culture. The time finally came when a chief and his councillors realized that
they were confronted with a threat to their autonomy. Then, some accom-
modated, others resisted.
In the ensuing conflicts, neither side was monolithic. The interests of
white hunters, traders, missionaries, and farmers did not coincide. The
goals of the British government and its colonial officialswere different from
those of British settlers, and often quite antithetical to those of Afrikaners.
Among Africans, there were tensions among chiefs and commoners;
among rival members of ruling families; between chiefdom and chiefdom;
and among established communities and refugees from other areas. In the
last resort, however, Whites were able to exploit the cleavages in African
society more successfullythan Africans could exploit the cleavagesin white
society. When they considered that racial hegemony was at stake, Whites
did not obstruct one another; whereas Africans never created a united front
and Whites were able to use African allies in every conflict.
Whites also possessed great technological advantages. Their firearms
were far more effective than African spears; and although there were al-
ways traders who were willing to make a profit by selling guns to Africans,