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European Settlement
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| The First
Years |
Jan van Riebeeck
arrived at the Cape on the 6th April 1652 in command of a small detachment. His
orders were explicitly not to establish a colony, but only a fortified trading
station.
He was to sell meat, wine and vegetables and other supplies
bartered from the Khoe or produced by him at a company garden. His employers,
the Dutch East India Company (VOC), had no desire to pay for the conquest and
administration of territory. Their interest was to stop a British occupation of
the Cape and ensure the provision of vital supplies to their shipping fleets en
route to the East.
Following his orders, Van Riebeeck's constructed a fort with a moat and earthen
walls at the water's edge and, under the direction of gardener Hendrik Boom,
beds were laid out in 'the Company Garden' just beyond the fort.
It soon became apparent that the Khoe were unable or unwilling
to trade sufficient supplies. Far from being able to supply passing ships, van
Riebeeck's men found themselves short of food (more...)
Thus he petitioned the company to release employees from their
contracts to become farmers and 20 acre plots were allocated along the
Liesbeeck river in 1657 (more...)
In a fateful move that led to the distinct multi-racial
character of Cape Town, van Riebeeck ordered slaves to be brought from Asia to
help work the farms and develop the settlement
(more...)
The enclosure of land led to war with the Khoe in 1659 and the
indigenous people were pushed back (more...)
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Heritage Sections
· Culture·
· Environment
·
History
· Society
Personalities ·
Areas
In this period of Cape History:
Overview
The First
Years
A Town
Develops
Simon v.d.
Stel
VOC
Control
Frontier
Expansion
Cape Town in the
1700s
Cosmopolitan Cape
Town
The Boom of the
1780s
The VOC
Legacy
Bibliography &
Contacts
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