Towards a Definition of the Nineteenth Century South African Frontier

Abstract

Abstract Renewed interest in the development of South African society has led to a revival of studies of the country’s frontier experience. The interpretative work has largely been aspatial and little attempt has been made to quantify the South African frontier. The country-wide statistical base is poor prior to Union, thereby complicating any definitive statement on the character of the South African frontier between 1806 and 1911. However, through an examination of population distribution, land alienation, cultivation, and livestock numbers, it is possible to distinguish some aspects of the nature of the frontier and its landscape.