About Cape Town

A brief history of Cape Town

The cultures that make up the Cape

The following brief history of Cape Town gives insight into the melting pot of cultures that live there today...


Khoikhoi Tribe

Before European explorers and settlers came upon the Cape, it was inhabited by an African tribe, the "Khoikhoi", meaning "men of men", known to white Colonists as "Hotentots".  The khoikhoi, closely related to the "San" Bushmen of South West Africa, practised extensive pastoral agriculture in the Cape.


Portuguese Explorers

The written history of South Africa begins in the 1460's with Portuguese navigators passing South Africa on the East Indies trade routes.  In 1488, the Cape was circumnavigated by Portuguese Explorer Bartholomew Dias.  He named it "Cabo da Boa Esperança", which means "Cape of Good Hope".  Another Explorer, Vasco Da Gama, was mandated by the Portuguese throne to further explore the Cape.  He landed at present day St. Helena Bay on the West Coast.  In 1500, the viceroy of Portuguese India, Francisco d' Almeida was killed on his way back to Portugal, by a Khoikhoi tribe at the mouth of salt river in Table Bay.  Thereafter, Portuguese traders avoided the Cape, rather relying on Robben Island for a stop over.


English Explorers

In the period of 1594 to 1601, English Navigator, James Lancaster explored the Cape, and established trade relationships with the local Khoikhoi.  In 1631, the English took the leader of the Khoihoi, Autsumao to England, and later returned him to the Cape to serve as an interpreter for livestock bartering and a postmaster for passing ships.


Dutch Explorers

In 1647, the ship Niewe Haerlem was ship wrecked in Table Bay.  After a year, a Dutch Ship fetched the survivors, one of which, Leendert Janszen, upon his return to Holland, wrote a report on establishing a refreshment station in the Cape.  In 1652, under the command of Jan Van Riebeek, the Dutch established the station between the foot of Table Mountain, and the shores of Table Bay.


Angolan, West African and Batavian Slaves

The Dutch East India Company decreed that locals were not to  be taken as slaves, but Van Riebeek accepted stowaways from passing ships, and in 1654 received more slaves in the form of banished convicts and political opponents from Batavia.  In 1655, Maize, and grape vine were introduced from Holland , but lack of slaves meant that he failed to produce the fresh food required by passing ships.  In 1657, the first group of slaves were brought from Angola, and West Africa, and a year later, as a result of a secret expedition, 228 slaves from Dahomey were brought to the Cape.  Also that year, a Portuguese slaver was captured and his 174 slaves taken.


The French Huguenots

In 1688, French Protestants (The French Huguenots), fleeing execution by the Catholic church were given asylum in the Cape.  They settled in Franscchoek (Dutch for French corner).  These French are the reason that many towns in the Cape have French names, and many Afrikaaners in South Africa have French Surnames, like du Plessis, de Villiers and le Roux.