The wars saw the beginning of the use of firearms by the Xhosa armies. However they nonetheless saw the Xhosa lose most of their land, and their incorporation into the British Empire. While the wars are mostly seen as being a simple two-sided conflict between European and Xhosa, the reality with its shifting alliances was both fluid and complex. On the European side, relations between the British Empire and the Cape Colony's local settler government were sometimes strained and even broke down on occasion. On the Xhosa side, several groups that are now classed as being Xhosa, such as the Mfengu nation, actually fought on the side of the Cape Colony.