able leader named Sekwati brought the Pedi together after they had been
shattered during the Mfecane. His hold over the subordinate chiefs was
always fragile, however, and during the 1860S,three alien forces threatened
the cohesion of the Pedi: Swazi invaders from the southeast; Afrikaner
infiltrators from the southwest; and German resident missionaries-
Lutherans who, more completely than missionaries of other denomina-
tions, regarded themselves as agents of white culture and allies of the
Afrikaner farmers. Young Pedi men, moreover, were accustomed to going
to work for white farmers, and after 1870 they became the principal
laborers on the diamond mines. The pressures then intensified. Subordi-
nate chiefs tried to establish autonomy by playing off Afrikaners against
the monarchy. In 1876,
Thomas Francois Burgers, president of the
Transvaal, invaded Pedi country unsuccessfully with an army of 2,000
burghers, 2,400 Swazi warriors, and 600 Transvaal Africans. That rebuff
contributed to Afrikaner acquiescence in the proclamation of British rule
the following year. In 1879, however, having defeated the Zulu, the British
overwhelmed the Pediwith a massiveinvasion force, including 8,000 Swazi
and 3,000 Transvaal Africans. Under white domination, the Pedistate then
fell apart. 2 6