Admin What did the Dutch do in South Africa?
The history of the Dutch in South Africa is a coin with two sides. Many regard the Dutch settlers as pioneers establishing trade routes, as the forefathers of Afrikaner culture. Yet, their involvement in the slave trade and the invasion of African land cannot be overlooked.
Why did the British take over the Cape from the Dutch?
When Great Britain went to war with France in 1793, both countries tried to capture the Cape so as to control the important sea route to the East. Although the British relinquished the colony to the Dutch in the Treaty of Amiens (1802), they reannexed it in 1806 after the start of the Napoleonic Wars.
Who colonized Cape Town?
Dutch
Jan van Riebeeck, who founded the first colony at Cape Town in 1652, was an official of the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch marked their permanence by building a five-pointed stone castle on the shores of the bay, a structure that continues to dominate the city centre of Cape Town.
How did the Dutch colonize South Africa?
The Dutch settlement history in South Africa began in March 1647 with the shipwreck of the Dutch ship Nieuwe Haarlem. In 1652 a Dutch expedition of 90 Calvinist settlers under the command of Jan Van Riebeeck founded the first permanent settlement near the Cape of Good Hope.
What was the purpose of settling at the Cape?
The settlement at Table Bay became Cape Town, whose purpose was to supply fresh food and water to Dutch trading ships rounding the Cape of Good Hope on their voyages to and from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).
How did the Dutch come to settle in South Africa?
The Dutch settlement history in South Africa began in March 1647 with the shipwreck of the Dutch ship Nieuwe Haarlem. After their return to Holland a part of the shipwrecked tried to persuade the Dutch East India Company to open a trading center at the Cape.
When did the Dutch settle at the Cape?
1652
The first European settlement in southern Africa was established in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company at Table Bay, 30 miles (48 km) north of the cape.