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eventREF E-0129926Verified

Event record

The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser, a bilingual newspaper and the first to publish news and advertisements, is published for the first time.

Date
16 Aug 1800
Updated
30 Sep 2019
The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser, a bilingual newspaper and the first to publish news and advertisements, is published for the first time.

The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser was the first newspaper to be published in Africa. It was started by two slave dealers, Alexander Walker and John Robertson. In its early stages, the newspaper was simply used by the government as a mouth-piece. It was only in 1829, after the owners had been involved in a very a long struggle with the government, and the Colony granted freedom of the press, that the newspaper became free from government censorship. This led to a significant growth in the newspaper industry as more newspapers emerged. The newspaper was published in both English and Dutch, and changed its name to Dutch Kaapsche Courant in 1803. This could have been influenced by the change in the political scene in the colony at the time. The Dutch had just taken the Colony from the British in 1802. The British reoccupied the Colony in 1806. The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser is regarded as the paper that paved the way for the newspapers that Africa boasts today.  

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How we know this

  1. 01Wallis, F., 2000. Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar. Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; Swart: Afrikaanse Kultuuralmanak
  2. 02Simon J., (2010.) “World Newspaper Archive ”“ African Newspapers” from Focus On Global Resources, Vol. 29, Num. 4. Available at https://www.crl.edu/focus/article/6694 [Accessed 12 July 2011]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2019, May 2). The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser, a bilingual newspaper and the first to publish news and advertisements, is published for the first time.. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129926

South African History Online (2019) 'The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser, a bilingual newspaper and the first to publish news and advertisements, is published for the first time.', South African History Online, 2 May. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129926 (Accessed: 7 August 2026).

South African History Online, The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser, a bilingual newspaper and the first to publish news and advertisements, is published for the first time. [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129926, (accessed 7 August 2026).

"The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser, a bilingual newspaper and the first to publish news and advertisements, is published for the first time.." South African History Online, 2 May 2019, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129926. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser, a bilingual newspaper and the first to publish news and advertisements, is published for the first time.." South African History Online. May 2, 2019. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129926.

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