Taxacom: Caffraria may not always be what it seems

Fri Nov 21 22:27:06 CST 2025

Having lived for several years in the Eastern Cape of South Africa (and working as a botanist), I never really figured out what exactly corresponded to "Caffraria", and how to interpret herbarium labels containing the name. However, prompted by John's message, and armed with AI tools I obtained a possibly useful and detailed summary and a map, I copy and paste verbatim....

"Caffraria (or Kaffraria) referred to the southeastern part of present-day Eastern Cape, South Africa, especially lands inhabited by the Xhosa. Its boundaries shifted repeatedly during the 18th–19th centuries, evolving from independent Xhosa territory into British-controlled zones such as British Kaffraria (between the Keiskamma and Kei Rivers) and later the Transkeian territories (Transkei, Pondoland, Tembuland, Griqualand East). These zones were progressively annexed into the Cape Colony between 1865 and 1894.

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📍 Geographic Zones of Caffraria
- Kaffraria Proper
  - Xhosa territory beyond the Kei River, south of the Drakensberg, extending toward the Natal frontier.
  - Independent until late 19th century.

- British Kaffraria (1847–1865)
  - Crown colony established between the Keiskamma River (near the Fish River) and the Kei River.
  - Capital: King William’s Town (Qonce).
  - Included East London after 1859.

- Transkeian Territories (1879–1894)
  - Later usage of “Kaffraria” referred to the Transkei divisions:
    - Transkei
    - Pondoland
    - Tembuland
    - Griqualand East
  - Together covering about 18,310 km².

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🔄 Modifications Over Time
- 1835: Governor D’Urban briefly annexed land west of the Kei River as Queen Adelaide Province, but London rescinded it.
- 1847–1865: British Kaffraria formally established, then annexed into the Cape Colony.
- 1879–1894: Transkeian territories incorporated into Cape Colony in stages.
- 20th century: The region later became part of the Ciskei and Transkei Bantustans under apartheid.
- Post-1994: All these areas were integrated into the modern Eastern Cape Province.

---

🗺️ Summary
Caffraria was not a fixed zone but a shifting frontier region:
- Initially Xhosa lands beyond colonial boundaries.
- Later subdivided into British Kaffraria (Keiskamma–Kei Rivers) and Kaffraria Proper (Transkei).
- Ultimately absorbed into the Cape Colony and redefined under apartheid as Ciskei/Transkei, before becoming part of today’s Eastern Cape.
............

....   and I obtain the attached map.

I hope this may be useful.

Pete

Peter Phillipson
Africa and Madagascar Department, Missouri Botanical Garden based at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
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________________________________
From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> on behalf of John Grehan via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2025 10:38:12 pm
To: taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
Subject: Taxacom: Caffraria may not always be what it seems

In various species from southern Africa I have seen reference to Caffraria,
in addition to the specimen mentioned earlier. I always thought, according
to various sources, that this was equivalent to Eastern Cape province. But
it was brought to my attention that the specimen I was dealing with, being
from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, was probably collected by J.A.
Wahlberg who apparently never collected from the Eastern Cape or its past
equivalent. It seems that others attached this label to various specimens
he collected. I thought this may be of interest to those working with
Southern African material from the mid to late 1800's. See:
Irish, J. Clarifying elusive, obscure, or misleading historical Namibian
biodiversity collecting localities. Namibia Scientific Society Journal 71:
59-100.

Cheers,

John Grehan

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