Griqualand East (South Africa)

Griqualand East (Afrikaans: Griekwaland-Oos), officially known as New Griqualand (Dutch: Nieuw Griqualand), was one of four short-lived Griqua states in Southern Africa from the early 1860s until the late 1870s and was located between the Umzimkulu and Kinira Rivers, south of the Sotho Kingdom. Griqualand East's capital, Kokstad, was the final place of settlement for a people who had migrated several times on their journey from the Cape of Good Hope and over the mountains of present-day Lesotho. The territory was occupied by the British Empire and became a colony in 1874, shortly before the death of its founder and only leader, Adam Kok III. A short while later, the small territory was incorporated into the neighbouring Cape Colony. Though for a long time overshadowed in history by the story of the Voortrekkers, the trek of the Griquas has been described as "one of the great epics of the 19th century."