In the 1830s, the reduced land available to the Xhosa was no longer sufficient to sustain their population.[368] In defiance, Maqoma's half-brother, Xhoxho, took his cattle to graze in the Neutral Territory. On 12 December 1834, a British patrol attempted to expel him from the area and wounded him. This was the final provocation that led to the Sixth Xhosa War.[369] At that time, the colonial government had only 775 soldiers present on the eastern border,[370] including the 21st Light Dragoons, the Cape Corps, and the Royal African Corps. However, these soldiers were poorly trained, with the
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