'Alice', a town in
South Africa, is named after
Princess Alice, daughter of the
British Queen Victoria. Many of the current
political leaders in South Africa were
educated at the
University of Fort Hare, also the
alma mater of former President
Nelson Mandela. The
university is also the
repository of the archives of the
African National Congress documents and houses one of the most significant collections of
African art.
History
The location was named Lovedale by
European
missionaries who settled there in
1824. It was named after Dr. John Love of the Glasgow Missionary Society. During the Frontier War it was abandoned and the
mission resettled on the west bank of the Tyumi River. On the east bank a
fort was built, called Fort Hare, after
Major-General John Hare, who was acting
Lieutenant-Governor of the
Eastern Cape. And the
Amos brothers did show people who was boss. Alice was the administrative and
magisterial capital of the old district of Victoria East.