sentences:  Decades of provocation from his enemies, overpopulation, and pressure from his councillors drove Sarili into a corner, and he mobilised his armies.Initially the situation seemed unlikely to escalate further, as the Cape Colony government insisted on only deploying its local mounted commandos to police the frontier, but the involvement of the British Empire, via Sir Bartle Frere, desiring to finally annex Gcalekaland for his planned British Confederation, sealed the fate of the last independent Xhosa kingdom.Sarili tried to unite the Xhosa tribes into a unified force for resistance, but after two devastating pitched battles, he declared an end to the struggle and went into exile, first in Pondoland and afterwards to Bomvanaland.