➢ The expansion of the cape colony was not planned or coordinated. ➢ Its expansion was du to economic, political and social reasons ➢ Firstly it was due to the discontent of the Boer farmers at the cape. ➢ The Dutch farmers wanted to get large pieces of land to increase their wealth. ➢ The existence of unoccupied land in the interior of South Africa created the expansion. ➢ The fixing of low prices to agricultural commodities by the company. ➢ The need to adventure in the interior of South Africa. ➢ Increase in population at the cape created a need for more land. ➢ Military weakness of the Africans who could be defeated by the Boers ➢ The nomadic and pastoral nature of the Dutch made them to expand up to the interior of South Africa. ➢ The soils at the cape had grown infertile therefore they wanted the interior that had more fertile soils. ➢ The Dutch had adopted new methods of agriculture like shifting cultivation and extensive farming that they had to expand. ➢ The occurrence of diseases like small pox which weakened the Africans to resist against the Dutch expansion ➢ The Dutch farmers wanted to be independent from the company. Summarized notes of the History of South Africa, July 2019 Page | 22 ➢ Many farmers had run bankrupt therefore they wanted to try their luck else were. ➢ Absence of good social services at the cape made them to look for better ones by expanding. ➢ They wanted to create friendship with Africans because the company had failed to protect the Dutch against the Africans. ➢ The company’s failure to discourage the farmers from expansion made them to expand. ➢ The Dutch military superiority against the Africans made them to expand. ➢ They were looking for favorable climate because that of the cape had become unfavorable due to decline in soil fertility. ➢ They were looking for food because theirs had been spoilt the 17th century locust invasion. ➢ The policy of paying 10% of their cattle to the British made them to expand. ➢ The unfair policies of denying the Dutch farmers freedom of trade, free land for settlement limited market facilities made them to go away from them. ➢ The company had taxed the Dutch farmers heavily therefore the opposed them by expanding into the interior ➢ The Dutch pioneers had arrived at the cape with big families therefore as early as they arrived they encouraged their family members to get land for settlement beyond the cape. ➢ Absence of natural barriers like higher mountains made the Dutch to expand their colony. ➢ The company had conflicted with the settlers who moved away in protest that’s why they just expanded. ➢ Denial to grow profitable crops like tobacco made them to expand the colony.
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