British policies, however, bring about enormous destruction for the Xhosa on the eastern Cape frontier.

Smith is recalled by the British government in 1852 for instigating conflict with the Xhosa, but the Colonial Office decides to pursue the war to victory nonetheless in 1853.

Large areas of Xhosa land are annexed, and thousands of head of cattle are confiscated.

Drought and disease further reduce the Xhosa's remaining herds.

Defeated in war, their lands greatly reduced and food supplies in decline, the Xhosa turn for salvation to a young girl, Nongqawuse, who prophesies that if the people purify themselves through sacrifice—by destroying their cattle and their grain, and by not planting new crops—then their ancestors will return to aid them, the herds will reappear, and all the whites will be driven into the sea.

Although not all Xhosa believe the prophecies, by 1857 more than four hundred thousand head of cattle have been killed and vast quantities of grain have been destroyed.

As a result, forty thousand Xhosa die from starvation, and an equal number seek refuge in the Cape Colony, where most become impoverished farm laborers.