City of Cape Town Link

What is our history?

<div class="ExternalClass76AB5714763549178A318D209DD60EDC"><p>Learn more about Cape Town’s history – both natural and cultural. </p></div>

<h2 class="sectHeading">The Mother City </h2><p>Cape Town's rich natural and cultural heritage is unique: a mixture of slave heritage, struggle history, stunning natural beauty, world heritage sites, important events and quirky local stories, spectacular winelands and distinct architecture – all here in one metropolitan area.</p><p>Remember, Cape Town is not just the central city; it stretches from the South Peninsula all the way to Gordon’s Bay in the east, beyond Mamre in the north, and includes the winelands area around Durbanville.</p><p>History tells the stories of meetings between different groups of people. From the indigenous Khoisan, the amaBantu, European explorers and colonisers, to migrants and slaves, all of these groups of people have contributed to the development of Cape Town of today.</p><h2 class="sectHeading">Our first people</h2><p>The area around Cape Town was inhabited by San hunter-gatherers for many thousands of years. Then, around 2 000 years ago, they were joined by pastoralists, the Khoikhoi or Khoekhoe, who migrated here seeking water and grazing land for their large herds of cattle and sheep. The arrival of Europeans ended their traditional lifestyle. The Cape’s early people became displaced or assimilated into a new, modernising culture.</p><span><div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact"></i></div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p> <b></b>In 1658, the banished Goringhaikona chief Autshumato (called Harry), who worked as an interpreter for the Dutch, was the first of very few known to have escaped alive from Robben Island.</p></div></div></span><h2 class="sectHeading">The early city</h2><p>Cape Town is recognised as the first ‘modern’ city in southern Africa. It had a head start – of about two hundred years – over other modern cities in the region. If it wasn’t for the fresh water flowing from Table Mountain into the streams and springs of what is now Adderley Street, the Cape of Good Hope would not have been established by Jan van Riebeeck as a fresh food refreshment station for ships on their way to the East. Without that, Cape Town would be a very different place today. </p><p>Under the control of the Dutch, our city grew as a global trade port and agricultural destination. The city continued to grow as indigenous and foreign migrants settled here, either coming to Cape Town willingly or brought in as indentured workers and slaves. Explore more of our <a href="https://www.capetown.gov.za/Local%20and%20communities/Heritage-and-the-community/Heritage-sites-and-buildings/Museums-landmarks-and-heritage-sites">museums, landmarks and heritage sites</a>, and learn about Cape Town’s early history and population.</p><h2 class="sectHeading">Our slave history</h2><p>Slavery at the Cape of Good Hope had a deep influence on how our city developed. It is partly why we are a city with so many ethnicities and religions.</p><div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact"></i> </div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p>Slaves were lodged at what is now the <a href="https://www.iziko.org.za/museums/slave-lodge" target="_blank">Slave Lodge Museum<i class="icon link-external"></i></a> and then taken to settle in Bo-Kaap when the population got too big to be housed there.</p></div></div><p>Cape Town and its surrounding areas had the most culturally and ethnically diverse slave populations in the modern history of slavery. More than 63 000 people were brought as slaves between 1653 and 1808. They came from elsewhere in Africa, including Madagascar, as well as countries on the Indian Ocean (like India and Indonesia), and even as far away as China. </p><div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact"></i> </div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p> The <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Graphics%20and%20educational%20material/Heritage_The_Prestwich_Memorial_2015-12.pdf" target="_blank">Prestwich Memorial</a> is where the remains of 2 000 of the Cape’s 17th and 18th-century slaves and underclasses were reburied after they were discovered on a nearby construction site in 2003. Find out more about <a href="https://www.capetown.gov.za/Local%20and%20communities/Heritage-and-the-community/Heritage-sites-and-buildings/Walking-heritage-tours-of-the-city">our heritage walks</a> through the city.</p></div></div><p>Read more about the slave era in our <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Graphics%20and%20educational%20material/Enviroworks_Jul11.pdf" target="_blank"> Enviroworks Heritage Edition</a> as well as how the slave trade helped build our <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_03_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">prominent muslim community</a>.</p><div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact"></i> </div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p>The Cape Minstrel Carnival or Kaapse Klopse*, has its roots in slavery. Slaves had to work on New Year and were given time off on 2 January to celebrate ‘Tweede Nuwe Jaar’ (Second New Year). This two-day celebration is Cape Town’s longest-running street party and is filled with colourful costumes, glitter, sequins, song and dance. <br> <br> <em>* The word ‘klops’ is an Afrikaans slang expression for ‘clubs’. When the locals speak of ‘die Klopse’, they are talking about the clubs of participants who make the carnival such a success each year.</em></p></div></div><h2 class="sectHeading">Early to mid 20th century Cape Town</h2><p>Apartheid is arguably the most defining period of our early to mid 20th century and changed the way the city was planned and mapped. Non-white residents in Cape Town were not allowed to live in most parts of the city centre nor in the suburbs close to the CBD and Table Mountain. </p><p>Areas further away, like the Cape Flats, were created as townships for ‘non-whites’. Residents in these areas had little political power and were usually poor. Visit the <a href="https://www.districtsix.co.za/" target="_blank">District Six Museum<i class="icon link-external"></i></a> for a chance to explore the experience of forced removals and historical memory in Cape Town. We have been a democracy since 1994, but you can still see evidence of these divisions in our city’s geography, even while, as a city, we practice inclusivity and celebrate diversity. </p><div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact"></i> </div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p>Langa is one of South Africa's oldest neighbourhoods. It was the first township built in Cape Town for black South Africans. Its history is linked to the development of Cape Town jazz music and the anti-apartheid movement. Read more about Langa's rich heritage in the Langa heritage pamplhets in our document downloads section. </p></div></div><h2 class="sectHeading">History and heritage told though the coast </h2><p>The history of Cape Town’s ‘deep south’ (the area making up the peninsula) has been recorded in Stories of the South Peninsula. Each story in our online book is about real-life characters and events that have shaped our history and it is an incredible resource for discovering how our city and culture emerged in relation to the sea, the coast and the colourful mix of local characters. </p><p>View the <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_full_doc_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">complete e-book</a> or download individual chapters: </p><ul><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_01_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 1 - Beauty secrets of the south peninsula</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_02_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 2 - A graveyard of ships</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_03_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 3 - Sultans and slaves: the Muslim community of the deep south</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_04_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 4 - The lure of the sea </a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_05_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 5 - Whaling in false bay: then and now</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_06_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 6 - An alliance with the sun: randlords and diamond magnates</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_07_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 7 - Stories from the graves, graveyards and memorials of the south peninsula</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_08_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 8 - The battle of Muizenberg</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_09_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 9 - Fishermen of the south peninsula</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_10_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 10 - Explorers of the south peninsula</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_11_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 11 - Culture: language, education, faith and philosophy</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_12_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 12 - The group areas act and its aftermath in the south peninsula</a> </li><li> <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20research%20reports%20and%20review/Stories_of_the_South_Peninsula_chapter_13_2014-06.pdf" target="_blank">Chapter 13 - Princes, chiefs and other royals of the south peninsula</a> </li></ul><h2 class="sectHeading">Cape Town today</h2><p>Today we celebrate our multi-ethnic, democratic society. We believe we are working towards a more inclusive future. We are building a city that is safe, dynamic and appealing for all our residents and visitors.</p><p> <b>Some of Cape Town’s proudest recent moments: </b></p><ul><li> <strong>2010:</strong> South Africa hosts the FIFA World Cup. The Fan Walk with heritage signage and the Green Point Urban Park built. </li><li> <strong>2013/14:</strong> Land claims settled in Constantia for families who were forced to move off their land under apartheid’s Group Areas Act.</li><li> <strong>2015:</strong> The seven footbridges that cross Nelson Mandela Boulevard (N2) and Rhodes Drive (M3) are named after South African creative legends.</li><li> <strong>2015:</strong> The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation signs a lease for The Granary, one of Cape Town’s most significant heritage buildings. </li></ul><p> <strong>At the City we promote five core principles for a strong and positive society. We are building a Cape Town that is: </strong></p><ul><li> <strong>A city of opportunity</strong> – with economic growth and jobs for all</li><li> <strong>A city of inclusion</strong> – a place for all people</li><li> <strong>A well-run city</strong> – with excellent services and pro-active citizenship </li><li> <strong>A safe city</strong> – where we do not have to be afraid </li><li> <strong>A caring city</strong> – where we can all support each other and build strong future generations</li></ul>

Cape Town has a rich and varied history and a unique natural and cultural heritage.

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