Hintsa ka Khawuta also known as Hintsa the Great or King Hintsa, was the 4th paramount Chief of the Gcaleka

Gcaleka

The Gcaleka are a major sub-group of the Xhosa found in the Transkei area of the Eastern Cape. Their counterparts in Ciskei are the Rharhabe.The Gcaleka kingdom was founded by Gcaleka kaPhalo, who became chief in 1775....

 sub-group of the Xhosa nation from 1820

1820 in South Africa

-Events:* The Zulu king Shaka started extending his kingdom, destroying other tribes along the way* James Read produced first SeTswana book* Andries Waterboer was elected the Griqua captain at Griquatown...

 until his death in 1835.

Hintsa was the second eldest son of Khawuta ka Gcaleka

Khawuta ka Gcaleka

Khawuta ka Gcaleka was the second chief of the Gcaleka people, a sub-group of the Xhosa nation.Khawuta was the eldest son of Gcaleka ka Phalo, the founder of the Gcaleka people. Khawuta had three sons, Bhurhu ka Khawuta , Hintsa ka Khawuta and Malashe ka Khawuta...

, the second chief of the Gcaleka people. His father was in turn the eldest son of Gcaleka ka Phalo

Gcaleka ka Phalo

Gcaleka ka Phalo was the founder of the Gcaleka people, a sub-group of the Xhosa nation.Gcaleka was the third son of Phalo ka Tshiwo and had 3 known sons, Khawuta ka Gcaleka , Velelo ka Gcaleka and Nqoko ka Gcaleka...

. Hintsa had 4 known sons, Sarili ka Hintsa

Sarili ka Hintsa

Sarili ka Hintsa was the 5th chief of the Gcaleka sub-group of the Xhosa nation from 1835 until his death in 1892 at Sholora, Bomvanaland....

 (1810) from his first wife Nomsa kaGambushe Tshezi and Ncaphayi ka Hintsa, Manxiwa ka Hintsa and Lindinyura ka Hintsa from an unknown second wife.

King Hintsa's Death

Invited to peace talks by Governor Harry Smith, the British demanded 50 000 cattle in compensation for the 1834 war, and that Hintsa tell all Xhosa chiefs to stop fighting the British. Hintsa was then held captive until the terms were met. Hintsa sent word to Maqoma, his military commander, telling him to hide the cattle.

On May 12, 1835 Hintsa, who was about 45, was riding as a prisoner in the company of British soldiers led by Governor Harry Smith.

Noel Mostert in his "Frontiers:The Epic of South Africa's Creation and the Tragedy of the Xhosa People" tells the story http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679401369

Hintsa was being guarded on the ride back over the Kei

Great Kei River

The Great Kei River is a river in South Africa in the Eastern Cape province. Before it becomes the Great Kei, the Swart-Kei River and the Wit-Kei River join forces, northeast of Cathcart. It flows for 520 km and ends at the Indian Ocean with the small town Kei Mouth on the west bank...

 and the Fish

Great Fish River

The Great Fish River is a river running through the South African province of the Eastern Cape, it originates east of Graaff-Reinet and runs through Cradock, just south of this the Tarka River joins it...

 by a corps of guides led by George Southey. Soon after breakfast, Hintsa asked Smith: “What have the cattle done that you want them? Why must I see my subjects deprived of them?”
To which Smith replied, “That you know far better than I do.”
Soon after that Hintsa spurred his horse forward and galloped away. Smith gave chase and twice tried to fire on the fleeing monarch. Twice his pistols malfunctioned but he caught Hintsa and pushed him off his horse.
Hintsa got up and ran, still carrying his assegai. “Shoot, George, and be damned to you,” cried Smith to Southey. Southey fired and hit Hintsa in the leg but still he ran. Southey fired again. Hintsa was again hit but ran into a stream. “Be damned to you,” cried Smith to Southey, “Shoot again.”
By this time Hintsa was in deep water and couldn’t stand properly. He threw his spear but it landed harmlessly near Southey, who took aim again. “Mercy,” cried the King. And again. “Mercy.” But there was to be no mercy. Southey, whose Xhosa was fluent, fired, and hit Hintsa in the head, killing him. Southey got to the body first and took off Hintsa’s brass body ornaments for himself. Others grabbed for his beads and bracelets. Southey or his brother William cut off one of Hintsa’s ears as a trophy and someone else cut off the other. A doctor travelling with them was seen trying to pull out some of Hintsa’s teeth.
Later, even Smith could no longer bear the barbarity he had caused and ordered Hintsa’s body dropped from his horse and to be left in the bush for his followers to find.

Hintsa was captured by the British during the Cape Frontier Wars 1835 and in extenuating circumstances was shot and killed trying to escape resulting in him becoming a martyr

Martyr

A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...

 for the Xhosa people. His body was subsequently whose body was dismembered by troops in search of grisly momentoes and that his head had been preserved and taken back to Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

."

In his reign as king he had 11 sub-chieftaincies and had about 10 (Today known as Eastern Cape area).

His Legacy

He is remembered among the Xhosa people for his bravery and what he stood for. These days the Xhosa people know about him through poems and bedtime stories and he is often compared to "Shaka ka Senzangakhona", commonly known as "Shaka Zulu".

In 1996 Nicholas Tilana Gcaleka, a descendant of King Hintsa, claimed to have returned the 161-year-old skull of King Hintsa from Scotland. He also claimed that he was the great-great nephew of Hintsa and was called on by the spirits of his ancestors to go to Scotland to find Hintsa's head.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960305/ai_n14029073 The Gcaleka Xhosa Monarch, King Xolilizwe Sigcau, and his court refused to sanction the planned burial of the skull because they said it was not the disembodied head of Hintsa.