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Lang Hans van Rensburg, early Voortrekker leader, is born
Cape boundary extended to Fish and Bushman’s rivers
EventWolraad Woltemade drowns at sea after saving 14 people from a sinking ship
On 1 June 1773, the Jonge Thomas, a Dutch East India ship, was anchored at the mouth of the Salt River in Table Bay. In the early hours of the morning, a storm…
EventLord Charles Henry Somerset, governor of the Cape Colony, is born in Badminton, England
Lord Charles Somerset, who became the British Governor at the Cape from 1814 to 1826, was born in Badminton England on 12 December 1767. Under his term as…
EventDutch East Indian Company expedition into the interior
August Friedrich Beutler was employed by the Dutch East Indian Company to lead an exploration expedition into the Eastern Cape. Apart from valuable information…
EventFirst public service of the Church of England in South Africa
The Church of England or Anglican Church is the oldest of the English speaking denominations in South Africa. The first recorded public worship of the Church…
Commandant Tjaart van der Walt is born
The first missionary arrives at the Cape
9 Ships run ashore in Table Bay
Nine ships were wrecked and 208 lives lost in Table Bay during a severe gale at the Cape, proving again that the Cape was quite aptly called 'Cape of Storms' …
EventJan de la Fontaine becomes Governor at the Cape
Jan de la Fontaine, an employee of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), served as acting governor from 8 September 1724 to 25 February 1727. Pieter Gijsbert…
Hendrik Hop, leader of an expedition north of the Orange River, is born
EventSmallpox Epidemic Strikes at the Cape
Introduction: Smallpox epidemic strikes the refreshment station at the Cape, after arriving with the crew on a Dutch ship. The disease wreaks irreparable…
EventThe burghers were victorious in their struggle against Cape Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel and his officials
On 22 February 1707 a young man on horseback raced through the streets of Stellenbosch shouting "Victorie! Victorie!" - a sign that the Burghers were…
EventAdam Tas is arrested
Magistrate Starrenburg arrested Adam Tas because of the role he played in drawing up a petition for the Cape burghers against the incumbent Governor W. A. van…
Date of the first preserved entry in the journal of Adam Tas, an early Cape Dutch ‘free burger’
EventMerenstejin Sinks
The Merenstejin, (or Merenstein as it is now spelled) a Dutch merchant ship that was built in Amsterdam, Holland in 1693 with a passenger capacity of 315, is…
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
EventSheikh Yusuf, regarded as the founder of the Islamic faith in the Cape, dies at Zandvliet (Macassar)
In the late 1600s many Muslim men of wealth and influence were banished to the Cape from their homeland in the East because the Dutch feared them as a threat…
Simon van der Stel is succeeded by his eldest son
Simon van der Stel, who became commander of the Cape on 12 October 1679 and was promoted to governor in 1691, was succeeded by his eldest son, Willem Adriaan…
EventSheik Yusuf arrives at the Cape of Good Hope
Sheik Yusuf, Islamic leader and brother of the sultan of Macassar, was banished to the Cape by the Dutch East India Company (DEIC). He arrived on board De…
A French minister, Pierre Simond, joins the Huguenots at the Cape by order of the Heeren XVII (Lords Seventeen)
Pierre Simond, a Huguenot minister, was born in 1651 in Nion (Dauphine). After studying theology he became a minister at Montjoux and then at Embrun. After the…
EventThe Dutch East India Company decides to send French Huguenot refugees to the Cape
On 3 October 1685 the Dutch East India Company in Amsterdam decided to send French Huguenot refugees to the Cape for settlement. The Huguenots were French…
Regulations concerning slaves implemented
EventThe Castle of Good Hope, oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa, is completed.
The Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa. Built between 1666 and 1679, the castle replaced a small clay and timber…
Survey counts 953 people at the Cape
First census conducted at the Cape
The end of the second KhoiKhoi war
EventThe four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid
On 2 January 1666 the four corner stones of the Castle of Good Hope (Kasteel van Goede Hoop) at the Cape were laid by Zacharias Wagenaer, Johan van Arckel,…
EventJonas de la Guerre leaves the Cape in an expedition to the north
On this day Sergeant Jonas de la Guerre left the Cape to venture north in search for the "great river that flowed east to west" and to "investigate trade…