Good morning heritage friend.
I find myself in a rather peculiar situation this morning .
I am custodian of SHA's mailing list and therefore send out invitations etc.
As I am billed as the speaker for this month, I find myself having to invite you to come and listen to my talk, which is a bit weird for me. I certainly hope it will not be mistaken for hubris.
The subject I am going to talk about is something that has intrigued me for a long time, to the point of me studying as much about it as possible. Yet it still seems incredible.
I am referring to The great cattle killing of the Xhosa Nation which took place in 1856 / 1857 and caused the national starvation of the Xhosa.
It is seen by some as a national suicide and others as means of forcing the nation to war with the British.
What drove the Xhosa to take this step? I will take you through this incredible event and offer reasons as to why it happened.
I have called my talk "The Dead Shall Arise" after the book by Professor Jeff Peires on the subject
Please do come along and listen, it is an almost unbelievable story.
Drostdy Schuur
R70