Cape Town Series: Introduction

The frame says it all...

Michelle and I recently vacationed in Cape Town during the April break from school. We did a lot and had a wonderful time while we were there, so there’s much to tell. In an attempt to keep from writing a blog post that’s 15 pages long, we’re going to try writing a series of posts about our time there. Topics we’re thinking about writing, in no particular order, include: 

• Time spent with friends
• Robben Island and museums
• Animals and nature
• Shark diving
• Paragliding
• Driving on the left-hand side of the road
• Ice cream and other delicious food
• Male privilege

We hope this helps make the posts easier to digest since they’ll come out in bite-size pieces.

A Quick History about Cape Town…

Archaeologists have discovered tools from the Stone Age suggesting that the area known as Cape Town was inhabited thousands of years ago. Fast forward to a few hundreds ago, Cape Town was inhabited by Khoikhoi and San peoples. Portuguese explorers took refuge in the natural harbor of Cape Town in the 1500’s, and later the Dutch set up a resupply port while they were establishing the Dutch East India Trading Company. The English eventually came to assert their authority and control over Cape Town in the 1830’s. All the while, indigenous peoples still inhabited the land. However, with the arrival of Europeans, indigenous peoples relocated to other areas.

While the Dutch were in control of the area, they tried utilizing the Khoikhoi and San peoples to complete manual labor but were unsuccessful. Alternatively, peoples from other African and Asian nations were forced into slavery. When the English took over, slavery was abolished; however, former slaves were still kept in a quasi-bondage because they had to complete apprenticeships with their former masters before they could strike out on their own. With slavery no longer in affect, the English looked for other ways to complete manual labor. Indentured servants from India, Malaysia, and other parts of Southeastern Asia were brought in.

Fast forward to today, Cape Town is a mix of cultures and skin tones. Many languages can be heard on the streets. And a variety of foods can satisfy just about any palette. Cape Town has a sorted history because of the practices put into place during the Apartheid era. And because Cape Town is arguably the most Westernized city in South Africa, practically any Western amenity one could imagine is available. Because of all of what I described above, Cape Town makes for a great place to visit, but I would argue that it’s important for visitors to take in its history and mix of cultures to get a true flavor of what it’s like.