1790s in South Africa
Encyclopedia
1791
- 29 June - Johannes Isaac Rhenius is appointed acting Governor of the Cape Colony
1792
- A Dutch Reformed ChurchDutch Reformed ChurchThe Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
is founded in Graaff ReinetGraaff ReinetGraaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Swellendam.-History:... - A Moravian Mission is founded at GenadendalGenadendalGenadendal is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, built on the site of the oldest mission station in the country.-Location:Genadendal is approximately 90 minutes drive east of Cape Town in the Riviersonderend Mountains....
- 3 July - Sebastian Cornelis Nederburgh is appointed Commissioner-general of the Cape
1793
- Xhosas clash with the white settlers at the Fish River starting the 2nd Cape Frontier War
- War is declared by the victorious FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
revolutionaries against the DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Prince of Orange - BritainKingdom of Great BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
goes to war against FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... - 2 September - Abraham Josias Sluysken is appointed the Governor of the Cape. He is the last governor under Dutch East India CompanyDutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
rule
1795
- The Dutch East India CompanyDutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
is in financial ruins - 29 January - Farmers expelled the officials of the Dutch East India Company and established an independent government at Graaff Reinet
- 18 June SwellendamSwellendamSwellendam is the third oldest town in the Republic of South Africa, a town with 28,072 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 National monuments most of them buildings of Cape Dutch architecture....
follows Graaff ReinetGraaff ReinetGraaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Swellendam.-History:...
and declares a republic under Hermanus Steyn - The NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
is invaded by the French under the leadership of Napoléon BonaparteNapoleon I of FranceNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815... - A republic is declared by DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
revolutionaires and the Prince of Orange flees to England - 16 September - BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
forces under General Sir James Henry CraigJames Henry CraigGeneral Sir James Henry Craig KB was a British military officer and colonial administrator.-Early life and military service:...
seizes the Cape ColonyCape ColonyThe Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
for the StadtholderStadtholderA Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
Prince William V of Orange - The republics of Graaff Reinet and Swellendam reject the British and the British army is sent in
- The start of free trade was announced
1797
- 5 March - The Cape becomes a British colony
- 4 May - Sir John Barrow, authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and explorer, arrives at the Cape ColonyCape ColonyThe Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take... - 23 May - The first British Governor of the Cape Colony, Lord MacartneyGeorge Macartney, 1st Earl MacartneyGeorge Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, KB was an Irish-born British statesman, colonial administrator and diplomat. He is often remembered for his observation following Britain's success in the Seven Years War and subsequent territorial expansion at the Treaty of Paris that Britain now controlled...
, arrives.
1798
- The first Post Office is established in the Cape Colony
- The Dutch East India Company is liquidated
- The first mosqueMosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in southern Africa is established in Dorp Street by Tuan Guru - A Dutch Reformed Church is founded at Swellendam
- 22 November Dundas is appointed Governor of the Cape
1799
- Farmers of Graaff Reinet revolt against the British
- The 3rd Cape Frontier War starts between white settlers and the Xhosas and only ends in 18011801 in South Africa-Events:* Farmers of Graaff Reinet revolt for the second time against the British rule* The 3rd Cape Frontier War ends* An official expedition of Truter, Somerville, Barrow and Daniell with missionaries Jan Matthys Kok and William Edwards reaches Dithakong...
- The British build Fort Frederick in Algoa Bay
- The eastern cape KhoikhoiKhoikhoiThe Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
revolt - The London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary SocietyThe London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
set up their first station at Zak River - 18 December - Sir G Young is appointed Governor of the Cape
Births
- 1 May 1791 - The Rev. John Brownlee, founder of King William's TownKing William's TownKing William's Town is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about 40 minutes' motorway drive WNW of the Indian Ocean port of East London...
, is born in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... - 21 December 1795 - Robert MoffatRobert MoffatRobert Moffat was a Scottish Congregationalist missionary to Africa, and father in law of David Livingstone....
, ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Congregationalist missionaryMissionaryA missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, is born in OrmistonOrmistonOrmiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, UK, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about 276 ft....
, East LothianEast LothianEast Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, Scotland