How The British Stole South Africa From The Dutch

A tale of colonial intrigue and warfare in Cape Colony

(Public domain)

South Africa is a nation awash in both British and Dutch influence. Two of the top official languages are English and Afrikaans, which tells of the two colonial powers that once vied for control of this strategic region. Before South Africa became a part of the British Empire, it was a Dutch colony known as Cape Colony. (Afrikaans is occasionally referred to as Cape Dutch or Cape Colony Dutch.) However, most people will remember South Africa as primarily being a British colony. That is because, during the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain decided to seize control of Cape Colony and keep it for itself.

While control of South Africa became crucial for protecting Britain’s ever-growing supply lines, the seizure of the colony from the Dutch sowed seeds of conflict that would bear fruit for generations. The Boers, an agrarian people descended from the original Dutch settlers and Huguenots, would go on to clash with the British for years. In the countryside, there are still tensions stemming from whites of Dutch descent, whites of British descent, and the native black population.

So how did Britain come to control this important colony and why was there so much tension between the Dutch and English in this region?