The VOC or the Dutch East India Company left their trading mark all over the world. VOC Monogram was formally above the entrance to the Castle of Good Hope. The VOC never intended to establish a colony at the Cape but a weight station, for VOC ships on the spice route to the Dutch East Indies.
By 1669 the VOC was the richest private company the world has ever seen. They had over 150 merchant ships, 40 warships, 50,000 employees plus a private army of 10,000 soldiers.
The VOC built the castle between 1666 and 1679 and is the oldest existing colonial building in South Africa. Once on the edge of the ocean, now more inland.
Jan van Riebeeck was commander of the Cape of Good Hope from 1652 to 1662. He was to oversee the planting of vegetables, fruit and cereal and to obtain livestock from the Khoi, the indigenous people of the area. In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, there are still a few Wild almond trees that have survived from his time. He also introduced wine to the Cape to ward off scurvy.
Throughout the city, there are remnants of the old settlements and vegetable gardens.
With the mix of Europeans, locals slaves a different language started to emerge. Words borrowed from Dutch, German. French, regional dialects and Arabic, which was spoken by many of the slaves.
It also affected the cuisine which is now called Cape Malay.
In 1910 it became the Union of South Africa and a colony of Britain.
Not far from Cape Town are the vineyards and so far there have not been any reports of scurvy in the area.
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