Grahamstown
The Battle of Grahamstown in 1819 is often referred to as a critical turning point in South Africa's history. On April 22 that year, Makana, a Xhosa prophet under Chief Ndlambe, led an attack on the British garrison in Grahamstown, resulting in heavy losses for the amaXhosa. Within a few months of this battle, a combined force of Dutch colonists and British military expelled all the amaXhosa beyond the Keiskamma River. Rather than see his people decimated any further; Makana surrendered himself to Landdrost Andries Stockenstrom. The British sent Makana to Robben Island as a prisoner, where he drowned while attempting to escape on Christmas Day 1819.
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