History of the Western Cape Province:
The Western Cape Province consists of many interesting historical facts. Many traces of ‘tools’ have been found in the Western Cape Province. These tools are believed to have belonged to the early hunters and gatherers of this area. This is actual proof that this area was inhabited by prehistoric people dating back to over 600 00 years ago!
The Western Cape, historically, was home to the KhoiKhoi people - however, over time the San people moved into this region and started taking over. This occurred approximately 2000 years ago. And when the Europeans started to settle in this province, the San people were the dominating tribe.
In 1652 the first European settlement occurred in the Cape of Good Hope. This came into occurrence as part of the supply chain from the Dutch East Indian Company. When this colonial settlement was formed – slavery was used to help build this establishment. In the 18th Century slavery became the economic backbone of the Western Cape Province.
However, in 1795 the British took over the Cape Colony and shortly afterwards slavery stopped. This was a historic turning point in the history of the Western Cape – as independence was given back to the slaves.
In 1910 the Western Cape became the legislative capital of South Africa. In 1945 industrialization and development occurred at full scale in this province. This attracted many black workers from the well-known townships of Guguletu and Nyanga.
Western Cape is also home to Robben Island. This is where, in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison and helped the country become a non-racial democracy.
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