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EventNapoleon assembles his army near Aboukir, Egypt
The First Battle of Aboukir was a decisive victory for the French and secured France's occupation of Eqypt. In June 1798 Napoleon's army departed France to…
EventKuruman missionary Robert Moffat is born
Robert Moffat, missionary of the London Missionary Society at Kuruman and father-in-law of Dr David Livingstone, was born in Ormiston, Scotland, to a working…
The Swellendam Republic accepts British rule
The Reverend Abraham Faure is born
EventOldest example of written Afrikaans appears in a poem
On 7 August 1795, British forces launched an amphibious assault on Dutch defensive positions at Muizenberg during their campaign to capture the Cape Colony…
Cape district of Graaf
EventThe ship São José is wrecked
The Portuguese battleship São José Paquete Africa (also, São José-Paquete de Africa) was grounded in Camps Bay, Cape, with nearly 500 slaves on board. The ship…
Early Cape lawyer Johannes de Wet is born
EventAndries Hendrik Potgieter is born
Andries Hendrik Potgieter, the leader of a Voortrekker group which he led during the battle of Vegkop when attacked by the Matabele (Ndebele), was born in the…
EventSimon Hendrik Freykenius and Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh arrive at the Cape to assist dissatisfied burghers
On 23 June 1792, Simon Hendrik Freykenius and Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh arrived in the Cape. Both Freykenius and Nederburgh were Commissioner-Generals of…
EventFearon Fallows, first Astronomer Royal at the Cape, is born in England
Fearon Fallows, the first Astronomer Royal at the Cape, was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland on 4 July 1789. The son of a weaver, he was brought up in the…
EventBritish create the settlement of Sierra Leone, for freed slaves
The colony of Sierra Leone was conceived by British philanthropists and abolitionists as a home for African slaves freed in England. A Temne king sold a strip…
Graaff-Reinet
EventLouis Trichardt, Voortrekker leader, is born near Oudtshoorn 225 years ago
Louis Trichardt was one of the Voortrekker leaders. He was born near Oudtshoorn in the Karoo on 10 August 1783. The Voortrekkers (Afrikaans and Dutch for…
EventPiet Retief is baptized in Drakenstein, Western Cape
Piet Retief was one of the leaders of the Great Trek that introduced Afrikaner settlement to the interior. Prior to their departure from Cape Town he wrote a…
EventPiet Retief, Voortrekker leader, is born
On 12 October 1780 Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief was born at Wagenmakers Vallei, now known as Wellington. Retief grew up on the vineyard, Welvanpas, in what…
The Orange River is named in honour of Prince William V of Orange by Col. Robert Gordon
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…