Mgolombane Sandile (1820–1878) was a ruler of the Right Hand House of the Xhosa Kingdom. A dynamic leader, he led the Xhosa armies in several of the Xhosa-British Wars.
Having recently been equipped with modern fire-arms, Sandile's forces successfully inflicted losses on the British that led to Sandile gaining a reputation as a Xhosa warrior. He was captured during the War of the Axe in 1847, but on his release he was granted land in "British Kaffraria" for his people.
He later supported his cousin brother Sarhili (Kreli), King of the entire Xhosa Nation of Great house, in a war against the Cape Colony and the Fingo tribe, and he was killed in 1878 in a shootout with Fingo soldiers.
Early life
He was born at Burnshill in 1820, at which time the Xhosa lands were still independent. His father Ngqika (after whom the entire Ngqika clan of Xhosa were named) died in 1829 while Sandile was still quite young and Maqoma, Sandile’s brother, acted as Regent until 1872 when Sandile was installed as King. Sandile was born with one leg shorter than the other, which made it difficult for him to walk, but he nevertheless played an important role in the Frontier Wars. The Xhosa nation had long been divided between the eastern Gcaleka (ruled at the time by Sarhili) and Sandile's Rharhabe to the west. However Sarhili, also known as "Kreli", had a role akin to paramount-king of all the Xhosa.
The Seventh Frontier War (1846-47) The 7th Frontier War was also known as the "War of the Axe" or the "Amatola War".
Background to the war
Tension had been simmering between farmers and marauders, on both sides of the frontier, since the previous conflict. A severe drought forced desperate Xhosa to engage in cattle raids across the frontier in order to survive. In addition, land that had been captured in the previous war was scheduled by the government to be given back to the Xhosa. However there was great agitation via the Graham's Town Journal, of Eastern Cape settlers who wanted to annexe and settle this territory.
The event that actually ignited the war was a trivial dispute over a raid. A Khoikhoi escort was transporting a manacled Xhosa thief to Grahamstown to be tried for stealing an axe, when he was attacked and killed by Xhosa raiders. Sandile refused to surrender the murderer and war broke out in March 1846.
In addition to the regular British columns, the war involved several groups of mixed "Burgher forces", comprising mainly Khoi, Fengu and Boer Commandos, who were recruited locally to fight on the colonial side under their leader Andries Stockenstrom. In the ensuing war, Sandile's Ngqika were assisted by portions of the Ndlambe, and the Thembu. His forces outnumbered the colonials by over ten times, and had by this time replaced their traditional weapons with modern firearms. It was their new use of guns that made the Xhosa considerably more effective in fighting the British.
Sandile's initial victories
Sandile's forces won initial victories over the regular British forces. A slow British column, sent to confront Sandile, was temporarily delayed at the Amatola Mountains and Xhosa raiders were able to quickly capture the centre of the three-mile-long wagon train, which was not being defended - carrying away the British supplies.
Sandile then poured his forces across the border as the outnumbered British fell back, abandoning their outposts. The only successful resistance was from the local Mfengu people, who defended their villages from the far larger Xhosa forces. On 28 May, 8,000 of Sandile's men attacked the last remaining British garrison, at Fort Peddie, but fell back after a long shootout with British and Fingo troops. His army then marched on Grahamstown itself, but was held up when a sizeable army of Ndlambe Xhosa were defeated on 7 June 1846 by General Somerset on the Gwangu, a few miles from Fort Peddie. Both Xhosa and colonials were by now considerably hampered by drought.
Involvement of the Cape "Burgher" commandos
In desperation, the British called in Stockenstrom and the local Cape Burgher forces whose fast-moving commandos, with their considerable local knowledge, inflicted a string of defeats on Sandile's army.
The commandos then rode deep into the Transkei Xhosa heartland, eventually riding right into the village of King Sarhili himself, the King of all the Xhosa, and negotiating with him an overall treaty, for peace with all Xhosa.