Richard Miles (Tswana catechist)
Encyclopedia
Richard Miles was a Motswana (Tswana) catechist and preacher
"to the native tribes beyond the border" in South Africa
.
in Cape Town
.
Tredgold was Secretary of the Cape of Good Hope Philanthropic Society "for aiding deserving slaves and slave children to purchase their freedom", and maintained regular association with mission activities. He would have been well acquainted with the London Missionary Society
Superintendent, the Revd Richard Miles (who was also on the committee of the Philanthropic Society). The Revd Miles occupied the position as Superintendent at the Cape temporarily in the late 1820s, while Dr John Philip
was in England
.
It is presumed that Richard Miles, the Motswana, had been one of the many youngsters displaced by turbulence in the frontier in the 1820s - when, indeed, through the so-called inboekseling system, many such children were kidnapped and "apprenticed" into a life of virtual slavery on colonial farms. It seems possible that the Philanthropic Society had saved one such Motswana youth from that fate, who then took on a name in honour of the temporary Superintendent. Evidently he lived for a time in the Tredgold household in Cape Town and benefited by an education, before returning to beyond the frontier to teach and to preach.
An important source in support of some of the above is the diary of one John Thomas Pocock, Tredgold’s assistant, who described a party given by the Tredgolds on 1 September 1836, adding: "Much enjoyed the evening during which Mr T. amused the company by reading aloud Richard Miles's letters. While the quaint expression elicited continual laughter, the spirit of the whole pleased us all." Miles was "a Bechuana boy formerly in the employ of Mr T. but now an itinerant preacher to the native tribes beyond the border".
to establish a station amongst the Tswana in the interior (they joined Andrew Smith
's "Expedition into Central Africa" at Graaff-Reinet).
In the event, Matabele incursions into Tswana territory persuaded the missionaries that work amongst the Korana
- at the place they named Bethanie - would be a better idea. And so Miles's interpretive skills were tested to the limit: some of the Korana had a smattering of Setswana
, while Miles himself soon learned the basics of their language. An early encounter with local San
stumped both the missionaries and their interpreter! (It is on record that Miles spoke "the most fluent Setswana" when a group of Batswana visited the missionaries in August 1834).
In 1848 Carl Wuras obtained permission to employ "the Bechuana Richard Miles" - formerly interpreter - as "school assistant" - "the same man who came with our first missionaries from Cape Town to Bethanie". Later, in 1850, Wuras described how three Batswana had learned the Articles of Faith in one evening, having been instructed in their own language by the assistant Richard Miles. Miles assisted at this period in providing education to children as well as adults.
In March 1850, when the government of the Orange River Colony
sought to appoint a headman or Kaptyn for Bethanie, it was Richard Miles whom Wuras recommended to Maj Warden: "a Bechuana by birth and assistant at the school, who could understand and speak English, Nederlands, Setswana and Korana". And thus it was that the British Resident appointed Miles as Kaptyn of Bethanie in the name of His Excellency the Governor of the Cape.
By the late 1850s Miles was with the French Missionaries
, and acted as agent for the Tswana Chief Lephoi, at Bethulie
. Here he became embroiled in land speculation, with one George Donovan, which led to the loss of land by Lephoi and the missionaries, and the beginnings of the white town of Bethulie.
was set on foot about 1870 by a Mochuana called Richard Miles, and after his death it was carried on by Rev. E. Lange". Miles possibly went to the Diamond Fields region under the auspices of the Berlin Missionary Society
at their station at Pniel
.
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
"to the native tribes beyond the border" in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Origins
Nothing definite is known of Richard Miles's origins, except that he was born a Motswana (Tswana), and as a youth was in the employ of the apothecary John Harfield TredgoldJohn Harfield Tredgold
John Harfield Tredgold was an English chemist in the Cape Colony in Africa. He held a number of voluntary roles including Secretary of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The suburb of Cape Town called Harfield drew its name from Tredgold's middle name.-Biography:Tredgold was baptised in...
in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
.
Tredgold was Secretary of the Cape of Good Hope Philanthropic Society "for aiding deserving slaves and slave children to purchase their freedom", and maintained regular association with mission activities. He would have been well acquainted with the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
Superintendent, the Revd Richard Miles (who was also on the committee of the Philanthropic Society). The Revd Miles occupied the position as Superintendent at the Cape temporarily in the late 1820s, while Dr John Philip
John Philip (missionary)
Dr John Philip , was a missionary in South Africa. Philip was born at Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland to a local schoolmaster...
was in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It is presumed that Richard Miles, the Motswana, had been one of the many youngsters displaced by turbulence in the frontier in the 1820s - when, indeed, through the so-called inboekseling system, many such children were kidnapped and "apprenticed" into a life of virtual slavery on colonial farms. It seems possible that the Philanthropic Society had saved one such Motswana youth from that fate, who then took on a name in honour of the temporary Superintendent. Evidently he lived for a time in the Tredgold household in Cape Town and benefited by an education, before returning to beyond the frontier to teach and to preach.
An important source in support of some of the above is the diary of one John Thomas Pocock, Tredgold’s assistant, who described a party given by the Tredgolds on 1 September 1836, adding: "Much enjoyed the evening during which Mr T. amused the company by reading aloud Richard Miles's letters. While the quaint expression elicited continual laughter, the spirit of the whole pleased us all." Miles was "a Bechuana boy formerly in the employ of Mr T. but now an itinerant preacher to the native tribes beyond the border".
At Bethanie and Bethulie in the Free State
In 1834, Richard Miles travelled, as interpreter, with the Berlin MissionariesBerlin Missionary Society
The Berlin Missionary Society or Society for the Advancement of evangelistic Missions amongst the Heathen was a German Protestant Christian missionary society that was constituted on 29 February 1824 by a group of pious laymen from the...
to establish a station amongst the Tswana in the interior (they joined Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith (zoologist)
Sir Andrew Smith KCB was a Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. He is considered the father of Zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire...
's "Expedition into Central Africa" at Graaff-Reinet).
In the event, Matabele incursions into Tswana territory persuaded the missionaries that work amongst the Korana
Korana
The Korana is a river in central Croatia and west Bosnia and Herzegovina. The river has a total length of and watershed area of .It rises in the eastern parts of Lika, creates the world-famous Plitvice Lakes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Downstream from Plitvice Lakes the Korana river forms a 25...
- at the place they named Bethanie - would be a better idea. And so Miles's interpretive skills were tested to the limit: some of the Korana had a smattering of Setswana
Tswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
, while Miles himself soon learned the basics of their language. An early encounter with local San
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
stumped both the missionaries and their interpreter! (It is on record that Miles spoke "the most fluent Setswana" when a group of Batswana visited the missionaries in August 1834).
In 1848 Carl Wuras obtained permission to employ "the Bechuana Richard Miles" - formerly interpreter - as "school assistant" - "the same man who came with our first missionaries from Cape Town to Bethanie". Later, in 1850, Wuras described how three Batswana had learned the Articles of Faith in one evening, having been instructed in their own language by the assistant Richard Miles. Miles assisted at this period in providing education to children as well as adults.
In March 1850, when the government of the Orange River Colony
Orange River Colony
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after this nation first occupied and then annexed the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War...
sought to appoint a headman or Kaptyn for Bethanie, it was Richard Miles whom Wuras recommended to Maj Warden: "a Bechuana by birth and assistant at the school, who could understand and speak English, Nederlands, Setswana and Korana". And thus it was that the British Resident appointed Miles as Kaptyn of Bethanie in the name of His Excellency the Governor of the Cape.
By the late 1850s Miles was with the French Missionaries
Paris Evangelical Missionary Society
The Paris Evangelical Missionary Society , also known as the SMEP or Mission de Paris, was a Protestant missionary association created in 1822...
, and acted as agent for the Tswana Chief Lephoi, at Bethulie
Bethulie
Bethulie is a small sheep and cattle farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. The name meaning chosen by God was given by directors of a mission station in 1829 which the town formed around. The mission building is the oldest settler built building still standing in the Free State...
. Here he became embroiled in land speculation, with one George Donovan, which led to the loss of land by Lephoi and the missionaries, and the beginnings of the white town of Bethulie.
On the Diamond Fields
Lewis and Edwards, in their 1934 Historical Records of the Church of the Province of South Africa (Anglican Church of Southern Africa), state that "The mission to the natives in KimberleyKimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
was set on foot about 1870 by a Mochuana called Richard Miles, and after his death it was carried on by Rev. E. Lange". Miles possibly went to the Diamond Fields region under the auspices of the Berlin Missionary Society
Berlin Missionary Society
The Berlin Missionary Society or Society for the Advancement of evangelistic Missions amongst the Heathen was a German Protestant Christian missionary society that was constituted on 29 February 1824 by a group of pious laymen from the...
at their station at Pniel
Pniel, Northern Cape
Pniel was a mission station established by the Berlin Missionary Society on the Vaal River near modern Kimberley, South Africa, in 1845.-Establishment and early history:...
.