Emerging colonial frontiers
Arrival of the Dutch at the Cape
| GRADE LEVEL | THEME | TOPIC | DURATION |
| 7 | SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY | EMERGING COLONIAL FRONTIERS | x LESSONS |
Emerging colonial frontiers |
Map
A: The Portuguese spice route In the 1600s Portugal had a monopoly on the spice trade between Europe and East Asia. In 1602 a group of Dutch merchants from the Netherlands and other independent trading companies challenged Portuguese dominance of trade with the Orient and the rapidly developing British trade industry. They founded the Dutch East India Company (DEIC) or VOC. On 20 March 1602, the company was given a charter by the Dutch government guaranteeing them a monopoly on the East Asian spice trade with the power to colonise and control any territory. The company was also the first in the world to sell shares to investors. Read more about the VOC in our Special Feature. The Dutch used the same trade route as the Portuguese but realised they needed a halfway stop for restocking supplies. Diseases like scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C as a result of a shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables, killed many sailors and made it difficult to bring the pepper, cloves, tea and nutmeg from the Orient to markets in Europe.
Map B: South Africa and Cape Town The VOC established this refreshment station at the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Town, on the southern most tip of Africa. In 1652 they sent Jan van Riebeeck to set up the station. The VOC also sent soldiers, slaves and settlers to the Cape from the Netherlands and the East to plant crops and trade with the local people for meat. The station soon grew in size as more and more settlers and VOC employees arrived. This meant expanding houses, crops and livestock and to fulfil this function more slaves were imported. The community developed and more European settlers saw the Cape as a possible home.
Picture A: Jan van Riebeeck Read more about Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival at the Cape. Learning Outcome: The learner is able to compile and organise information from maps to obtain evidence about European trading, to use that information to present answers to questions, to describe and make links between reasons for and results of events and changes, and to communicate knowledge and understanding by formulating arguments based on evidence from sources.
< NEXT >
|
Activity