Bartholemew Dias and Jan Van Riebeck


Discovery of South Africa  – In the 15th century there lived a Portuguese navigator and explorer by the name of Bartholomew Dias De Novaes . In 1486 he was appointed to lead an expedition to find a way to reach India by sailing around Africa.

In August 1487 he set sail together with a further 3 small ships and succeeded in sailing 1,260 miles down Africa’s previously unknown West Coast . The points at which he touched were Port Alexander in Angola, Walvis Bay and Luderitz Bay.  He sighted the mountains near Clanwilliam, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and weighed anchor in Mossel Bay.The furthest point of his voyage of discovery of South Africa was near the mouth of the Bushman’s River where he erected a stone cross at Kwaaihoek.

Due to his crew bordering on mutiny, his return journey began and it is believed that it was then that for the first time he saw the Cape of Good hope and that he spent about a month in the area of the Cape Peninsula. In 1488 he arrived back in Lisbon and died in 1500.

Jan Van Riebeeck was the first Dutch Commander of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1649 he was serving on a ship that took on Castaways from a ship that was wrecked off Table Bay in 1649 and submitted a report with information received from the leaders of the castaways that displayed sense and logic so he was chosen by the Dutch East India Company to command a trading post to be established at Table Bay. He arrived at the Cape of Good Hope and landed at Table Bay on April 6th 1652. He then established the first Fort, planted vegetables and built a hospital. After experiencing many difficulties he succeeded in establishing a thriving settlement. He remained there for 10 years at which time his repeated requests for a transfer were eventually granted.

In 1795 due to events in Europe the Cape Colony was taken and ruled by the British until 1803 which it was returned to the Dutch and governed by the Batavian Republic until 1806 when it was re-captured by the British.