This project has been made possible by a research grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council of Great Britain, whose assistance is gratefully ackowledged.
The 1820 settlers
The 1820 Settlers were colonists settled by the British government and the Cape authorities in the South African Eastern Cape, in an attempt consolidate and defend the frontier against the neighbouring Xhosa peoples, and to provide a boost to the English-speaking population. The scheme was one of the largest single stages of British settlement in Africa.
Approximately 5,000 Settlers landed in around 60 different parties between April and June 1820. They were granted farms near the village of Bathurst and given equipment, but the unsuitability of the land for intensive cultivation led many of them to abandon agriculture and withdraw to settlements like Grahamstown, where they typically became tradesmen, and from where their influence spread throughout South African culture and commerce.
However, this site is not about the facts and figures of settler history; so it is not a good place to look for your ancestors.
This is a site about the present - and the subjectivities and fate of settler culture.
Please look at the photographs; they are what this project was about.
