The Battle of Amalinde was an armed confrontation between two Xhosa chiefs of the Rharhabe House, which took place in October 1818 just outside of what is today King Williams Town, in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. on the eve of the fifth Xhosa War. Chief Ngqika had close ties with the British, while his uncle, Chief Ndlambe, had no such agreements and painted Ngqika as someone selling out his people in return for personal gain. Chief Ndlambe was assisted in the battle by the senior, King Hintsa and his Gcaleka warriors. When chief Ngqika was defeated in the battle, he retreated and appealed to the British for protection. A British-led force commanded by Colonel Thomas Brereton then seized 23,000 head of cattle from Ndlambe's people in retaliation, leading to the battle of Grahamstown.
Background and causes
The two contending AmaXhosa chiefs of the Rharhabe House were Chief Ngqika and his paternal uncle, Chief Ndlambe.
Ngqika's father, Mlawu, died when Ngqika was too young to rule and therefore his uncle Ndlambe, as per custom, became the regent. Under Ndlambe's leadership, the chieftaincy grew in strength as he consolidated his power by absorbing smaller chiefdoms or expelling them to far afield lands. It was in 1795 when Ngqika had entered manhood that he soon demanded his rightful place as regent and leader of the AmaRharhabe. Ndlambe refused to relinquish power and because of this stalemate, a minor civil battle ensued. The two adversaries co-existed for almost two decades, in a state of immense tensions.
On the personal side, Ngqika fell deeply in love with Thuthula, the beautiful daughter of Dibi and wife of his uncle, Ndlambe. This incestuous situation was a lesser but direct cause of the Battle of Amalinde. A more substantial cause of the battle was Ngqika's meeting in 1817 with Lord Charles Somerset, Governor of the Cape, when he was forced to give up both the Great Fish River and Keiskamma River. The Amaxhosa felt aggrieved, that since Ngqika was not the paramount chief, he could not then authorise the alienation of the land. Ndlambe then reported the matter to King Hintsa, it is said that Hintsa was incensed by Ngqika's actions. In the earlier years, when Hintsa was still a boy, Ngqika had kidnapped him during some minor civil war between Ngqika's followers and amaGcaleka. So in 1819, when Ndlambe reported to Hintsa that Ngqika was working with the Europeans to grow his power against other Xhosa chiefs across the kei. Ndlambe also reported that his wife Thuthula had been taken by Ngqika as his. Hintsa took it to himself to go and "Put Ngqika in his place" and so Hintsa crossed the kei with amaGcaleka to meet up with amaNdlambe headed by Ndlambe, amaGqunukhwebe headed by Kama, amaNtinde headed by Tshatshu, amaGwali headed by Nginza and amaGwali headed by Mhade. All these armies met together at Debe near King William's Town to go punish Ngqika.
Ndlambe's son Mdushane commanded the army, while Ngqika's army was commanded by his son Maqoma (Jongumsobomvu). At 21-years old, this was Maqoma's first taste of battle.
The battle
The conflict of October 1818 was consequently the result of the longstanding rivalry between the two chiefs, stemming from both personal and socio-political disagreements. The clash lasted from midday to nightfall, and occurred at Amalinde, the isiXhosa name for the Debe Hollows of Kommetjie, 19 kilometres west of King Williams Town, in what is today a part of East London, Eastern Cape. The exact site of the battle remains uncertain, however.