and predominantly
rural context, land
ownership is .an essential basis for individual and group autonomy. By
1828, Whites were the legal owners of nearly all the productive land in the
colony, and the emancipated Khoikhoi-and,
later on, the emancipated
slaves-had
few alternatives but to continue to work. for white people.
One option was service in the Cape Regiment. Khoikhoi units had
formed part of the Dutch garrison in the Cape peninsula, fighting cou-
rageously against the British invaders in 1795 and again in 1806. Khoikhoi
also participated regularly in commandos against hunter-gatherers. The
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