- History of South Africa (1652–1815)
Although the Portuguese basked in the nautical achievement of successfully navigating the cape, they showed little interest in colonization. The area's fierce weather and rocky shoreline posed a threat to their ships, and many of their attempts to trade with the local
Khoikhoi ended in conflict. The Portuguese found the Mozambican coast more attractive, with appealing bays to use as waystations,prawn s, and links to gold ore in the interior.The Portuguese had little competition in the region until the late 16th century, when the English and Dutch began to challenge them along their
trade route s. Stops at the continent's southern tip increased, and the cape became a regular stopover forscurvy -ridden crews. In1647 , a Dutch vessel was wrecked in the present-dayTable Bay atCape Town . The marooned crew, the first Europeans to attempt settlement in the area, built afort and stayed for a year until they were rescued. Shortly thereafter, theDutch East India Company (in the Dutch of the day: "Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie", or VOC) decided to establish a permanent settlement. The VOC, one of the major European trading houses sailing the spice route to the East, had no intention of colonizing the area, instead wanting only to establish a secure base camp where passing ships could shelter, and where hungry sailors could stock up on fresh supplies ofmeat ,fruit , andvegetable s. To this end, a small VOC expedition under the command ofJan van Riebeeck reached Table Bay onApril 6 ,1652 .Arrival of the Dutch
While the new settlement
trade d out of necessity with the neighbouring Khoikhoi, one could hardly describe the relationship as friendly, and the authorities made deliberate attempts to restrict contact. Partly as a consequence, VOC employees found themselves faced with a labour shortage. To remedy this, they released a small number of Dutch from theircontract s and permitted them to establish farms, with which they would supply the great VOC settlement from theirharvest s. This arrangement proved highly successful, producing abundant supplies of fruit, vegetables,wheat , andwine ; they later raised livestock. The small initial group of freeburgher s, as these farmers were known, steadily increased and began to expand their farms further north and east into the territory of the Khoikhoi.The majority of burghers had Dutch ancestry and belonged to the
Calvnist Reformed Church of the Netherlands , but there were also numerous Germans as well as someScandinavia ns. In1688 the Dutch and the Germans were joined by the FrenchHuguenots , alsoCalvinist s, who were fleeing religious persecution under King Louis XIV.In addition to establishing the free burgher system, van Riebeeck and the VOC began to make indentured servants out of the Khoikhoi and the San. They additionally began to import large numbers of slaves, primarily from
Madagascar andIndonesia . These slaves often married Dutch settlers, and their descendants became known as theCape Coloureds and theCape Malays . A significant number of the offspring from the White and slave unions were absorbed into the local protoAfrikaans speaking White population. With this additional labour, the areas occupied by the VOC expanded further to the north and east, with inevitable clashes with the Khoikhoi. The newcomers drove the beleaguered Khohikhoi from their traditional lands and destroyed them with superiorweapon s when they fought back, which they did in a number of major wars and with guerrilla resistance movements which continued into the 19th century. Europeans also broughtdisease s which had devastating effects against people whose immune system was not adapted to them. Most survivors were left with no option but to work for the Europeans in an exploitative arrangement that differed little fromslavery . Over time, the Khoisan, their European overseers, and the imported slaves mixed, with the offspring of these unions forming the basis for today'sColoured population.The best-known Khoikhoi groups included the
Griqua , who had originally lived on the western coast betweenSt Helena Bay and theCederberg Range . In the late 18th century, they managed to acquiregun s andhorse s and begantrek king northeast. En route other groups of Khoisan, Coloureds, and even white adventurers joined them, and they rapidly gained a reputation as a formidablemilitary force. Ultimately, the Griquas reached the Highveld around present-day Kimberley, where they carved out territory that came to be known asGriqualand .Burgher expansion
As the burghers, too, continued to expand into the rugged hinterlands of the north and east, many began to take up a semi-nomadic pastoralist lifestyle, in some ways not far removed from that of the Khoikhoi they displaced. In addition to its herds, a family might have a
wagon , atent , aBible , and a few guns. As they became more settled, they would build amud -walledcottage , frequently located, by choice, days of travel from the nearest European. These were the first of theTrekboer s (Wandering Farmers, later shortened toBoer s), completely independent of official controls, extraordinarily self-sufficient, and isolated. Their harsh lifestyle produced individualists who were well acquainted with the land. Like many pioneers with Christian backgrounds, the burghers attempted to live their lives based on teachings from theBible .
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