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France’s Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on the island of St. Helena
EventCorner stone of Mission Church is laid in Graaff-Reinet
After magistrate Andries Stockenstrom had donated a piece of land and six windows, building started on the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in Graaff-Reinet. The…
EventJohn Thomas Baines, South African painter, traveller and writer, is born
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…
EventCape of Good Hope Royal Observatory is founded
On 20 October, 1820, South Africa’s first permanent modern observatory was erected at the Cape of Good Hope (now known as Cape Town) byFearon Fallows, a…
EventScottish missionary, Robert Moffat arrives in Northern Cape
Robert Moffat, Scottish missionary of the London Missionary Society (LMS), arrived at Maruping, ten km from present day Kuruman, to assist with missionary work…
EventFlorence Nightingale, British nurse in the Crimean War, is born
Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820 in Florence, Italy. From an early age, she felt it was her calling to become a nurse, but mainly due to class and…
EventThe first British Settlers arrive in Algoa Bay
The first British Settlers, known as 1820 Settlers arrived in Algoa Bay, (now Port Elizabeth) on board of twenty-one ships, the first being the Chapman. They…
EventThe first 1820 British Settlers arrive in South Africa
After the Napoleonic wars, Britain experienced a serious unemployment problem. Therefore, encouraged by the British government to immigrate to the Cape colony,…
The fifth Frontier War: Sangoma Makana attacks Grahamstown under the patronage of Xhosa Chief Ndlambe, and is defeated
EventThe ‘Hospital and Lunatic Asylum’, the first civilian hospital in Cape Town, is opened
In the early 1800s, there was only one hospital for army men in the Cape, as well as a naval hospital in Simonstown. So, in order to set up the first civilian…
Voortrekker Jan Bantjes is born
EventSomerset concludes a treaty with Ngqika (aka Gaika)
On this day 1817, Cape Governor Lord Charles Somerset concluded a treaty with the Xhosa chief, Ngqika (who was also known as Gaika). The treaty was concluded…
EventSlachter’s Nek rebels are hanged
In 1815, tensions between the British and Dutch were running high. The Dutch settlers strongly (and correctly) suspected the British of resenting their…
EventThe Slagtersnek rebels are tried in the Uithenhage landdros court
Frederik Bezuidenhout owned a farm east of the Cape Colony. After reports surfaced that he was allegedly mistreating one of his Khoikhoi laborers, he was…
EventBritish troopship wrecked – 372 drown
The British troopship Arniston was wrecked on the rocks at what is now called Arniston in Marcus Bay, about twenty-five kilometres from Cape Agulhas. Of the…
The Cape Colony is ceded to Britain
George Christopher Cato is born
Isaac Baumann, Bloemfontein pioneer and trader, is born in Germany
Judges of the Black Circuit return to the Cape
EventSlave rebellion at the Cape led by Louis of Mauritius. Over 300 slaves and Khoi Khoi servants from outlying farms marched on Cape Town demanding their freedom
This was the first such 'mass movement" against slavery and oppression at the Cape, and suggests a deep awareness around issues of abolition and freedom held…
EventLand beyond the Great Berg River is annexed
The district of Clanwilliam celebrates its second centenary on 1 February 2008. On 1 February 1808 the territory north of the Great Berg River, at the foot of…
EventBritish Parliament passes the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act
On this date, The British Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The Act outlawed all slave trade within the British Empire, but did not…
EventThe Battle of Blaauwberg takes place
On 8 January 1806 the Battle of Blaauwberg takes place, and part of the defending force capitulates two days later. Cape Governor Janssens and the rest of the…
Huguenot Church is consecrated
EventJacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist and his daughter Augusta leave on an exploration of the interior
On 9 October 1803, Jacob Abraham de Mist, Commissioner General, left Cape Town on a 167 day journey into the interior, accompanied by his daughter, Augusta, a…
Henry Francis Fynn, Natal pioneer and settler, dies in Durban
EventBritain returns the Cape to the Netherlands and the flag of the Batavian Republic is hoisted on the Castle
In terms of the Treaty of Amiens, signed in 1802 (between England and France), the British officially returned the Cape Colony to the Netherlands on 21…
EventThabo Mbeki is elected 2nd President of a democratic South Africa
Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as South Africa's second democratically elected president in front of a vast crowd of dancing and cheering supporters. The…
EventExtracts from one of South African President Thabo Mbeki’s most stirring speeches
"I am an African. I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the…