Henry Bartle Frere
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, GCB
, GCSI
, (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a British colonial administrator.
and a nephew of John Hookham Frere
, known for anti-Jacobin
activism and for his transliterations of Aristophanes
. He was educated at the East India Company College
the precursor of the later Haileybury and Imperial Service College
.
) civil service in 1834. Having passed his language examination, he was appointed assistant collector at Poona (now Pune
) in 1835, and in 1842 he was chosen as private secretary to Sir George Arthur, Governor of Bombay. Two years later he became political resident at the court of the raja
h of Satara
; on the rajah's death in 1848 he administered the province both before and after its formal annexation in 1849.
. In 1851 he founded the modern Indian postal service
. In 1857, he sent detachments to Multan
and to Sir John Lawrence
in the Punjab
in order to secure those locations during the Indian Mutiny. His services were fully recognized by the Indian authorities, and he received the thanks of both houses of parliament and was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)
.
in 1859, and in 1862 was appointed Governor of Bombay, where he continued his policy of municipal improvements, establishing the Deccan College
at Pune, as well as a college for instructing Indians in civil engineering
. His order to pull down the ramparts of the old Fort allowed the city to grow, and the Flora Fountain
was commissioned in his honour. During Frere's administration his daughter, Mary Frere
, collected Old Deccan Days, the first English-language field-collected book of Indian folklore, which was printed in 1868.
In 1867 he returned to England where he was made GCSI
, and given honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge
; he was also appointed a member of the Council of India
.
to negotiate a treaty with the sultan, Barghash bin Said, for the suppression of the slave
traffic. In 1875 he accompanied the Prince of Wales
to Egypt and India, with such success that Lord Beaconsfield
asked him to choose between being made a baronet
or a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath
. He chose the former, but the queen bestowed both honours upon him.
for Southern Africa
by Lord Carnarvon, who wanted to impose an unpopular system of confederation onto the region. Carnarvon appointed Frere to the position on the understanding that he would work to enforce Carnarvon's confederation plan and, in return, Frere could then become the first British governor of a federated southern Africa
n dominion
.
ill-fated confederation
scheme was fiercely resisted by South Africans, many of whom resented the perceived high-handed manner in which it was imposed from London with little knowledge of, or concern for, local politics. Resistance in the Cape was led by its Prime Minister
, John Molteno
, who argued forcefully that confederation was ill-suited to Southern Africa and very badly timed. He correctly predicted that a lop-sided confederation would lead to instability and resentment and advised full union as a better model - but only at a later date and once it was economically viable.
The timing of the scheme was indeed particularly unfortunate, as the different states of southern Africa were still simmering after the last bout of British imperial expansion.
The Afrikaner people of the recently-annexed Transvaal
were also not enthusiastic about confederation (reacting by successfully rebelling in the First Boer War), and the various Black South African states were justifiably suspicious of this new form of British expansion.
The ensuing attempt to impose a system of confederation on Southern Africa along with the ill-advised policies of Frere and his local ally John Gordon Sprigg
ended up causing a string of wars across Southern Africa, culminating in the disastrous Anglo-Zulu
and Boer War
s.
and disagreements with the liberal Cape (Molteno
-Merriman
) ministry. The Transkei
Xhosa were subjugated early in 1878 by General Thesiger and a small force of regular and colonial troops. Frere dismissed the Cape's elected government and appointed his ally Mr John Gordon Sprigg
to form a ministry. This solved any constitutional problems, but was overshadowed by a growing set of conflicts across Southern Africa and Lord Carnarvon's resignation in early 1878.
was still independent of British control and Frere impressed upon the Colonial Office
his belief that Cetshwayo's army had to be eliminated and Zululand annexed if confederation was to succeed. The idea was generally accepted in London, until Frere sent Cetshwayo an impossible ultimatum in December 1878 and the home government realized the problems inherent in a native war.
Cetshwayo was unable to comply with Frere's ultimatum - even if he had wanted to; Frere ordered Lord Chelmsford
to invade Zululand
, and so the Anglo-Zulu War
began. On 11 January 1879, British troops crossed the Tugela River
; fourteen days later the disaster of Isandlwana
was reported, and the House of Commons
demanded that Frere be recalled. Beaconsfield supported him, however, and in a strange compromise he was censured but asked to stay on.
The Zulu trouble, and disaffection brewing in the Transvaal
, reacted upon each other most disastrously. The delay in giving the country a constitution afforded a pretext for agitation to the resentful Boers, a rapidly increasing minority, while the defeat at Isandlwana had badly tarnished the reputation of the British Empire in the region. Owing to the Xhosa and Zulu wars, Sir Bartle had been unable to give his undivided attention to the state of things in the Transvaal until April 1879, when he was at last able to visit a camp of about 4,000 disaffected Boers near Pretoria
. Though conditions were grim, Frere managed to win the Boers' respect by promising to present their complaints to the British government, and to urge the fulfilment of the promises that had been made to them. The Boers did eventually disperse, on the very day upon which Frere received the telegram announcing the government's censure. On his return to Cape Town, he found that his achievement had been eclipsed—first by 1 June 1879 death of Napoleon Eugene, Prince Imperial
in Zululand
, and then by the news that the government of the Transvaal and Natal, together with the high commissionership in the eastern part of South Africa, had been transferred from him to Sir Garnet Wolseley. Meanwhile, growing Boer resentment at Frere's policies erupted in December 1880 into the disastrous First Boer War
. The First Boer War, with the humiliating British defeats at Bronkhorstspruit
, Laing's Nek
, Schuinshoogte
and Majuba Hill
led to the independence of the Boer Republics and the final end of Carnarvon's confederation scheme.
people—had been under the nominal control of the Cape Colony since 1872. However, the Cape government had allowed the Basotho leadership to keep much of their traditional authority.
The 1879 Peace Protection Act, which Frere had brought in during the Xhosa Wars and which decreed that all people of African descent had to be disarmed, now led to the Basuto Gun War which broke out in 1880, as the Basotho
subjects of the Cape rebelled against what they saw as a racist and high-handed ruling. Premier John Gordon Sprigg
's unpopular attempt to enforce this disarmament of the Basotho was aggravated by his setting aside of Basotho land for white settlement.
The resulting war led to British defeats such as that at Qalabani, and ended in 1881 with a stalemate and a treaty that favoured the Basotho (This rebellion is a primary reason why Lesotho
is now an independent country, and not part of surrounding South Africa
).
At the same time as the Basuto Gun War broke out, unrest flared up once again among the Xhosa of the Transkei
.
originally had no intention of recalling Frere. In June, however, a section of the Liberal party memorialized Gladstone to remove him, and the prime minister complied (1 August 1880).
as well as South Africa
, previously referred to in Gladstone's Midlothian speeches, and was preparing a fuller vindication when he died at Wimbledon
from the effect of a severe chill on 29 May 1884. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral
. He had married on 10 October 1844 Catherine, daughter of Sir George Arthur.
Frere Hall
in Karachi
was built in his honour. The city also named a road, street and town after him. In 1888, the Prince of Wales unveiled a statue of Frere on the Thames embankment
. Mount Bartle Frere
(1622m), the highest mountain in Queensland
, Australia
is named after him, as is a boarding house at Haileybury
. A road in Parktown, Johannesburg, is also named after him. (Frere Road in also the home of Nadine Gordimer, the Nobel Prize-winning author). In Durban, (KwaZulu-Natal), there are two roads which honor him: the first, Frere Road, transforms a little later to Bartle Road.
A more recent work on Bartle Frere's life, The Zulu and the Raj; The Life of Sir Bartle Frere by D. P. O'Connor, examines details of Frere's life and motives more fully than was permissible in Victorian times when Martineau was writing. In particular, O'Connor points to Frere as a leading thinker on imperial defence. He sets the Zulu war in the context of the overall global crisis, contingent on the 1877 Balkan War, which was widely expected to result in war between Britain and Russia. Frere was sent to South Africa to turn this vital area into a secure bastion on the route to India, but was distracted from the task by the routine instability of the South African theatre.
. His portrayal in the film is negative. He is depicted as a corrupt, greedy, deeply racist administrator who casually orders the invasion of Zululand after issuing his unfair, biased, impossibly demanding ultimatum.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, GCSI
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
, (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a British colonial administrator.
Early life
Frere was born at Clydach House, Clydach, Monmouthshire, the son of Edward Frere, manager of Clydach Ironworks. He was the grandson of John FrereJohn Frere
John Frere was an English antiquary and a pioneering discoverer of Old Stone Age or Palaeolithic tools in association with large extinct animals at Hoxne, Suffolk in 1797.-Life:...
and a nephew of John Hookham Frere
John Hookham Frere
John Hookham Frere PC was an English diplomat and author.Frere was born in London. His father, John Frere, the member of a Suffolk family, had been educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and would have been senior wrangler in 1763 but for the competition of William Paley; his mother, Jane,...
, known for anti-Jacobin
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
activism and for his transliterations of Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
. He was educated at the East India Company College
East India Company College
The East India College was a college in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in February 1806 as the training establishment for the British East India Company . At that time, the BEIC provided general and vocational education for young gentlemen of sixteen to eighteen years old,...
the precursor of the later Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...
.
India
After leaving college Bartle Frere was appointed a writer in the Bombay (now MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
) civil service in 1834. Having passed his language examination, he was appointed assistant collector at Poona (now Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
) in 1835, and in 1842 he was chosen as private secretary to Sir George Arthur, Governor of Bombay. Two years later he became political resident at the court of the raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
h of Satara
Satara
Satara is a city located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The town is 2320 ft. above sea-level, near the confluence of the Krishna and its tributary river Venna. The city was the capital of the Maratha empire in the 17th century, hence one of the the historical cities of...
; on the rajah's death in 1848 he administered the province both before and after its formal annexation in 1849.
Commissioner in Sindh
In 1850 he was appointed chief commissioner of SindhSindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. In 1851 he founded the modern Indian postal service
Scinde Dawk
Scinde Dawk was a very old postal system of runners that served the Indus Valley of Sindh, an area of present-day Pakistan. The term also refers to the first postage stamps in Asia, the forerunners of the adhesive stamps used throughout India, Burma, the Straits Settlements and other areas...
. In 1857, he sent detachments to Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
and to Sir John Lawrence
John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence
John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, GCB, GCSI, PC , known as Sir John Lawrence, Bt., between 1858 and 1869, was an Englishman who became a prominent British Imperial statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1864 to 1869.-Early life:Lawrence came from Richmond, North Yorkshire...
in the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
in order to secure those locations during the Indian Mutiny. His services were fully recognized by the Indian authorities, and he received the thanks of both houses of parliament and was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
.
Governor of Bombay
He became a member of the Viceroy's CouncilCouncil of India
The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with British rule in India.The original Council of India was established by the Regulating Act of 1773 as a council of four formal advisors to the Governor-General at Fort William...
in 1859, and in 1862 was appointed Governor of Bombay, where he continued his policy of municipal improvements, establishing the Deccan College
Deccan College (Pune)
Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute is a post-graduate institute of Archeology and Linguistics in Pune, India.Established October 6, 1821, Deccan College is one of the oldest institutions of modern learning in India...
at Pune, as well as a college for instructing Indians in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. His order to pull down the ramparts of the old Fort allowed the city to grow, and the Flora Fountain
Flora Fountain
Flora Fountain, at the Hutatma Chowk , is an ornamentally and exquisitely sculpted architectural heritage monument located at the southern end of the historic Dadabhai Naoroji Road, called the Mile Long Road, at the Fort business district in the heart of South Mumbai, Mumbai, India...
was commissioned in his honour. During Frere's administration his daughter, Mary Frere
Mary Frere
Mary Eliza Isabella Frere was an English author of works regarding India. In 1868 Frere published the first English-language field-collected book of Indian storytales, Old Deccan Days....
, collected Old Deccan Days, the first English-language field-collected book of Indian folklore, which was printed in 1868.
In 1867 he returned to England where he was made GCSI
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
, and given honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
; he was also appointed a member of the Council of India
Council of India
The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with British rule in India.The original Council of India was established by the Regulating Act of 1773 as a council of four formal advisors to the Governor-General at Fort William...
.
Africa
In 1872 the foreign office sent him to ZanzibarZanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
to negotiate a treaty with the sultan, Barghash bin Said, for the suppression of the slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
traffic. In 1875 he accompanied the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
to Egypt and India, with such success that Lord Beaconsfield
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
asked him to choose between being made a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
or a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. He chose the former, but the queen bestowed both honours upon him.
High Commissioner of Southern Africa
In 1877, Frere was made High CommissionerHigh Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
for Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
by Lord Carnarvon, who wanted to impose an unpopular system of confederation onto the region. Carnarvon appointed Frere to the position on the understanding that he would work to enforce Carnarvon's confederation plan and, in return, Frere could then become the first British governor of a federated southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
n dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
.
An attempt to federate Southern Africa
Lord Carnarvon'sHenry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon
Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, PC, DL, FSA, FRS , known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party...
ill-fated confederation
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
scheme was fiercely resisted by South Africans, many of whom resented the perceived high-handed manner in which it was imposed from London with little knowledge of, or concern for, local politics. Resistance in the Cape was led by its Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, John Molteno
John Charles Molteno
Sir John Charles Molteno KCMG was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.-Early life:...
, who argued forcefully that confederation was ill-suited to Southern Africa and very badly timed. He correctly predicted that a lop-sided confederation would lead to instability and resentment and advised full union as a better model - but only at a later date and once it was economically viable.
The timing of the scheme was indeed particularly unfortunate, as the different states of southern Africa were still simmering after the last bout of British imperial expansion.
The Afrikaner people of the recently-annexed Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
were also not enthusiastic about confederation (reacting by successfully rebelling in the First Boer War), and the various Black South African states were justifiably suspicious of this new form of British expansion.
The ensuing attempt to impose a system of confederation on Southern Africa along with the ill-advised policies of Frere and his local ally John Gordon Sprigg
John Gordon Sprigg
Sir John Gordon Sprigg GCMG PC was a British administrator, politician and four-time prime minister of the Cape Colony.-Early life:Sprigg was born in Ipswich, England, into a strongly Puritan family...
ended up causing a string of wars across Southern Africa, culminating in the disastrous Anglo-Zulu
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...
and Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
s.
Local Resistance to Confederation
During his first year, Frere was almost immediately faced with a war against the XhosaXhosa wars
The Xhosa Wars, also known as the Cape Frontier Wars, were a series of nine wars between the Xhosa people and European settlers, from 1779 to 1879 in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa....
and disagreements with the liberal Cape (Molteno
John Charles Molteno
Sir John Charles Molteno KCMG was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.-Early life:...
-Merriman
John X. Merriman
John Xavier Merriman was the last prime minister of the Cape Colony before the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.-Early life:...
) ministry. The Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
Xhosa were subjugated early in 1878 by General Thesiger and a small force of regular and colonial troops. Frere dismissed the Cape's elected government and appointed his ally Mr John Gordon Sprigg
John Gordon Sprigg
Sir John Gordon Sprigg GCMG PC was a British administrator, politician and four-time prime minister of the Cape Colony.-Early life:Sprigg was born in Ipswich, England, into a strongly Puritan family...
to form a ministry. This solved any constitutional problems, but was overshadowed by a growing set of conflicts across Southern Africa and Lord Carnarvon's resignation in early 1878.
Outbreak of Zulu and Boer Wars
The Zulu Kingdom under King CetshwayoCetshwayo
Cetshwayo kaMpande was the King of the Zulu Kingdom from 1872 to 1879 and their leader during the Anglo-Zulu War . His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo.- Early life :...
was still independent of British control and Frere impressed upon the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
his belief that Cetshwayo's army had to be eliminated and Zululand annexed if confederation was to succeed. The idea was generally accepted in London, until Frere sent Cetshwayo an impossible ultimatum in December 1878 and the home government realized the problems inherent in a native war.
Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford
General Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford GCB, GCVO, was a British general, best known for his commanding role during the Anglo-Zulu war. The centre column of his forces was defeated at the Battle of Isandlwana, a crushing victory for the Zulus and the British army's worst ever...
to invade Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
, and so the Anglo-Zulu War
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...
began. On 11 January 1879, British troops crossed the Tugela River
Tugela River
The Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The river originates in the Drakensberg Mountains, Mont-aux-Sources, and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls...
; fourteen days later the disaster of Isandlwana
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom...
was reported, and the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
demanded that Frere be recalled. Beaconsfield supported him, however, and in a strange compromise he was censured but asked to stay on.
The Zulu trouble, and disaffection brewing in the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, reacted upon each other most disastrously. The delay in giving the country a constitution afforded a pretext for agitation to the resentful Boers, a rapidly increasing minority, while the defeat at Isandlwana had badly tarnished the reputation of the British Empire in the region. Owing to the Xhosa and Zulu wars, Sir Bartle had been unable to give his undivided attention to the state of things in the Transvaal until April 1879, when he was at last able to visit a camp of about 4,000 disaffected Boers near Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. Though conditions were grim, Frere managed to win the Boers' respect by promising to present their complaints to the British government, and to urge the fulfilment of the promises that had been made to them. The Boers did eventually disperse, on the very day upon which Frere received the telegram announcing the government's censure. On his return to Cape Town, he found that his achievement had been eclipsed—first by 1 June 1879 death of Napoleon Eugene, Prince Imperial
Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial
Napoléon, Prince Imperial, , Prince Imperial, Fils de France, was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his Empress consort Eugénie de Montijo...
in Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
, and then by the news that the government of the Transvaal and Natal, together with the high commissionership in the eastern part of South Africa, had been transferred from him to Sir Garnet Wolseley. Meanwhile, growing Boer resentment at Frere's policies erupted in December 1880 into the disastrous First Boer War
First Boer War
The First Boer War also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881-1877 annexation:...
. The First Boer War, with the humiliating British defeats at Bronkhorstspruit
Action at Bronkhorstspruit
The Action at Bronkhorstspruit was one of the first serious clashes of the First Boer War. It was a skirmish between a British army column and a group of Boers, fought a few miles east of the town of Bronkhorstspruit, Transvaal on 20 December 1880....
, Laing's Nek
Battle of Laing's Nek
The Battle of Laing's Nek was a major battle fought at Laing's Nek during the First Boer War on 28 January 1881.-Background:Following the Boer declaration of independence for the Transvaal in 1880 the British suffered a series of disastrous defeats in attempting to regain the territory.On 20...
, Schuinshoogte
Battle of Schuinshoogte
Battle of Schuinshoogte Also known as Ingogo, was a battle fought at on 8 February 1881 during the First Boer War. General Sir George Pomeroy Colley's communications with Newcastle were under constant harassment by mounted Boer patrols under Commander J D Weilbach after the Battle of Laing's Nek ...
and Majuba Hill
Battle of Majuba Hill
The Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881 was the main battle of the First Boer War. It was a resounding victory for the Boers. Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the summit of the hill on the night of February 26–27, 1881. His motive for occupying the hill remains unclear...
led to the independence of the Boer Republics and the final end of Carnarvon's confederation scheme.
Outbreak of the Basotho Gun War
Basutoland—home of the BasothoBasotho
The ancestors of the Sotho people have lived in southern Africa since around the fifth century. The Sotho nation emerged from the accomplished diplomacy of Moshoeshoe I who gathered together disparate clans of Sotho–Tswana origin that had dispersed across southern Africa in the early 19th century...
people—had been under the nominal control of the Cape Colony since 1872. However, the Cape government had allowed the Basotho leadership to keep much of their traditional authority.
The 1879 Peace Protection Act, which Frere had brought in during the Xhosa Wars and which decreed that all people of African descent had to be disarmed, now led to the Basuto Gun War which broke out in 1880, as the Basotho
Basotho
The ancestors of the Sotho people have lived in southern Africa since around the fifth century. The Sotho nation emerged from the accomplished diplomacy of Moshoeshoe I who gathered together disparate clans of Sotho–Tswana origin that had dispersed across southern Africa in the early 19th century...
subjects of the Cape rebelled against what they saw as a racist and high-handed ruling. Premier John Gordon Sprigg
John Gordon Sprigg
Sir John Gordon Sprigg GCMG PC was a British administrator, politician and four-time prime minister of the Cape Colony.-Early life:Sprigg was born in Ipswich, England, into a strongly Puritan family...
's unpopular attempt to enforce this disarmament of the Basotho was aggravated by his setting aside of Basotho land for white settlement.
The resulting war led to British defeats such as that at Qalabani, and ended in 1881 with a stalemate and a treaty that favoured the Basotho (This rebellion is a primary reason why Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
is now an independent country, and not part of surrounding South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
).
At the same time as the Basuto Gun War broke out, unrest flared up once again among the Xhosa of the Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
.
Recall
When Gladstone's ministry came into office in the spring of 1880, Lord KimberleyJohn Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley
John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley KG , PC , known as the Lord Wodehouse from 1846 to 1866, was a British Liberal politician...
originally had no intention of recalling Frere. In June, however, a section of the Liberal party memorialized Gladstone to remove him, and the prime minister complied (1 August 1880).
Death
Upon his return Frere replied to the charges relating to his conduct with regard to AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
as well as South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, previously referred to in Gladstone's Midlothian speeches, and was preparing a fuller vindication when he died at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
from the effect of a severe chill on 29 May 1884. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
. He had married on 10 October 1844 Catherine, daughter of Sir George Arthur.
Memorials
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May, 1877.Frere Hall
Frere Hall
Frere Hall is one of the few well-preserved buildings from the days of the British Raj that still exists in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.It was built in honour of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who was known for promoting economic development in Karachi.-Location:The Hall is located between Abdullah...
in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
was built in his honour. The city also named a road, street and town after him. In 1888, the Prince of Wales unveiled a statue of Frere on the Thames embankment
Thames Embankment
The Thames Embankment is a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment....
. Mount Bartle Frere
Mount Bartle Frere
Mount Bartle Frere is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of 1622 metres. The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a British colonial administrator and then president of the Royal Geographical Society by George Elphinstone Dalrymple in 1873. Bartle Frere was British...
(1622m), the highest mountain in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
is named after him, as is a boarding house at Haileybury
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...
. A road in Parktown, Johannesburg, is also named after him. (Frere Road in also the home of Nadine Gordimer, the Nobel Prize-winning author). In Durban, (KwaZulu-Natal), there are two roads which honor him: the first, Frere Road, transforms a little later to Bartle Road.
Works
His Life and Correspondence, by John Martineau, was published in 1895. For the South African anti-confederation view, see P. A. Molteno's Life and Times of Sir John Charles Molteno (2 vols.,London 1900).A more recent work on Bartle Frere's life, The Zulu and the Raj; The Life of Sir Bartle Frere by D. P. O'Connor, examines details of Frere's life and motives more fully than was permissible in Victorian times when Martineau was writing. In particular, O'Connor points to Frere as a leading thinker on imperial defence. He sets the Zulu war in the context of the overall global crisis, contingent on the 1877 Balkan War, which was widely expected to result in war between Britain and Russia. Frere was sent to South Africa to turn this vital area into a secure bastion on the route to India, but was distracted from the task by the routine instability of the South African theatre.
Popular culture
He was played by Sir John Mills in Zulu DawnZulu Dawn
Zulu Dawn is a 1979 war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Story. The film was directed by Douglas Hickox...
. His portrayal in the film is negative. He is depicted as a corrupt, greedy, deeply racist administrator who casually orders the invasion of Zululand after issuing his unfair, biased, impossibly demanding ultimatum.
See also
- Horniman Circle GardensHorniman Circle GardensThe Horniman Circle Gardens is a large park in South Mumbai, India which encompasses an area of . It is situated in the Fort district of Mumbai, and is surrounded by office complexes housing the country's premier banks...
- Mount FrereMount FrereMount frere is a minor town known as the town of Kwabhaca to the community. Mount Frere was found in the 17th century and named after Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere....