Thaba 'Nchu is a town in Free State,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, 63 km east of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...

and 17 km east of

Botshabelo Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large township set up in 1979 by the then apartheid government. It is located 45 km east of Bloemfontein in the present-day Free State province of South Africa. Botshabelo is now the largest ...

. The population is largely made up of

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Bophuthatswana, the former ba ...

and

Sotho people The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu nation native to southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in the modern Basotho, who ...

. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established in 1873. The town grew larger following the 1913

Natives' Land Act The Natives Land Act, 1913 (subsequently renamed Bantu Land Act, 1913 and Black Land Act, 1913; Act No. 27 of 1913) was an Act of the Parliament of South Africa that was aimed at regulating the acquisition of land. According to the ''Encyclopæd ...

that stated Thaba 'Nchu as a

homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

for Tswana people. It was known among the Voortrekkers as Blesberg (blazed mountain, bald mountain).

History

The three Barolong clans (boo-Seleka, boo-Ratlou and boo-Tshidi) under their Chiefs, migrated here in December 1833. A decade earlier, these clans were driven from their land of origin, over the

Vaal The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. I ...

, by

Mzilikazi Mzilikazi Moselekatse, Khumalo ( 1790 – 9 September 1868) was a Southern African king who founded the Mthwakazi Kingdom now known as Matebeleland, in Zimbabwe. His name means "the great river of blood". He was born the son of Mashobane kaMan ...

, and sojourned at a place they called Motlhaana-wa-pitse (Jaw-bone of a horse), in what is now the western Free State. Upon reaching an agreement with King

Moshoeshoe I Moshoeshoe I () ( – 11 March 1870) was the first king of Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bamokoteli lineage, a branch of the Koena (crocodile) clan. In his youth, he helped his father gain power over so ...

, they settled at Thaba 'Nchu with their Wesleyan Methodist Missionaries- Samuel Broadbent and Thomas L. Hodgson. Then their numbers were augmented by other Barolong (boo-Rapulana under Matlaba) scattered by Mzilikazi. These Barolong people accepted the Voortrekkers as allies. The first Voortrekkers to stay here on their northward journeys were

Louis Tregardt Louis Johannes TregardtFootnote (translated): Various opinions exist concerning the spelling of the surname which arrived with Louis' grandfather from Sweden. This forebear and his son almost always wrote it as "Tregard". Louis initially wrote it ...

and Hans van Rensburg in 1835. Thaba 'Nchu subsequently became a safe meeting place for leaders such as

Hendrik Potgieter Andries Hendrik Potgieter, known as Hendrik Potgieter (19 December 1792 – 16 December 1852) was a Voortrekker leader and the last known Champion of the Potgieter family. He served as the first head of state of Potchefstroom from 1840 and 1845 ...

, who arrived in May 1836, Piet Uys and

Gerrit Maritz Gerhardus Marthinus (Gert or Gerrit) Maritz (1 March 1797 – 23 September 1838), was a Voortrekker pioneer and leader, wagon builder. Gerrit Maritz was the son of Salamo Stefanus Maritz and Maria Elizabeth Oosthuizen. He married Agnita Maria O ...

. After Potgieter's trek was attacked and plundered at Vegkop, Moroka II swiftly assisted him with draught oxen and a liberal provision of supplies. The

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

party was also assisted in returning to a refugee camp at Thaba 'Nchu, named "Moroka's Hoek". The Boer leader held a war council with the Barolong chiefs, Moroka, Tawana, Gontse, and Matlaba where a Boer-Barolong-Griqua allegiance was formed, which shortly routed Mzilikazi, who then founded the kingdom of

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambe ...

. In 1841, when Tawana, Gontse, and Matlaba returned to their original home, Moroka II made Thaba 'Nchu his permanent home. Thaba 'Nchu was considered a friendly native state of the boer-governed

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

, established in 1854. It, however, became an insular territory during the Basotho Wars, during which the Basotho were expelled from its vicinity. In the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era, Thaba 'Nchu was the only Free State town that formed part of the area set aside for the

bantustan A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (n ...

Bophuthatswana Bophuthatswana (, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana ( tn, Riphaboliki ya Bophuthatswana; af, Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland"; an area set aside for mem ...

, nominally ruled by the then President

Lucas Mangope Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope (27 December 1923 – 18 January 2018) was the leader of the Bantustan (homeland) of Bophuthatswana. The territory he ruled over was distributed between the Orange Free State – what is now Free State – and North W ...

. It was then a trading centre. Under the Presidency of Mangope and the Chieftainship of Moroka II's great grandson – Robert Tawana Mokgopa Moroka – Thaba 'Nchu Sun & Naledi Sun hotel & Casino were established by

Sun International Sun International Hotels Limited is a resort hotel chain and casino destination from South Africa created by Sol Kerzner, best known for its Sun City Resort near Rustenburg in the North West Province. Specialising in gaming, hospitality and en ...

, and Thaba 'Nchu then became a major tourist attraction of the Free State, due to its proximity to

Geography

Geographical features include the promontories of the

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...

mountains, suitable for large lands with ample game, wherein a game reserve, the Maria Moroka Nature Reserve, has been maintained. A variety of wildlife and bird species are found here, besides a hiking trail, a traditional Tswana site, and amenities for various activities and adventures in the reserve. The reserve has been named after the political town hero Dr. Maria Moroka. Much of the surrounding land is arable, which has been employed for large scale farming of both commercial and domestic nature. The town is also known for the Aran hand-knitted woolen garments made by local

craftspeople An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

Notable people

* Mmanthatisi * W.Z. Fenyang * Kgosi Seepapitso IV

References

External links

*http://www.historicalpapers.wits.ac.za/invetory/A3291.php {{Authority control Populated places in Mangaung Populated places established in 1892 African National Congress politicians

Sotho-Tswana peoples in South Africa

History

Geography

Notable people

See also

References

External links