Capetown History - from the first settlements to European colonizationPart 2 - How the Dutch colonized the Cape Cape Town History Part 1 - How it all began
Jan van Riebeeck's first job had been to set up a vegetable garden in order to supply passing ships with fresh produce. He was also ordered to build a moat encircled fort by his employers the VOC in order to defend against possible invasion by the British. Capetown History The various Khoi clans in the Cape Peninsula area were estimated to consist of around 6000 people at the time. They shared the available land between the clans but constantly moved on in a nomadic fashion. They had initially accepted the encroachment of the Dutch on the lands peacefully. The Khoi farmed cattle and sheep which were seen as an indication of status. These animals were also used for trading between clans. When food supplies were found to be insufficient to meet the needs of both passing ships and his men, Van Riebeeck attempted to trade with the Khoi people but this turned out to be largely unsuccessful. The VOC allocated plots of land to a number of van Riebeeck's men in order to build farms and improve the supply of food. The Khoi were slowly cutoff from their traditional land and the settlers took their livestock for food. As a result their relationship with the settlers slowly soured, they became hostile and war resulted. Eventually in the 1670s the Khoi clans disintegrated. They could not match the guns of the settlers who were encroaching on their territory, and they could no longer protect their livestock. Many escaped to higher ground to join the San. Some were imprisoned on Robben island and a few elected to work for the new farmers who became known as 'burghers' or 'boers' Capetown History The First Slaves The infrastructure for the VOC base at the Cape was slowly being expanded by the Dutch settlers. It soon became apparent that more manpower would be needed to complete the various projects, which could not be obtained from the Khoi, so van Riebeeck requested the VOC to send slave labour from their bases at Ceylon, India and Indonesia. Others were shipped to the Cape from Madagascar and Mozambique. This decision was to lead to the establishment of the Moslem and Malay community in Cape Town and set the course of Capetown history. A total of 60,000 slaves were brought in between 1658 and 1807. The Beginning of Cape Town The VOC had insructed Jan van Riebeeck that a trading post was all that they required and that a town should not be built at the Cape of Good Hope. His farmers and soldiers had other ideas however and persuaded van Riebeek to allow them to develop trade skills and professions. Eventually when van Riebeeck left in 1662 to take up a VOC post elsewhere, a number of shops, taverns and boarding houses had been built on a grid of streets which became known as 'Cape Town'. A few years later the old fort was demolished and a stone castle built which became the Governer's residence. Jan van Riebeeck had laid the foundations for the diverse multi-ethnic society which developed in later years and for which he would always be remembered. Capetown History Here is a name that is well remembered in Cape Town and beyond. By 1679 the VOC had seen the potential of colonising the strategic Cape region. They sent Simon van der Stel to expand the community and develop farms and settlements. Van der Stel established the first wine farm in the Cape Groot Constantia which continues to produce quality wines, and he brought in wine farmers to plant vineyards in the surrounding Cape areas which were named Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschoek. The Cape Peninsula and Winelands were widely colonised by 1700. Wide tracts of land and businesses were allocated to immigrants from Holland. Manual work was accomplished by the use of slave labour. The settlement was not yet recognised as an official 'colony' except by the VOC at this stage and although it had a hospital it did not yet provide for formal schools and churches. Subscribe to my Cape Town eBulletin below |