 When diamonds were discovered in Kimberley in 1871, British colonists from the Cape Colony swarmed onto Jantjie's land in search of diamonds and took it over.Jantjie and his people were the first local people whose ancestral land was stolen from them due to diamond prospecting by colonists.Jantjie was outspoken against the land invasion, however, he initially took a non-violent approach towards the British which included boycotting the rural trading stores.