introduction
As the oldest settlement in the Republic of South Africa, Cape Town has a rich history. The city is currently the legislative seat of the country. It is also a cosmopolitan city located in a beautiful natural setting. Parts of the city and its suburbs are in the foothills of Table Mountain, which is 3,563 feet (1,086 meters) high.
Places of interest
Cape Town is rich in history as well as in culture. Its 17th-century Castle of Good Hope is still standing in the city center. Near the castle are the botanic gardens, which are bisected by Government Avenue and overlooked by government buildings. Another city attraction, the Malay Quarter, is home to descendents of Malay slaves and immigrants, with the earliest houses built in the late 1700s. At the South African Museum, highlights include natural history exhibits and a planetarium.
The South African Cultural History Museum was originally built as a slave lodge. It was later used for government offices and courtrooms and now houses a variety of exhibits. The city also features several art collections that reflect the history and culture of the land, including the Michaelis Collection at the Old Town House and a collection of works by South African and international artists at the South African National Gallery.
Table Mountain provides hiking and climbing for nature lovers and mountaineers. On the eastern side of the mountain are the Kirtenbosch Botanic Gardens, devoted primarily to native plants. The peninsula coastline has many good places for swimming, fishing, and skin diving.
Economy
Cape Town is is one of South Africa's most important industrial centers and a major seaport. In the city the basic industries are connected with ship repair and maintenance, food processing, and wine making and with the manufacture of clothing, plastics, and leather goods. Tourism is of growing importance.
History
The first people to live in the region that is now Cape Town were ancestors of the modern Khoisan people. The first European to land at Table Bay and climb Table Mountain, in 1503, was Portuguese navigator António de Saldanha.
Dutch navigator Jan van Riebeeck founded the first settlement at Table Bay some 150 years later, in 1652. He worked for the Dutch East India Company, and the settlement was established as a supply station for the company. Ships from several European countries, including France and Britain stopped at the port, which was called De Kaap (“The Cape”), throughout the next century. British visitors started referring to the town as Cape Town in the late 18th century.
Cape Town became a city in 1840. Railroads were built and a new dock opened in 1870, which encouraged shipping. The discovery of gold and diamonds nearby later that century brought more people and development to the area.
Following the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, all of South Africa became a powerful industrial nation. During this same time, however, laws began to limit the rights of blacks. With the victory of the National Party in the 1948 elections, apartheid—segregation along racial lines—became legal policy. Most of the rest of the world refused to do business with South Africa because of the apartheid policies. This hurt Cape Town as ships stopped docking at the city's port. The citizens of Cape Town opposed the apartheid policies. The city was the site of a peaceful protest march of some 40,000 people in September 1989. This paved the way for similar demonstrations in other parts of South Africa and eventually led to the movement that brought about the end of apartheid. Population (1996 estimate), 2,415,408.i
