1770s–1830s: (The Eastern Frontier and the Xhosa — Conflict over the Zuurveld from the 1770s, Sporadic Frontier Wars, British Unwillingness to Fund Expensive…

1770s–1830s: (The Eastern Frontier and the Xhosa — Conflict over the Zuurveld from the 1770s, Sporadic Frontier Wars, British Unwillingness to Fund Expensive Campaigns, and Boer Frustration That Drove the Desire to Cross the Frontier into Africa): The question of expansion on the eastern frontier remained unresolved as white settlers gradually pushed eastward, pressing in on the Xhosa people who, with their close-knit social structures and extensive herds, had become an obstacle despite earlier economic cooperation and social interaction. Conflict became particularly intense from the 1770s as the Boers moved into the Zuurveld, an important Xhosa grazing area, but the sporadic frontier wars of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries failed to produce a lasting settlement. Boers in the eastern Cape lobbied for government support in clearing the Xhosa, but while the British were willing to interfere in Boer affairs within the Colony, they would not assist those on its edges who complained of land shortage and Xhosa incursions. The government refused to become involved in expensive wars or the troublesome extension of administration that successful campaigns would entail. Thus were land-hungry Boers compelled to consider crossing the frontier into the interior, in search of pasture and political freedom.