The territory to the north of the Orange River and to the east of the
Drakensberg lay outside the sphere of British influence or authority,
and was, as far as was then known, inhabited by savages; but the Boers
decided to brave the perils of the wilderness and to negotiate with the
savages for the possession of a tract of country, and so form an
independent community rather than remain any longer under British rule.

[Sidenote: The Manifesto of Piet Retief.]

In the words of Piet Retief, when he left Grahamstown:--

We despair of saving the Colony from those evils which threaten
it by the turbulent and dishonest conduct of vagrants who are
allowed to infest the country in every part; nor do we see any
prospect of peace or happiness for our children in a country thus
distracted by internal commotions.

We complain of the severe losses which we have been forced to
sustain by the emancipation of our slaves, and the vexatious laws
which have been enacted respecting them.

We complain of the continual system of plunder which we have for
years endured from the Kaffirs and other coloured classes, and
particularly by the last invasion of the Colony, which has
desolated the frontier district and ruined most of the
inhabitants.

We complain of the unjustifiable odium which has been cast upon
us by interested and dishonest persons, under the name of
religion, whose testimony is believed in England to the exclusion