From Farmers to Straw Men: George Grey and the Mfengu Crisis Of 1854

In the spring of 1854, rumours of an impending Mfengu revolt swept through the Cape Colony of South Africa. Twenty years prior, Mfengu people had entered the Colony in hopes of securing land and wealth. In the ensuing two decades, Mfengu farmers, labourers, and soldiers had established a reputation as allies of the Colony. Although rumours of the rebellion quickly subsided, they were reinvigorated by the arrival of a new governor, Sir George Grey. Grey amplified the rumours of a Mfengu revolt to justify sweeping changes to colonial policy. In his response to the Mfengu crisis, Grey proposed to subjugate African people by absorbing them into expanding colonial institutions. Correspondence between colonial officials from September to December 1854 demonstrates how the Mfengu crisis served as a vehicle for the implementation of Grey's policies. The extension of these policies ultimately contributed to the loss of African autonomy in the Cape Colony.