Ngqika, treating him as the supreme chief of all the Xhosa (whereas the
Gcaleka chief had that status in Xhosa custom) and holding him responsi-
/ ble for preventing his people from raiding cattle across the border. The
result was that Ngqika's prestige plummeted, many of his followers desert-
ed him, and the Gcaleka and the Ndlambe combined their forces and
overwhelmed the Ngqika in a pitched battle in 1818. Confident in their
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