AFRICANWARSANDWHITEINVADERS
they soon found that they had exchanged one oppressor for another. As
their strength increased, Afrikaners vigorously sought to recreate the rela-
tionships that had existed before the British reforms in the Cape Colony.
Africans who lived on white farms-which
in many cases were located on
the lands of their ancestors-did
so under a variety of conditions, ranging
from providing labor services to paying rent in cattle or sheep.Tosatisfy the
white demand for labor, commandos raided neighboring African chief-
doms to capture male children and train them as servants. They called them
apprentices to avoid the charge of slavery and to minimize the risk ofBritish
intervention. Anglo-Irish immigrant]. M. Orpen, who served for a while in
the 185os as a landdrost in the Orange FreeState, recorded ample details of
this traffic.72 In the Transvaal it was more devastating still. In their search
for security, moreover, both republics prohibited Africans from possessing
firearms and required them to carry passes when traveling. All such laws
were enforced unevenly. The outcome in each time and place hinged on
such contingencies as the relative density ofthe white and the black popula-
tions and the energy of the veldkornets and the African chiefs.73