On 18 May 1899, a statue of the first European to settle at the Cape, Jan van Riebeeck, was unveiled. The statue stands on Heerengracht Street in Cape Town. It was sculpted in bronze by John Tweed and donated to the city by Cecil John Rhodes, a politician and financier of the late 19th century. Near this statue, at the bottom end of Adderley Street, are statues of Bartholomew Dias, a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach the Cape of Good Hope in 1487, and Maria van Riebeeck, wife of Jan van Riebeeck.

On 10 October 1893, Natal's first ministry was formed, with Sir John Robinson as Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and Colonial Secretary. Robinson, who is regarded as a loyal Natalian, first came to South Africa as a child in 1850. He later became a journalist and political leader, and was joint founder and the first editor of The Natal Mercury, together with his father, George Robinson. He became the owner of the publication in 1855. After devoting his time to the newspaper, Robinson went on to play an important role in Natal politics for over three decades.

Harold Cressy, co-founder of the Teachers League of South Africa (TLSA), educationist and teacher, is born in Rorke's Drift, Kwazulu-Natal. He was the only Black student of the South African College, now the University of Cape Town. During his studies, having been denied entry to the Rhodes University College in Grahamstown and Victoria College in Stellenbosch, now the University of Stellenbosch, because of his race.

Frederick Timpson l'Ons (85), SA painter of the early life in the Eastern Cape, died in Grahamstown. He was born in Islington, Middlesex, England on 15 November 1802 and, accompanied by his wife, moved to the Cape Colony in 1834. They settled in the district of Albany, Eastern Cape, shortly before the sixth Frontier War broke out. His works portrayed life on the frontier and included portraits of the Khoikhoi and Africans as well as landscapes.

The first arrival of Muslims in South Africa took place in the 17th century, when Malay slaves were brought to the Cape. This was followed by the arrival of free Muslims and political exiles from Sumatra. By the mid 18th century, Islam had spread significantly amongst the Cape slave population. By 1804, Muslims had been granted religious freedom and in 1805, they had been allocated a piece of land - the Tana Baru Cemetery - for burial purposes. In 1886, the cemetery was closed under the Public Health Act of 1883. This left the Muslim community with no alternate burial ground.

The newly appointed British High Commissioner for Southern Africa delivers to Cetshwayo the Zulu king to disband his army, handover offenders. Frere who was appointed in 1877 wanted to pursue the idea of creating a Confederation of all Southern African territories, with a view to being appointed Governor of the entire region. Frere immediately realised that Cetshwayo was a major stumbling block in the attempt to bring all of Southern Africa under British control.

Piet Retief completes the manifesto that sets out the reasons why the Voortrekkers are leaving the Cape Colony. It is published in English in the Graham's Town Journal on 2 February 1937. To understand the mass emigration of the Afrikaans frontier farmers out of the Cape Colony it is important to look at the circumstances in the Cape at that time. On the one hand there was ongoing conflict between these farmers and the Xhosa inhabitants on the frontier, as well as growing resentment between the farmers and the British colonial authorities.

The Mfengu (or Fingo in the colonial lexicon) were defeated and left landless by King Shaka's Zulu army, and slowly arrived in Xhosa territory over a period of time. By the 1830's, a centre of Mfengu settlement had been established around the Methodist missionary station in Butterworth (Eastern Cape), where missionary John Ayliff was stationed. By 1835, the relations between the Mfengu and the Xhosa groups under Hinsta had become strained, and the Mfengu were feeling vulnerable without land to call their own.

John Thomas Baines was born in England on 27 November 1820. Apprenticed to a coach painter at a young age, he left for South Africa in 1842 to work as a portrait artist. Baines was first employed as a painter for a cabinet maker, and then as a marine and portrait painter. In 1848, he moved to the Eastern Cape, from where he took three journeys into the interior, one of which was past the Orange River. Baines recorded the Eighth Frontier War and became South Africa's first official war artist.

"I am an African.