ǃKora Wars

The mid-nineteenth century experienced migration as a result of the protracted frontier wars that forced the movement of certain indigenous groups further north of the Cape Colony.

The ǃKora were finally stopped in 1879, but their intimate knowledge of the Gariep (Orange River) rendered them the most significant threat to settler colonies outside of the Bantu nations at the time.

With a growing number of disgruntled ǃKora under his leadership, he gained notoriety in 1832 when he and his followers stole livestock on cattle farms south of the Orange River.

These fractured groups put a lot of roving Trekboers and Bastaard communities under pressure, with their cattle being a prime target.

[6] The first recorded significant incident between the ǃKora people and the colonial government occurred in 1869, when a Griqua and Scottish trader were robbed along the southern bank of the Orange River.

Piet Rooi, the leader of another nomadic ǃKora group, was held responsible for the robbery, and as punishment was lashed and committed to three months hard labour.

The treatment he received did not sit well with many of the ǃIkora raiders, and this spurred them into increased levels of livestock pillaging that belonged to the settlers throughout the region.

[8] A three hundred-man strong commando under Special Magistrate Maxmillian Jackson was deployed to try and deal with Rooi and Kivido's activities, and although Kivido was killed in the insurgence, the attack was considered a failure as the commando struggled to navigate the islands due to limited understanding of the river's layout.

Lukas orchestrated the recapture of Rooi and some of his cohorts, and handed them over to the Special Magistrate, and about 400 men were sentenced to Robben Island.