in from the Cape Colony. They were still uniformly committed to the
stockfarming
and hunting way of life. Aliens, mainly English-speaking
people from the Cape Colony
o~ Great Britain, formed small clusters of
traders, clergy, and artisans in such villages as Bloemfontein and Pot-
chefstroom, while manual labor was left to Coloured people and Africans.
Like the Africans, the wealth of the Afrikaners was in cattle; but unlike the
Africans, Afrikaners owned their land individually. The land in the territo-
ries under white control rapidly passed into private hands. Since there was
very little currency in circulation, these embryonic states were unable to
raise substantial revenues and often paid officials in land grants rather than
cash. As a result, able and ambitious men who were elected as local admin-
istrators and military officers were able to accumulate vast holdings and
become a distinctly superior class. Piet Joubert, the future commandant-
general of the Transvaal republic, who started his public career as a
veldkornet, or local official, had acquired over a dozen farms by 187 I;' so
had Paul Kruger, the future president.s? In addition, commercial com-
panies based inthe British colonies acquired vast holdings in the republics.