Many of the Settlers settled in the Eastern Cape in 1820 were sent by the British government and Cape authorities to defend the eastern frontier against the neighbouring Xhosa tribes.
This settlement period was one of the largest settlements in Africa, forming the Anglo-African cultural hot-spot Albany which for many years, remained an ‘Anglo-Saxon island’ in a predominantly Xhosa and Afrikaans-speaking country.
4000 Settlers arrived initially, between April and June 1820 and were granted farms near Bathurst in the Frontier Country and supplied with equipment and food. Those who lacked farming experience withdrew to the neighbouring towns and reverted to their trades. Settlers not only settled in the Eastern Cape, but spread throughout South Africa and specifically travelled to the Natal area.
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