History Old and New

Although discovered and named by the Portuguese, Cape of Good Hope had its first European residents from the Dutch East India Company.  These businessmen saw the advantage of having a place for their ships to resupply during the voyage from the Netherlands to the East Indies and back again. After all, the less supplies you carried, the more room for trade cargo. Of course ships from other nations were welcome to stop here too - for a fee.

As was typical of the 1600’s, the opinion of the people originally living here was neither requested or required. Armed conflicts between the Europeans and Africans were predictable resulting in the building of a fort to protect both European lives and profits.

Called the Castle of Good Hope this fortress was originally located on the coastline of Table Bay, but due to land reclamation the fort is now located inland. The yellow color and five point design reminded us of other colonial fort/castles we have seen in the Caribbean.

We were lucky to arrive in time to see a reenactment of the key ceremony. The ceremony is performed three times a day accompanied by narration broadcast over a loudspeaker. Soldiers in period Dutch uniforms march to the front of the commanders home. There the sergeant receives a key from the Commander. The unit marches to the gate, rings a bell and unlocks the outer gate. A patrol is sent out to insure that all is well, then the gate is fully opened and the key is marched back to the Commander.

The fort was reinforced when the British took over with the addition of three feet or so of brick on top of the walls. We were able to walk on top of the walls as well as go into the prison cell torture area. Many kings and leaders of the native people were imprisoned here prior to being executed or taken to Robben Island.

one of the rulers imprisoned here

After lunch at a tavern named for explorer Bartolomeu Dias, (delicious swordfish), we visited a museum of more recent history.

The District Six Museum tells the story of the forced removal of over 60,000 people of color from their homes between 1966 and 1982. The city’s apartheid government decided the area needed to be bulldozed and rebuilt as a white neighborhood. Ironically, much of the area demolished was not rebuilt as there was no demand to live in the area by the whites. Many believe the intent was not for “urban renewal” but merely an effort to breakup a thriving community.

street signs of the neighborhood

These two sites,( among many others,) tell a cautionary tale, that although centuries apart no good can come from one group of people believing and acting superior to others. It is a lesson that some in this world still have to learn.