By Kenneth Davison

South Africa has a rich and colourful history but there was a landmark event that occurred in 1652. Jan van Riebeeck of the Dutch East India Company, was commissioned to establish a halfway station for ships traveling from Europe to Asia so that they could get fresh water and food. This halfway station is today known as Cape Town and is the oldest city in South Africa.

The colony was the first instance of Europeans settling in South Africa, although it was not the first contact of Europeans with the Cape. Up till that point, the Cape had been inhabited by the Khoi-san, hunter-gatherers who still inhabit regions of the Western and Northern Cape. The Cape was discovered by Europeans when Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias arrived in the Cape in 1488. Later, Vasco da Gama landed in the Cape in 1497. Today, there are two stunning monuments located in Cape Point, a national park near Cape Town which is a must for any visitor of Cape Town.

The Cape Colony grew quickly with shelters, farms and gardens being established. The most famous and oldest gardens, the Company Gardens, can still be found in Cape Town. By 1679, the Castle of Good Hope had been built and is the oldest building in South Africa. The Castle can still be seen in the Cape Town city centre and can be visited daily. In this same year, Simon van der Stel became governor and established a wine industry at Stellenbosch, which is renowned World-wide for wines of the highest calibre. Stellenbosch is only a half an hour drive away from Cape Town.

In 1754, the British, who were at war with France and the Netherlands at the time, successfully invaded the Cape Colony. The colony was returned to the Dutch in 1802 but by 1814, the British took full control of the Colony again. These events would eventually spur a large group of Dutch settlers to leave the Cape in ‘the Great Trek’, and establish cities around South Africa. The discovery of gold and diamonds in the interior of South Africa led to a boom in wealth and industry. Cape Town benefitted from this boom as it was the primary port of South Africa.

Cape Town has traditionally been a liberal city. However, the country in general became very conservative in the 20th century. The conservative society led to the establishment of Apartheid, an atrocity of human rights, and Cape Town became an important venue due to its proximity to Robben Island.

Robben Island has been primarily used as a prison since the 17th century as it is close enough to Cape Town to travel to quickly and yet a near-impossible location to escape from. It has also been used a military base, a hospital and today there is a small community of people who live on the island. However, despite all these activities, Robben Island is most famous for imprisoning Apartheid activists such as Nelson Mandela, OR Tambo and Robert Sobukwe.

Robben Island is a World Heritage site today, and can be visited through the Robben Island Museum, which has an office in the V&A Waterfront. From this office you will be ferried to the island where you can have a tour of facility, and there you can see Nelson Mandela’s prison cell and other sites, such as the unit they isolated Robert Sobukwe in, to prevent him from spreading his dangerous ideological words. This is the one thing you must do if you are interested in history, or South Africa.

Some sites to visit:

Cape Point

Cape Town Company Gardens

Castle of Good Hope

Robben Island Museum