In the early 17th century, slavery had largely fallen out of practice in the Habsburg Netherlands, influenced by decrees like Pope Eugene IV’s ban on enslaving Christians in the Late Middle Ages and the principle of “Stadslucht maakt vrij” (city air makes free), which granted freedom to escaped slaves in Dutch cities. However, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) still relied on enslaved labor in its overseas colonies, a practice that would later shape the Cape’s economy.
It was in this context that Jan van Riebeeck, a VOC assistant surgeon with a checkered career—having been dismissed from his post in Tonkin in 1645 for engaging in private trading, an illegal practice where he bought and sold goods for personal profit in violation of the VOC’s strict monopoly rules—set sail for the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.
Despite this earlier setback, Riebeeck was reinstated by the VOC, likely due to his experience and the company’s need for capable administrators, and was tasked with establishing a provisioning station to support Dutch ships traveling to the East Indies, a mission that would unknowingly lay the foundation for centuries of cultural and political transformation.
April 6, 1652: Jan van Riebeeck’s Arrival at the Cape
On this date, Jan van Riebeeck, under the command of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), arrived at the Cape of Good Hope to establish a provisioning station for Dutch ships en route to the East Indies. Tasked with building Fort de Goede Hoop, Riebeeck’s mission was not to colonize but to secure supplies like fresh water and food for passing vessels. His interactions with the indigenous Khoisan involved bartering for cattle, though tensions arose due to cultural misunderstandings over land use. Riebeeck’s arrival marked the beginning of permanent European presence in the region, setting the stage for future agreements and conflicts that would shape South Africa’s history.
April 19, 1672: The Dutch-Khoi Crudop Agreement
Two decades after Riebeeck’s arrival, the VOC formalized a significant land purchase with the Khoi at the Fortress of Good Hope, challenging modern claims of unilateral land theft by European settlers. The Crudop Agreement, signed with Prince Schacher of the Goringhaiqua tribe, transferred the Cape of Good Hope—including Table Bay, Hout Bay, and Saldanha Bay—to the VOC for goods valued at 800 pounds. A parallel agreement with the Chainouqua tribe included the Hottentots-Holland region and False Bay. Preserved in Cape Town’s Registry of Deeds, the deal ensured the Khoi grazing rights, protection from enemies, and safe passage through VOC lands. This transaction occurred over a century before the first Bantu-Boer encounters at the Fish River in 1779, and 238 years before the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, debunking narratives that Riebeeck’s arrival directly displaced Bantu groups in the Cape.
1810s-1830s: The Mfecane’s Devastating Impact
During this tumultuous period, the rise of King Shaka’s Zulu Kingdom triggered the Mfecane, a wave of warfare and migration that killed 1 to 2 million people across southern Africa. Fueled by drought, overpopulation, and competition for trade routes at Delagoa Bay, the Zulu expansion devastated Nguni and other tribes, forcing survivors like the Ngoni and Kololo to flee as far as Tanzania and Zambia. The Mfecane also contributed to the near-eradication of the Khoisan in certain regions, underscoring a brutal pre-colonial history of conflict and land acquisition among Bantu groups. This era of displacement reshaped the region, leaving vast areas depopulated and paving the way for later European settlement in places like Natal and the Highveld.
1830s-1850s: The Great Trek and Boer Expansion
Beginning in the 1830s, thousands of Dutch-speaking settlers, known as Boers, left the Cape Colony in a mass migration called the Great Trek, driven by dissatisfaction with British rule, particularly after the abolition of slavery in 1834. Seeking independence, they moved inland, establishing the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (Transvaal). This migration brought them into conflict with Bantu groups like the Ndebele and Zulu, notably at the Battle of Blood River in 1838, where Boer forces defeated the Zulu under Dingane. The Great Trek expanded European settlement into the interior, intensifying competition for land and resources, and setting the stage for later conflicts like the Anglo-Boer Wars (1880-1881 and 1899-1902).
May 5, 2025: The EFF’s Historical Misstep and a Path Forward
Today, these historical events fuel debates over land reform and movements like Cape Independence.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have repeatedly misrepresented this history to fit their narrative. In a recent rally, as captured in a widely shared image, an EFF speaker claimed, “Jan van Riebeeck arrived in 1913 and stole your grandfather’s land,” a statement that misplaces Riebeeck’s arrival by over 250 years; Riebeeck landed in 1652, not 1913, which marks the Union of South Africa’s formation, long after Riebeeck’s time.
This distortion ignores the 1672 Crudop Agreement, which legally transferred land from the Khoi to the VOC, and the fact that Bantu groups were not yet in the Cape during Riebeeck’s era. The EFF also overlooks the Mfecane’s pre-colonial violence and the Great Trek’s complexities, focusing solely on European actions while dismissing African agency in historical conflicts.
Instead of stoking racial division, inciting violence, or pushing for land expropriation without compensation, South Africans could prioritize hard work, mutual respect, education, and economic growth; values that will foster peace and prosperity.
The Western Cape’s distinct history, rooted in legal agreements like the 1672 deal, strengthens the case for self-determination through initiatives like #CapeIndependence and #VoteCAPEXIT2026.
To build a united, thriving future for all, South Africans must confront history accurately, correct distortions, and move forward together.
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