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Leading Points in South African History 1486 to March 30 1900

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Leading Points in South African History 1486 to March 30 1900 LEADING POINTS IN SOUTH AFRICAN * 30 H I STO RY i486 TO MARCH 12 MEREKOKY -BIBL10TEEK IKilVERSITEIT VAN PRETORIA. Klisnommer Registernomme r h..^7~$~~fc- n ,e4 LEADING POINTS IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY LEADING POINTS IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY i486 TO MARCH 30, 1900 ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY, WITH DATE-INDEX By EDWIN A. PRATT " AUTHOR OF " PIONEER WOMEN IN VICTORIA'S REIGN " LIFE OF CATHERINE GLADSTONE," ETC. LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 1900 I PREFATORY NOTE HE object of the present work is to bring together within the limits of a single volume, in the special interests of busy men, the leading facts connected with the growth of our Empire in South Africa, the doings of the Boer communities there, and the causes and chief events of the present war. These causes, be it remembered, are the result of a " situation " that began to be created long before the Franchise Question, the Jameson Raid, Majuba Day, or the aspirations of capitalists in South Africa were even thought of. They must be traced at least as far back as the Slachter's Nek Rebellion, when the Boers, by trying to enlist the natives on their side in order to drive the British out of South Africa, made their first move in the great struggle for supremacy which was bound to be fought " out to the bitter end " sooner or later ; and the full purport of the present conflict will hardly be realised without some general idea—such as the following pages seek to afford—of the whole course of events since that time. Gathered together from a great variety of sources —to consult which direct would involve the said busy man in a considerable expenditure of time— the facts VI PREFATORY NOTE are presented in chronological order so that their development may be traced from year to year, or from day to day, as the case may be; and also because, in South African history especially, it is im- portant to know not only when a particular event happened, but what was happening elsewhere in the countries round about at the same time. These two requirements, it is hoped, are met by the "Diary" while, on the other hand, there should be arrangement ; no great difficulty in working out the continuous story of any particular branch of the subject with the help alike of the Index and of the frequent references, in brackets, to the next stage of development of the matters referred to. The Index itself has been drawn up, not according to the pages, but according to the dates—also arranged chronologically—under which the details will be found. Where a date alone is required it will, in most cases, be obtained at once from the Index ; while in regard to such subjects as the Jameson Raid, the Franchise Laws, the Boer Intrigues for Expanded Boundaries, the action of Germany in South Africa, the leading events of the present cam- paign, or the histories of the Transvaal, Cape Colony, Natal, Basutoland, Swaziland, or Zululand, the entire story can be taken in at a glance, together with the date at which each development occurred, further facts being obtained from the Diary at any particular point, as desired. The details given as to the way in which, step by — PREFATORY NOTE vii step, the Boers sought to expand the boundaries to which they had pledged themselves by the Pretoria and London Conventions to keep, are especially de- serving of study even by those who are already more or less familiar with the subject. Another point made, it is hoped, abundantly clear, is the long-continued difference of view between British Ministers unwilling to increase our responsibilities in South Africa, and British representatives there who, with greater know- ledge and better foresight, recognised the fact that our growing responsibilities could not be repudiated with impunity ; while over and over again—in Natal, in St. Lucia Bay, in Bechuanaland, in Zululand, in Zambaan and Umbegesa's territory, and elsewhere Ministers reluctant to annex were forced by the tactics of the Boers themselves into eventually taking over territories they did not want and which, in most cases, they might have had with far less trouble years and years before. There is no need to refer here to all the other matters which have been brought together; but readers who are interested in the personal character of Mr. Kruger, and already have their doubts whether he is such a " patriot " as some people would have us believe, may like to have their attention directed to the corre- spondence which will be found under date May 20, 1878, giving the actual facts in connexion with his dismissal from the post he had accepted under the British Government after the annexation. In the light of PREFATORY NOTE present events there was something almost prophetic (as regards one, at least, of the persons concerned) in the declaration then made by Sir Theophilus Shepstone, respecting Kruger and Joubert, when he " wrote to the former : No two men in the Transvaal have done more to make the general ruin you deprecate possible than you have, and upon no shoulders will the responsibility of averting it press so heavily as upon yours." EDWIN A. PRATT London, March 30, 1900 / LEADING POINTS IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY I486. The Cape discovered. — Discovery of the Cape of Good Hope by the Portuguese navigator Bartholomew Diaz. 1497. The Cape doubled.—Vasco da Gama doubles the Cape with a fleet of four vessels of 125 tons each, and discovers the Natal coast, which he so names because he sees it first on Christmas Day. 1503. Table Bay and Table Mountain.— Antonio Saldanha, a Portuguese, lands in Table Bay, and is the first European to ascend Table Mountain. 1580. What Sir Francis Drake thought of the Cape.—Sir Francis Drake doubles the Cape, which he describes as " the most stately thing and fairest cape we saw in the whole circumference of the world." 1591. English ships in Table Bay.— First visit of English ships to Table Bay. 1595. Dutch ships in Table Bay.— First visit of the Dutch to Table Bay. 1600. English East India Company.—English East India Company formed. B A 2 l602- 1602. Dutch East India Company.— Dutch East India Company formed. 1620. A port of call. — Table Bay becomes an ordinary port of call for ships proceeding east. British - July 3. A premature announcement.— sovereignty proclaimed over South Africa by Shilling and FitzHerbert, two English East India Company captains, who raise the British flag on Signal Hill. [No settlement, however, was attempted, the annexa- tion being repudiated by James I.] 1648. A wreck that led to great results.— Dutch East India Company's ship Haarlem is wrecked in Table Bay. [The crew remained ashore several months before being rescued. On their return home they gave a glowing account of the country, and recommended the establishment of a station there. It was resolved to act on their advice.] 1652. April 7. The Dutch take possession.— Dutch East India Company's expedition, commanded by Jan van Riebeck, a surgeon in the Company's service, takes possession of Table Bay, under a charter granted by the Dutch States General. [There was then no idea of establishing a colony. All that was aimed at was the securing of a halfway house to India, where ships could call for fresh meat and vegetables. No white man had yet gone so far as 10 miles inland.] 1657. The first settlers.— Nine soldiers and sailors, discharged from the Dutch East India Company's service, have small farms allotted to them at Rondebosch. 1679 3 [They were the first actual colonists in South Africa, and the " station " was thus converted into a " settle- ment."] 1658. The first vineyard. — The first vineyard in South Africa is planted by van Riebeck on a farm beyond Rondebosch, thenceforward called, on that account, Wynberg. 1659. July 29. Settlers and Hottentots. — Van Riebeck writes to the Governor-General and Council, Batavia, concerning the hostility of the Hottentots, who object to the Dutch breaking up the best land and grass and " trying to establish themselves every- where." They threaten, he says, to destroy the houses, and then to surprise the fort and force the Dutch to abandon the country. -Dec. 15. "Always be a burden." —The Batavia Government authorise van Riebeck to increase the garrison by obtaining soldiers from passing ships, and declare that the residency at the Cape, " producing no return, would always be a burden on the Company." 1672. "In matters of commerce the fault of the ." Dutch. —The Dutch East India Company pur- chase the Cape districts from the Hottentot chiefs for "tobacco, beads, brandy, bread, and other trifles." [These goods were nominally worth ^1,600 ; their actual value was £9 12s. gd.] 1679. The expansion begins. —Stellenbosch founded by the Governor, Simon van der Stel, and so called from 4 1687- Stel, his own name, and Bosch, the maiden name of his wife. [This was the first important extension of the settlement, which then consisted of about 300 men and 90 women. The number was increased shortly after by a party of immigrants from Holland, including a number of girls from orphan asylums, sent out as wives for the farmers.] 1687.—Occupation of the Drakenstein valley. 1688. French settlers. —Arrival of 180 Huguenot settlers. [They wished to form a separate French colony, but this was not allowed, and they were com- pelled to mingle with the Dutch settlers, with whom they thus soon formed one people.] 1689. "Far from the madding crowd."—Explora- tions eastward.
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