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Colonisation of the Cape

The VOC at the Cape: the refreshment station, the free burghers, slavery and the consequences for the Khoikhoi. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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From post to colony

1647The Haerlem is wrecked inTable Bay1652Van Riebeeck and the VOCfound a refreshment station1657The first free burghersalong the Liesbeek River1659War: Khoikhoi fight fortheir grazing land1666–1679The Castle of Good Hope isbuilt1688The Huguenots arrive1706Adam Tas’s protest1806Britain takes the Capepermanently1834Slavery abolished;apprenticeship until 1838
The post became a colony as farmers pushed steadily inland.
  • In 1660 Van Riebeeck planted a hedge of wild almonds as a border with the Khoikhoi. Simon van der Stel founded Stellenbosch.
  • The VOC planted vegetables and fruit for ships. Bartering: swapping goods without money.
The free burghers’ farms along the Liesbeek River.
The free burghers’ farms along the Liesbeek River.
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Slavery and language

The VOC imported enslaved labour because workers were needed and the Khoikhoi refused. Enslaved people did farm, domestic and trade work; the Company’s slaves were housed in the Slave Lodge in Cape Town. An enslaved person who gained freedom is a freed person. Afrikaans grew out of contact between people at the Cape. 1652 is a contested date: history does not begin there.

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Remember this: your summary
  • The VOC (Dutch East India Company) founded a refreshment station in 1652 under Jan van Riebeeck to supply ships with fresh food.
  • The Cape was halfway to the East, with fresh water; Van Riebeeck’s ships: Drommedaris, Reijger and Goede Hoop. First building: a fort.
  • The Khoikhoi and San already lived there; the Khoikhoi lost grazing land and cattle (war in 1659).
  • Free burghers: VOC employees allowed to farm, but they could sell only to the VOC, at fixed prices.
  • Enslaved people from Madagascar, India, the East Indies (Indonesia), East Africa (Mozambique) and, at first, West Africa: a society founded on inequality. The first large groups of enslaved people arrived in 1658 on the ships Amersfoort and Hasselt.

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Memory trick

1652: a kitchen for ships (refreshment station) that became a colony.

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Important words

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