The history of Cape Town

1497

The Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama finds his way to India and passes the Cape of Good Hope.

1522

The first circumnavigation of the world under Magellan reaches the Cape of Good Hope. However, the captain was already dead at this point because he was murdered in the Philippines. 

1580

Sir Francis Drake passes the Cape on his circumnavigation.  

1605

The first Dutch ship of the VOC arrives in Cape Town Bay.   

1652

Jan van Riebeek founds the city of Kaapstad as a supply post for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to secure the route to Batavia (Jakarta). Ten years later, the town has 75 residents. 

1688

Huguenots from France flee to Kaapstad and introduce viticulture. 

1795

The British Empire conquers the Dutch city of Kaapstad and rename it Cape Town.

1829

The University of Cape Town is founded.   

1834

The British prohibit slavery. Many Dutch settlers called "Boers" leave the Cape Province and move inland. These Voortrekkers penetrate into areas inhabited by native people and fierce fighting ensues. 

1880

The British annex the Boer Republic of the Transvaal. The first war between the Boers and the English breaks out. The Boers beat the English in Majuba . 

1886 

Gold is discovered in Johannesburg.     

1902

The British win the second Boer War, because they killed 25,000 women and children in concentration camps to destroy the morale of the opposing fighters. This event still weighs heavily on the relationship between the British and Dutch population of South Africa.   

1927

The Immorality Act prohibits sexual relations between different races. 

1960

In Johannesburg, 69 opponents of the apartheid are shot dead by the police. 

1962

Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island.

1990

Apartheid comes to an end and Nelson Mandela is released from prison.  

1991

Cape Town has a population of 854,000 inhabitants.  

1994 

In the first democratic elections in the history of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was elected president.

2010

Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Spain wins the World Cup by a 1:0 victory against the Netherlands.

2021

In Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality live around 3.7 million people, in an area of ​​2,460 square kilometers.