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THE FIRST BOER REPUBLIC WHERE WAS THE AVAILABLE UNINHABITED LAND? The available, uninhabited land where the Boers wanted to settle was largely adjacent to the territory of the two militarised nations, namely the Zulus under Dingaan and the Ndebele under Mzilikazi. These two tribes destroyed, displaced, or absorbed other tribes. The conquered tribes were forced to give up their land and relocate as far as possible to other areas. This created a situation where large tracts of land came under the ownership and control of these two militarized tribes and were left uninhabited. Mzilikazi's brutal campaigns of destruction in the Highveld of southern Africa during the Mfecane, impacted every tribe, from the Bapedi in the northeast to the Bathlaping in the Northern Cape. Nations such as the Bapedi, Bakgatla, and Bahurutse were subjected to violence that left them in desperate poverty and without their land. Many lost their cultural identity when they were assimilated into the Ndebele. Others were massacred and displaced. They couldn't cultivate their land to sustain themselves, and some were even driven to cannibalism to survive. Many had to resettle to survive - the Barolong moved themselves from the western Highveld to Thaba Nchu. The central interior was depopulated, and only small groups could find refuge. Larger peoples, like the Venda and Bapedi, managed to sustain themselves in areas on the borders of the later ZAR. All the established tribes in the entire region that later became known as the Free State, except along the banks of the Caledon and at Thaba Nchu, were displaced. #Boer #BoerIdentity #BoerRepublic #land #Mzilikazi