By and large, the 1820 Settlers who came to South Africa from Britain were amongst the poorest of the poor. There were a few well-off folk here and there, however by and large their numbers were made up of factory workers, tradespeople and artisans who were working in Britain in industrial factories under abysmal working conditions. If one examines the records, one finds that they were enticed to leave Britain for Africa. They were made all kinds of promises by the Government of the time, and confidence was high that they would be leaving a repressive government and would live in a paradise. Little did they know of any designs the Colonial Office had for Southern Africa. A little acknowledged fact is that the Settlers never took in any slave labor or indentured labor, like the Boers did. The reason for this was that in Britain, the anti-slavery movement, espoused by Queen Victoria, had succeeded in banning any form of slavery. The Settlers never enslaved any African person out of principle. Most of them failed miserably as farmers, as for all of the big enticements that were made by the British Government of the day, they were "given" a small piece of land (a few acres), a bag of seeds (which weren't suitable for the area), and a few implements. Then they were dropped off in the bush, and had to start trying to make a living. Many chose to become traders and hunters instead after a couple of years of attempting to farm. To answer your question, the actual reason for the Colonial Office to send the Settlers to the Eastern Cape, was a political decision to set up a so-called "buffer zone" between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa, using (quite literally) the Settlers without their knowledge or consent. This move predated the Frontier Wars, and subsequent colonization of Southern Africa by Britain.
@@gyongya I find the early history of the 1820 settlers very interesting too. There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the settlers, however all of these misconceptions seem to be fueled by a political agenda and aren't based in reality.
When the 1820 British Settlers crossed the equator on route to the Eastern Cape, they sang, danced and drank to the health of Neptune and Amphitrite, the God and Goddess of the Ocean :)
As a decent of the 1820 settlers it took them 3months to get here in ships many did not have adequate clothing and blankets some young children died onboard,my great great great great (in didn't count it out ) grandfather only lived about 10 years after arriving with his 4children and wife at the age of 23 .he was trying to prevent is two step children from being sent to the work house in the UK
@@christdiedforoursins1467 Hi! Nice to meet you. Yes, most people don't understand the hardships that the settlers were face with. According to my records, the ships were stuck in the doldrums for quite some time, while provisions were running low. The 1820 settlers also had no idea that the real intent of the British government at the time was to use them as a kind of human shield against the Xhosa , to provide a first line of defense as it were. Despite all of the wonderful promises of the authorities, the hard reality they were faced with was a small section of barren land in the Sourveld, which was not suitable for farming. They were given some rudimentary tools and a few seeds, and left in the bush with no further support from the Colonial Government. So after the first crops failed they just rebelled and did their own thing to a large extent. Most other settlers later diversified into sheep farming, hunting and trading to make a better living. The reason for most people wanting to emigrate in the first place was, as you say, the terrible new Industrial factory system which replaced the atypical small scale farming and market economy in the UK, where forced child labor became the norm. Any protests were literally met with brutal repression, including a cavalry charge at protesters at one time. So, having been promised a chance at a new life in sunny South Africa, many jumped at it. One thing which many people don't get is that there is no record of any settler engaging in slavery. They refused to do so as it would have been unethical. The Missionaries at that time were dead against the slave trade. In fact the settlers ran into trouble with some of the Boer farmers, who did practice indentured labor (a form of slavery) as they insisted on paying any of the Xhosa who wanted to help the going rate. Wishing you and yours a lovely day :)
@@zeph6439 thank you so much for your comment ,very interesting ready I appreciate your time ,it matches up with info I've come across .nice to meet you too.thank you for your kind regards ,you have me curious as to why you have such info,do you have done family history or were you just interested in this .may Jesus give you peace and may you have a year full of wonder ahead of you .
@@christdiedforoursins1467 A pleasure, happy to share. Yes my ancestors are 1820 settlers too - actually my great grandfather set up the first water wheel or mill in SA. I have one or two books on the settlers and some family information and records which were handed down to me, which make interesting reading - it was a very different world back then. For one thing, there were certainly more elephant around then than there are nowadays. Thank you for your kind words! I wish you and yours all the best of blessings for the new year :)
And what about the 1820 British Settlers, why it was started?
By and large, the 1820 Settlers who came to South Africa from Britain were amongst the poorest of the poor. There were a few well-off folk here and there, however by and large their numbers were made up of factory workers, tradespeople and artisans who were working in Britain in industrial factories under abysmal working conditions. If one examines the records, one finds that they were enticed to leave Britain for Africa. They were made all kinds of promises by the Government of the time, and confidence was high that they would be leaving a repressive government and would live in a paradise. Little did they know of any designs the Colonial Office had for Southern Africa.
A little acknowledged fact is that the Settlers never took in any slave labor or indentured labor, like the Boers did. The reason for this was that in Britain, the anti-slavery movement, espoused by Queen Victoria, had succeeded in banning any form of slavery. The Settlers never enslaved any African person out of principle. Most of them failed miserably as farmers, as for all of the big enticements that were made by the British Government of the day, they were "given" a small piece of land (a few acres), a bag of seeds (which weren't suitable for the area), and a few implements. Then they were dropped off in the bush, and had to start trying to make a living. Many chose to become traders and hunters instead after a couple of years of attempting to farm. To answer your question, the actual reason for the Colonial Office to send the Settlers to the Eastern Cape, was a political decision to set up a so-called "buffer zone" between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa, using (quite literally) the Settlers without their knowledge or consent. This move predated the Frontier Wars, and subsequent colonization of Southern Africa by Britain.
@@zeph6439 that's so interesting!
@@gyongya I find the early history of the 1820 settlers very interesting too. There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the settlers, however all of these misconceptions seem to be fueled by a political agenda and aren't based in reality.
When the 1820 British Settlers crossed the equator on route to the Eastern Cape, they sang, danced and drank to the health of Neptune and Amphitrite, the God and Goddess of the Ocean :)
As a decent of the 1820 settlers it took them 3months to get here in ships many did not have adequate clothing and blankets some young children died onboard,my great great great great (in didn't count it out ) grandfather only lived about 10 years after arriving with his 4children and wife at the age of 23 .he was trying to prevent is two step children from being sent to the work house in the UK
@@christdiedforoursins1467 Hi! Nice to meet you. Yes, most people don't understand the hardships that the settlers were face with. According to my records, the ships were stuck in the doldrums for quite some time, while provisions were running low. The 1820 settlers also had no idea that the real intent of the British government at the time was to use them as a kind of human shield against the Xhosa , to provide a first line of defense as it were. Despite all of the wonderful promises of the authorities, the hard reality they were faced with was a small section of barren land in the Sourveld, which was not suitable for farming. They were given some rudimentary tools and a few seeds, and left in the bush with no further support from the Colonial Government. So after the first crops failed they just rebelled and did their own thing to a large extent. Most other settlers later diversified into sheep farming, hunting and trading to make a better living. The reason for most people wanting to emigrate in the first place was, as you say, the terrible new Industrial factory system which replaced the atypical small scale farming and market economy in the UK, where forced child labor became the norm. Any protests were literally met with brutal repression, including a cavalry charge at protesters at one time. So, having been promised a chance at a new life in sunny South Africa, many jumped at it.
One thing which many people don't get is that there is no record of any settler engaging in slavery. They refused to do so as it would have been unethical. The Missionaries at that time were dead against the slave trade. In fact the settlers ran into trouble with some of the Boer farmers, who did practice indentured labor (a form of slavery) as they insisted on paying any of the Xhosa who wanted to help the going rate.
Wishing you and yours a lovely day :)
@@zeph6439 thank you so much for your comment ,very interesting ready I appreciate your time ,it matches up with info I've come across .nice to meet you too.thank you for your kind regards ,you have me curious as to why you have such info,do you have done family history or were you just interested in this .may Jesus give you peace and may you have a year full of wonder ahead of you .
@@christdiedforoursins1467 A pleasure, happy to share. Yes my ancestors are 1820 settlers too - actually my great grandfather set up the first water wheel or mill in SA. I have one or two books on the settlers and some family information and records which were handed down to me, which make interesting reading - it was a very different world back then. For one thing, there were certainly more elephant around then than there are nowadays.
Thank you for your kind words! I wish you and yours all the best of blessings for the new year :)