Bisho

Immediately east of King William's Town, the recently-built Bisho, former capital of the Republic of Ciskei, was granted independence in 1981 and reincorporated into the new South Africa in 1994. Ciskei was previously one of the black homelands but Bisho now serves as a capital of the Eastern Cape.

Bisho is the Xhosa word for Buffalo, the name of the river that runs through this town. The inhabitants of the former Ciskei Republic are mainly from the Xhosa and Mfengu tribes. The Xhosa migrated to this area between 1660 and 1670 and in the early 18th century the Xhosa were involved in skirmishes with the encroaching white settlers.

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