However, the Colonial Office went ahead and dismissed governor Henry Barkly and appointed Henry Bartle Frere who on 3 February 1878 dissolved the Cape government. Frere was a formidable administrator of the British Empire but had scant experience of southern Africa and the confederation scheme soon fell apart, leaving a trail of wars across the region as predicted, including long-running conflicts with the Xhosa, Pedi and Basotho nations. After the disastrous British invasion of Zululand and rising discontent in the Transvaal (that later exploded as the First Boer War), Frere was recalled to London to face charges of misconduct in 1880.