Keiskammahoek

Province

Keiskammahoek is a town in the municipality Amahlathi, Amathole District in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. It lies on the southern slopes of the Amathole Mountains. In its vicinity, there are a number of rural settlements. According to the 2011 census there are about 4,429 inhabitants.

History

After the Seventh border war arose in British Kaffraria from 1848, the first military settlements of white immigrants. About five years later, was formed on the initiative of the Governor of the Cape Colony, the settlement Keiskammahoek into a regional center of military conquest in the Amathole region. During this time Mfengu moved from southern parts of the country in the vicinity of the village. There were already living isiXhosa speaking groups of Ngqika tribe, whose land was expropriated after 1850 by the British military. It was not until 1858 the area was released to Keiskammahoek for colonization by farmers from the Cape Colony and also more attracted Mfengu added. The thereby forming mixed and checkered arranged settlement patterns of black and white rural residents based on military and economic considerations in order to obtain in this way a better control over unrest among the indigenous population and European farmers to allow sufficient development opportunities.

Until 1937 Keiskammahoek and its Near King William 's Town was administered from administratively. Because of the growing importance of the region you created a separate administrative unit, the Keiskammahoek magisterial district. The soil quality, however, took off with the continued agricultural use, as overpopulation and especially poor agricultural practices have been accepted for several decades without any revision. Keiskammahoek was with his district even before the apartheid a so-called native reserve ( Native reserve ) and counted in addition to Middle Drift and the Glen Grey district to the municipal focal points of its kind in the Ciskei. Given the disastrous situation occurred in 1930, they founded an agricultural educational institution in middleware drift on the lower reaches of the River Keiskamma, the Fort Cox Agricultural School.

In the late 1940s, an interdisciplinary group of scientists from the Rhodes University examined the area surrounding the city. The combined work as Keiskammahoek Rural Survey become known.

Keiskammahoek was inhabited by the census of 2001, almost one hundred percent of the African population.

Geography

The city is located at the confluence of River Keiskamma and Gxulu. The settlement is regionally developed by the regional road R352, which further extends coming from Dimbaza by Stutterheim, overcoming two small mountain passes.

In Keiskammahoek there is a district hospital administrations for the Munizipalgebiet as well as a police station and post office. Ten kilometers from the town center are the building of the Saint Matthew's mission.

The story of Keiskammahoek and its environment is connected to a long-lasting agricultural and forestry use and intensive development work between white colonists and native populations. The city was once a center of the timber and agriculture, which has finally moved to Stutterheim. Earlier agricultural and forestry enterprises have left considerable environmental problems here.

In the city environment exist agricultural research institutions with which is to be investigated to what extent the invasive plant Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii ) can use to raise the country's culture. There are also efforts to improve the rural environment and soil quality as a correction measure to the results from the programs for Betterment Planning during the apartheid period. Is suitable for this the coming of Black Wattle Australia plant, since it is likely due to their resistance to unfavorable conditions of life to colonize new areas previously burned and destroyed in consequence of further floors.