Cape Town
The Freedom struggle in Cape Town
Table of contents:
- Black Consciousness and student revolt in the Cape
- Cape Town Civic and Community Organisations, 1980s
- Negotiations and the transition
- Early struggles, contact and conflict in the Cape Colony
- Establishment of the Cape and its impact on Khoikhoi and Dutch
- Slavery
- The growth of trade unionism in Cape Town and the formation of early political organisations
- Growth of African Nationalism and Defiance
- Increasing repression and the turn to the armed struggle
- Growing social unrest: Community mobilisation, strikes and student protests in the Western Cape in the 1980s
- Conflict among civic organisations
- Formation and launch of the UDF
- Conclusion
Early struggles, contact and conflict in the Cape Colony
Table of Contents:
- Early struggles, contact and conflict in the Cape Colony
- Confrontation and cooption
The rounding of the Cape and the establishment of the trade route to the Far East had far reaching consequences not just for the Cape, but for Southern Africa. Firstly, ‘discovery’ of the Cape by European sailors resulted in the increasing use of the Cape coast as a trading area. Vasco da Gama who sailed round the Cape all the way to India, stopped briefly and bartered for cattle with the Khoikhoi on 26 November 1497. With the discovery of the route to India, European sailors increasingly set up temporary tents along the coast to facilitate trading with the Khoikhoi.
Secondly, frequent contact between the Khoikhoi and European sailors increased tensions and resulted in outbreak of armed confrontation either over trade disputes or resources. This was even before the establishment of the Cape as a trade and refreshment outpost. The Khoikhoi fought to defend what they viewed as unfair exchanges during battering and in defence of their cattle when sailors attempted to take them by force. For instance, in 1503 Antonio de Saldanha, a Portuguese fleet commander, sailed into Table Bay and then disembarked to follow the freshwater stream to the foot of Table Mountain. During the visit, the Portuguese attempted to barter with the Khoikhoi. They offered mirrors, glass beads and a rattle in return apparently for two sheep and a cow. When the sailors took the animals away, a group of 200 Khoikhoi ambushed the sailors and took the animals back wounding De Saldanha in process.
One of the first serious clashes between Khoikhoi and sailors was in 1510 and involved Francis de Almeida the first viceroy of Portuguese Indies. Like, Antonio de Saldanha, De Almeida also sailed into the Table Bay with a fleet in search of fresh water. Some of his crew went to a nearby Khoikhoi settlement in the area around Salt River to trade for cattle and sheep. When the sailors attempted to kidnap two Khoi children and cattle, an armed conflict ensued. The sailors were driven back to their ships, ending in victory for the Khoikhoi.
De Almeida sent a punitive expedition of one hundred and fifty men to deal with the Khoikhoi. After the expedition had set fire to Khoikhoi huts, they were surrounded by a band of Khoikhoi armed with arrows and assegais. The Portuguese force was overwhelmed and defeated, leaving 67 Portuguese sailors including de Almeida dead. Conflicts with the Khoikhoi prompted the Portuguese to avoid the Table Bay area.
