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The Khoikhoi carry out a series of raids on the free burghers’ herds
With the coming of the Dutch settlers, the Khoikhoi faced a stronger demand for their cattle. Trade disputes and charges of theft caused great tension between…
EventVan Riebeeck establishes the first burgher commando
Jan van Riebeeck established the Burgher Militia a few days before a Khoi-Khoi (Hottentot) rising, sometimes called the 'First Hottentot War' (though it was…
Herry*, also known as Autshumao, Khoi
EventFirst formal school opens at the Cape
Jan van Riebeeck, commander at the Cape, wrote in his diary that a school for slaves has been started. Sick-comforter Pieter van der Stael was the first…
Jan Hendrik Boom becomes one of the first free burghers
EventThe Directors of the Dutch East India Company propose Hout Bay to Jan van Riebeeck as a possible area to settle some Dutch families
Hout Bay is a sheltered cove along South Africa's Cape Peninsula. Before European settlement, the area was populated by Khoisan hunter-gathers who lived…
Van Riebeeck states first butter is churned at the Cape
EventJan van Riebeeck visits Robben Island for the first time
Robben Island is the largest of the nearby coastal islands around the Cape. In the nearly four centuries of European settlement it has been used for numerous…
EventThe first family at the Cape moves into the fort
On 4 June 1652, sick-comforter at the Cape, Willem Barentz Wijlant and his wife became the first people to move into the semi-completed fortress, the Fort de…
EventVan Riebeeck lands at the Cape
On 24 December 1651, accompanied by his wife and son, Jan van Riebeeck set off from Texel in The Netherlands for the Cape of Good Hope. Van Riebeeck had signed…
Janszen and Proot recommend settlement at the Cape in ‘Remonstrantie’
EventLeendert Janszen, junior merchant of the VOC, recommends settlement at the Cape
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was established as a trading company in 1602, with the aim of monopolising trade in East Asia, in particular the spice trade…
EventThe Dutch Indiaman, the Nieuwe Haerlem, is wrecked in a storm in Table Bay
Since Bartholomew Dias managed to circumnavigate the Cape in 1488 in an attempt to find a sea route to the spice lands of East Asia, numerous Dutch ships,…
EventSimon van der Stel, commander and governor of the Cape, is born
Simon van der Stel was born on 14 October 1639 in Mauritius, the son of Adrian van der Stel, a Dutch East India Company (DEIC) official and Maria Lievens, the…
EventJan van Riebeeck, Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope, is born
Founder of and first commander of Cape Town, Johan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck, was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands on 21 April 1619. An administrator for…
EventThe Santo Alberto is wrecked
The Portuguese cargo ship Santo Alberto was wrecked on the coast of Pondoland, south-west of the mouth of the Umtata River. Through admirable leadership of the…
EventThe first missionary in Southern Africa, Gonçalo da Silveira, is murdered
Gonçalo da Silveira was a Jesuit Priest born and educated in Portugal. He was a missionary in India, acting as provincial superior for the Jesuits, before he…
EventThe ship São Bento (St Benedict) is wrecked on the Transkei coast
Though the date on which the São Bento was shipwrecked is under dispute (some sources claim the ship was wrecked on the 22 April 1554), the reason for the…
EventDisaster strikes as Portuguese ship São João sinks
The Portuguese ship São João went down near the mouth of the Mzimvubu River (at the present Port St. Johns) with 600 people on board. The ship was returning…
EventVasco da Gama dies
Vasco da Gama, Portuguese seafarer who discovered a sea route from Europe to Asia around the southern point of Africa, died on his final voyage to India as…
EventBartholomew Dias, Portuguese discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope, drowns at sea
The first European known to set foot on South African soil was Bartholomew (or Bartolomeu) Dias. In December 1487 Dias sailed down the African coast, landing…
EventExplorer and navigator Vasco da Gama completes his voyage round the Cape of Good Hope to India
Vasco Da Gama was of noble birth and was the son of an explorer, however little else is known about his early life. Da Gama was said to have been educated in…
EventPortuguese sailors reach St Helena Bay
Vasco da Gama's Voyage of "Discovery" The reason for putting "discovery" in inverted commas is because the land was not, as so many explorers argue,…
EventVasco da Gama’s expedition reaches St Helena Bay
The Portuguese expedition set off from the Tagus River on 8 July 1497 with a crew of 148 men in a squadron of three square-riggers, the Sao Gabriel, the Sao…
EventPortuguese navigator Bartholomew Dias erects the first stone cross on the South African coast
Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Dias erects his first padrÁƒo, or stone cross, at Kwaaihoek near the mouth of the Bushman's River on the Eastern Cape coast…
EventBartolomeu Dias reaches present Mossel Bay
Bartolomeu Dias discovered that he had sailed past the southern-most point of Africa. A strong wind had driven him so far south of Cape Point that he did not…
EventBartolomeu Dias enters Luderitz Bay
Portuguese seafarer Bartolomeu Dias enters the wide bay now known as Luderitz Bay after sailing for three weeks along the arid Namibia coast of south west…
EventNoble South Africans win Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is considered by many to be a symbol of international recognition over the prize winners struggle to create a more peaceful world. South…
World Oceans Day
May Day
On 1 May, South Africa will enjoy Worker's Day (effectively a May Day holiday). Worker's Day celebrates the role played by Trade Unions, the Communist Party…