Gcuwa, Eastern Cape

Gcuwa(), also known by its former name Butterworthcite book |title= Random House Compact World Atlas |year= 2006 |publisher= Random House |location= |isbn= 0375721894 |pages= 59] is a large town which ranks 29th on the list of towns with a population of 287,780 and is situated 111km north of East London on the N2 national highway in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

It was established as a Wesleyan mission station in 1827 north of the Great Kei River and named after Joseph Butterworth. It was close to the seat of Hintsa ka Khawuta, chief of the Gcaleka people of the Xhosa tribe, and as a result it was burnt down 3 times during the during the Cape Frontier Wars. Butterworth became a municipality of the Cape Colony in 1904. Butterworth was incorporated into the former Transkei bantustan during the apartheid years.

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