An administrator for the Dutch East India Company (DEIC), van Riebeeck landed at the southern tip of Africa on 6 April 1652 in order to create a settlement for the DEIC. His arrival therefore opened South Africa for white settlement.
Van Riebeeck remains a prominent figure in the early history of colonial South Africa, and he was commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope from 1652 until 1662.
02Giliomee et al. (2007), New History of South Africa. Tafelberg Publishers: Cape Town. pg 42.
Last updated · 30 Sep 2019
Cite this entry
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, is born. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010813
South African History Online (2011) 'Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, is born', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010813 (Accessed: 7 August 2026).
South African History Online, Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, is born [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010813, (accessed 7 August 2026).
"Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, is born." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010813. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.
South African History Online. "Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, is born." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010813.
