Graaff-Reinet Republic

Origins

Graaff-Reinet, the eastern frontier district of the Dutch Cape Colony, was in turmoil over the Company's handling of conflict with the Xhosa and the San. In February 1795 the burghers expelled the landdrost Honoratus Maynier and declared their independence, led by Adriaan van Jaarsveld and Marthinus Prinsloo.

Rule and society

The rebels formed an assembly of national representatives, adopted the language of the French Revolution and demanded freedom to deal with Africans on their own terms, including enslaving captured San. They refused to recognise the Company's officials and, later, the authority of the British.

Decline and legacy

After Britain took the Cape in 1795, it cut off supplies of ammunition, and the Graaff-Reinet burghers submitted in 1796. Further revolts broke out in 1799 and 1801, and the episode is often seen as a forerunner of the later Boer republics.