefdom in the area was Gqunukhwebe, a subdivision of the Xhosa nation that occupied most of the western parts of the Xhosa nation (the Gqunukhwebe people originated from the very westernmost Khoi tribes that were displaced by the Boers). Attempts to establish peaceful contact failed dramatically due to a lack of translators and preconceived hostilities of the Xhosa people to outsiders (including the few African American soldiers that were part of Colonel Bonapart's unit). A battle was fought on February 9th of 1792, just three kilometers north of where Fort Hope stood. The battle was an overwhelming American victory, with the Gqunukhwebe suffering over a hundred and fifty casualties (which included their chief, Khwane KaLungane). In contrast, the American soldiers suffered just a dozen casualties, with no deaths. The Battle of Nukakamma River (which was next to the site of the battle) shook the region as the death of Chief Khwane led to the instability of Gqunukhwebe. This directly led to numerous raids on Fort Hope due to the disunity and disarray of the Xhosa people under the Gqunukhwebe chiefdom, which led to over three thousand American soldiers defending the port city by the year 1796.

However, in April of 1796, the Rharhabe tribe that lived in Ciskei moved into the Zuurveld region after settling an internal civil war. The Rharhabe subdivision of the Xhosa nation originated from Rharhabe (who was the brother of Gcaleka, the King of Xhosa and the heir from the Great House, the 'official' royal lineage of Xhosa kings). After failing to usurp his brother from the throne, Rharhabe occupied the western parts of the Xhosa nation with his followers and established a new 'chiefdom' for himself (though, it was technically under the rule of the Xhosa nation). After Ngqika, the grandson of Rharhabe, seized control over the tribe, he set his eye to the west as the Gqunukhwebe was fractured. His expansions were met without any opposition, and soon, he reached the borders of the American Protectorate of Fort Hope, which territories had slowly expanded in the aftermath of Gqunukhwebe's collapse. Unlike Chief Khwane, Ngqika showed an aptitude for diplomacy, and when the American delegation extended an olive branch to him, he accepted it on one condition: firearms. Stories of American soldiers successfully beating back attackers nearly thrice their numbers had spread to Ciskei and beyond, which made Ngqika both afraid and intrigued of these 'New Whites' (this was often a term given to Americans, even though there were plenty of African Americans, Caribbean Americans, and Native Americans that were members of the American garrison in Fort Hope). However, he understood the power of the weapons that these foreigners had brought, and when the same foreigners attempted to peacefully negotiate with him instead of trying to seizing his lands, he was elated. Especially so when the American delegation spoke of trade and 'peaceful co-existence' between the two sides...

In 1796, the Commander of the Fort Hope garrison was one Brigadier General James Gunn, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and one of the few Georgians to defect to the Patriots during the war (Nathaniel Bonapart had returned to America by 1792). A hot-headed man with a way with words, General Gunn was an enigma, and perhaps that was why Columbia sent the Georgian to a far-flung outpost in Africa. His brashness often led to him butting heads with the Joint Chief of Staffs, but he was a decent officer and was considered to be 'capable enough' to deal with the relatively delicate situation in South Africa. When Ngqika offered him peace in exchange for firearms, General Gunn immediately gave out a positive response. He and Chief Ngqika held a small summit on the Great Fish River approximately a hundred kilometers east of Fort Hope and deep into Xhosa territory. The treaty was relatively simple and was signed by both parties on July 27th of 1796. The United States was granted the right to expand ten kilometers from Fort Hope in all directions, was officially 'at peace' with the Xhosa nation, and was permitted to trade with the Xhosa people. In return, Xhosa (specifically, Chief Nqika and Rharhabe tribe) received an annual shipment of firearms and ammunition, along with access to Fort Hope (with a limited number of Xhosa warriors within the town itself). Neither side received authorization from their superiors to officialize this treaty. General Gunn sent a very vague letter to Columbia just three days before meeting with his Xhosa counterpart. Similarly, Chief Ngqika kept King Khawuta KaGcaleka (the official king of the Xhosa Nation and senior house) in the dark. This was mainly because Chief Nqika intended on overthrowing King Khawuta and place himself as the king of the Xhosa people, which was why he sought to acquire these 'fire weapons' in the first place...

Due to the Treaty of the Great Fish River, Fort Hope was secured from any native attacks and finally held land to begin expansions, turning it into the port city that Samuel Kim envisioned. Thankfully, Columbia recognized the treaty as it believed it was crucial to the peace in the region and the expansion of Fort Hope. As such, Fort Hope slowly grew into a modest town of three thousand inhabitants by 1806 (excluding the garrison forces) and slowly shifted some of the balance of trade away from Cape Town. Meanwhile, Chief Ngqika overthrew King Khawuta after receiving several shipments of firearms and established the Rharhabe as the senior house of the Xhosa nation in 1799, placing himself as the sole king of the Xhosa people. Under his rule, the Xhosa nation continued an amicable relationship with the United States, trading small bits of land, livestock, and farm goods for firearms, tools, and luxury goods. It helped that the United States treated the Xhosa nation as an independent nation, not unlike other European or Asian nations (which helped smooth relations). Additionally, America's practice of equality ensured that any Xhosa people that were living or trading within the small American protectorate were treated as equally as any other American. A hundred or so immigrants of Xhosa origin also moved into Fort Hope and the surrounding American-controlled territories, most of them from the overthrown Gcaleka house. And after the United States annexed the Dutch Cape Colony following Holland's defeat in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, America would establish the American Cape Colony and contact the Sotho and the Zulu tribes as well. Especially when gold and other precious minerals were discovered by American surveyors up north near the Vaal River...

While the treaty allowed greater cooperation between the natives and the Americans, the Boers suffered harshly due to the deal. The Boers were not included in the Treaty of the Great Fish River, and after acquiring firearms from the Americans, the Xhosa nation immediately turned them towards their longtime enemy. Hundreds of Boer settlers and nomads were killed from the Orange River all the way down to the horn of Africa, as the Boers lost their military edge that allowed them to push against the warring African tribes for so long. Additionally, the American outpost in Fort Hope served as a check against the eastern expansion of the Boers, which only angered the population against the United States. Even more importantly, Cape Town no longer held a monopoly in South Africa and over merchant ships heading to Asia. As Fort Hope slowly grew, the 50,000 inhabitants of the Dutch Cape Colony grew increasingly anti-American. Just three decades before South Africa's independence, the Boer population would become one of the racist and most anti-government hot zones that would eventually lead to civil war...