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The Dutch and the Huguenots at the Cape

The Dutch, Huguenots and Germans at the Cape: free burghers, vineyards, Adam Tas and a lasting legacy. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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The colony grows

A colony is a settlement ruled by a far-away country; the VOC governed through a governor. The VOC did not want a big colony, because it cost too much. Farmers grew wheat, grapes, cattle and sheep. Free burghers were unhappy because they had to sell to the VOC at prices it set, and officials like Van der Stel competed with them. The Khoikhoi lost more and more grazing and water.

The Huguenots planted vineyards in Franschhoek.
The Huguenots planted vineyards in Franschhoek.
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The Germans

  • Many VOC soldiers and sailors came from German lands: surnames like Kruger and Muller. German did not survive, because most were single men who married Dutch-speaking women.
  • Georg Schmidt started Genadendal in 1738. In the 1850s German settlers came near East London: Berlin, Hamburg, Stutterheim.
  • Legacy: Afrikaans, vineyards and family names. The Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek remembers them.
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Remember this: your summary
  • The VOC released the first free burghers to farm along the Liesbeek River in 1657, because the Company could not grow enough food.
  • The Huguenots were French Protestants fleeing persecution (the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685); the first large group came in 1688 (the Voorschoten).
  • They got land in Franschhoek (“French corner”) and Drakenstein (Paarl) and improved grape farming. By 1692 there were about 200.
  • Simon van der Stel settled them among the Dutch burghers, so French disappeared within a few generations. Surnames: Du Toit, De Villiers.
  • Adam Tas led the free burghers’ protest against Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel in 1706.

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Memory trick

52-57-88: 1652 VOC, 1657 free burghers, 1688 Huguenots.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

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