chiefdom · Central and Southern Africa

Griqualand West

1813 CE – 1871 CE (approx.) · capital Griquatown

The Griqua community of Griquatown under the Waterboer family, whose land claims became the legal key to the Kimberley diamond fields.

Origins

Griqua, people of mixed Khoekhoe and settler descent from the Cape, had gathered at the London Missionary Society station of Klaarwater north of the Orange River. In 1813 the missionary John Campbell helped them adopt a written constitution and renamed the place Griquatown, under the leaders Adam Kok II and Barend Barends.

Rule and society

The community was governed by elected kapteins and a council, with mission influence strong in law, schooling and church life. After Adam Kok II moved away, Andries Waterboer, kaptein from 1820, made a treaty with the Cape in 1834 that brought a small subsidy and guns. The Griqua lived by herding, hunting and trading, and spoke Cape Dutch.

Decline and legacy

When diamonds were found in the late 1860s, Nicolaas Waterboer's claim to the diggings was upheld by the Keate Award, and Britain annexed the territory in 1871, creating the Griqualand West Colony around Kimberley.

Lineage

Griqualand WestGriqualand West Colony 1873 CE – 1880 CE

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Griqualand West. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/griqualand-west
MLA
“Griqualand West.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/griqualand-west. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Griqualand West.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/griqualand-west.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Griqualand West’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/griqualand-west (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻