Cape Town

There is no reliable information about when the first human settlements appeared here. The earliest archaeological finds (Pierce Cave Cave, near Fish Hook) date back to about 12,000 years ago. Little is known about the early history of this region. The first written evidence relates only to 1486 , when the Portuguese Bartolomeu Dias visited the Cape of Good Hope.

Vasco da Gama also rounded the cape on November 20, 1497, but regular contacts with Europeans among the local population began only in 1652 after the arrival of the expedition of Jan van Riebeck . In the same year, under his leadership, the city and port of Kapstad was founded as the base for providing the Dutch East India Company ships with fresh food and meat. Rybeck worked for the Dutch East India Company ( Niderl. Verenigde Oost-indische Companie ) and had to provide parking for her ships on their way to Europe. The extremity of South Africa at that time was inhabited primarily by the Hottentots , from the east came a spit - a people belonging to the Bantu family.

In the initial period, the city grew slowly, as affected by a shortage of labor. To make up for it, the Dutch began importing slaves from Indonesia and Madagascar . Many of these slaves joined the colonial society, and the descendants of mixed marriages of Indonesians, Europeans and the local population formed several special ethnic groups, called " colored ", with the Cape colored colored stand out in a special community. In Cape Town, Muslims, originating from Malaysia and Indonesia, built an architecturally rather unusual city block. Now it is called Bo-Kaap , the old name is the Malay Quarter, and a large colored community still lives in it compactly.

In 1795 , British troops captured the city after the battle of Meisenberg. According to the terms of the peace treaty concluded after the war in 1803 , Kapstad was returned to the Dutch, but in the same year the conflict was resumed, and in 1806 the British again seized Kaap after the Battle of Blauberg. According to the peace treaty of 1814 , this region became an integral part of the British Empire . The territory, subject to the British, grew, and the Cape Colony was created, the capital of which was Cape Town.

The discovery of diamond deposits in the West Greenvalende and gold deposits at Witwatersrand (near present-day Johannesburg ) in 1869 led to the beginning of the gold rush and the rapid growth of Johannesburg due to the influx of immigrants. In addition, tensions began between the Boer states created during the Great Trek and experiencing an influx of foreigners-outlanders) and the British colonial administration. The culmination of this conflict was the Boer War (1899-1902). Having defeated the Boer states (the Orange Republic and Transvaal ) and having strengthened control over the mining of gold and diamonds, the British united the Boer republics with the Cape Colony and the British possession of Natal , creating the South African Union . South Africa was proclaimed in 1910 , and Cape Town became its legislative capital; he retained this function even after the Republic of South Africa was established in 1961 .

In 1948 , the National Party won the election, promising to introduce racial segregation, known as apartheid . According to the Group Areas Act, suburbs with a mixed population were supposed to be either cleared of the “illegally” residents there, or completely demolished. In connection with this campaign, the Cape Town Sixth District, destroyed in 1965 , became very famous. Since this zone was declared a district for whites, more than 60,000 black residents were forcibly evicted ^[2] . In the era of apartheid, preference for hiring in Cape Town was, according to the law, given in color rather than black. The sixth district of Cape Town was officially declared the “white zone” in 1966 , under adopted in 1950 , and was only demolished in 1982 . Up to the demolition, about 66,000 representatives of various groups lived in this district:freedmen , artisans, shopkeepers and workers. After the demolition, the former resident left a sarcastic graffiti on one of the walls: “You are now in Fairyland” ( English “Welcome to the country of fairies”, literally “You are now in the country of fairies” ) ^[3] .

On December 3, 1967, the first heart transplant in the history of medicine was performed at the Hospital; she was led by Professor Christian Barnard, transplanting the heart of a mortally wounded 25-year-old woman to a 55-year-old patient.

Many fighters against apartheid lived in Cape Town; some of them (including Nelson Mandela ) were later detained in a prison on Robben Island , 10 km from the Cape Town coast. On February 11, 1990, Mandela, a few hours after his release from prison, made a famous speech on the balcony of the Cape Town Hall. After the abolition of apartheid in 1994, Cape Town had to face many challenges, including HIV and AIDS , tuberculosis and crime , including drug related issues. At the same time, there is a real boom in the city’s economy, especially due to tourism and the rapidly growing real estate market.

On January 15, 2018, local authorities announced that due to a prolonged drought, water supplies in the city would be depleted in 90 days. "Zero Day" was scheduled for April 22 (previously, April 29 was the date). It was decided that when the reserves fall to 13.8%, the water supply will be stopped, except for critical facilities (including hospitals), and 200 points will be organized in the city, where each resident will be able to get 25 liters of water per day ^{[ 4]} .

The center of Cape Town is located on the northern edge of the Cape Peninsula . Table Mountain creates a picturesque background, towering above sea level by more than a thousand meters. It is surrounded by almost sheer cliffs, such as Devil's Peak and the Head of the Lion. Sometimes a thin cloud is formed above the mountain, called a “tablecloth”.

The peninsula itself is a small mountain range (over 700 peaks have a height of over 300 m) and ends at Cape Point . Many Cape Town suburbs are located on the large Cape Flats Plain connecting the peninsula to the mainland. Cape Flats is composed of sandy soils left over from the former sandbanks: previously Table Mountain was an island.

On the eastern side of the peninsula in the bay of Falbsby is located the naval base Simonstown , where you can visit the Museum of the Navy of South Africa.

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  Panorama of the city

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  Central part of the city

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  View of Cape Town from Table Mountain

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  Cape Town Hall

The climate of the city is subtropical Mediterranean.

According to the national census in South Africa for 2001, the population of Cape Town was 2,893,251 (about 7% of the population). There were 759,767 households in the city, of which 87.4% were equipped with sewage, 94.4% lived in more or less sanitary conditions with garbage collection and weekly cleaning of the toilet. 80.1% of households used electricity as their primary means of energy. Similar statistics are collected in South Africa, where a significant portion of the population, especially the Negro population, still lives in quite deplorable conditions (this is especially true of recent migrants from villages to cities and impoverished white farmers after the black majority came to power). 16.1% of households had one household head, reflecting the effects of the AIDS epidemic .

Natural population movement

The dynamics of the population of Cape Town, like South Africa as a whole, are complex and controversial, vary greatly by race and language groups. In general, the city maintains a high birth rate, especially among the black and colored population, but it is lower than the national average. At the same time, mortality is also very high. A special contribution to mortality is made by the raging AIDS epidemic, especially in urban slums, and high crime with a significant number of deaths from firearms. At the same time, the city has a significant migration increase due to black marginal migrants from the internal regions of South Africa and other African countries.

Racial composition

Cape Town is characterized by racial diversity of the population, but also by conflicting, contradictory relations between the main racial and ethnic groups that traditionally compete with each other for the city’s rather limited economic resources. As in the United States , interracial relationships are characterized in the past by explicit, legally enshrined manifestations of racism , which have now assumed a hidden form ( discrimination , reverse discrimination , housing segregation , etc.).

Colored

On a racial basis, the so-called color predominate in the city - descendants of interracial contacts between Asians (mostly introduced as domestic servants and slaves of Malays), whites (Dutch, Germans and partly Portuguese) and blacks . Colored make up 48.13% of the population (1.393 million). Cape Town is the cultural capital of the colored population, whose native language is Afrikaans .

Blacks

Next in number comes the Negro population. Its share in Cape Town accounts for 31.0% (897 thousand people), which is significantly lower than in the country as a whole (79%). Most blacks are recent migrants from tribal villages in the north-west of the country, as well as people from other less prosperous regions of Africa. After black came to power after 1994, one of the tasks of the modern government is to increase the proportion of blacks in the city and provide them with the levers of cultural, political and economic influence.

White

Cape Town’s third largest racial component is whites, accounting for 18.75% of the population (542,000). Their share in the city is almost twice as high as in the country as a whole (10%), but whites are heterogeneous in their origin and language. In the coastal areas (especially on the Cape) - the bulk is of British origin and speaks English. They are joined by relatively recent migrants from Europe (including Russians, Lithuanians, Portuguese, etc.) Another significant proportion of whites in the city are descendants of Dutch and German immigrants of the 17th — 18th centuries ( Afrikaners or Boers ) speaking Afrikaans . The proportion and number of whites in the city has declined significantly over the past 40 years and especially over the last decade due to their intense emigration to the USA , Australia and the UK and their unwillingness to put up with the loss of political power in South Africa, but Cape Town due to its geographical location and long history more than other cities in South Africa, it maintains favorable conditions for the preservation of at least some of the white population in the future.

Cape Town International Airport is the second largest passenger airport in South Africa. The airport serves flights to most destinations within the country and some international flights.

The city has several ports and marinas, the largest of which is the port of Cape Town , located in the dining bay . This port is the second largest in the country after the port of Durban . In 2008, 330,000 tons of non-containerized cargo passed through Cape Town. In 2006, the container terminal shipped 782,878 TEU ^[5] .

In addition, for urban and long-distance traffic there is a well-developed network of railways and highways. Three federal highways start in the city, a system of buses and taxis is developed.

Table Mountain ( English Table Mountain ) height of 1087 meters - a symbol of Cape Town. For many years, its unique silhouette met seafarers from distant countries, seeking to replenish water and food in the long-awaited Cape Town bay.

The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront ( English Victoria & Alfred Waterfront ) - the embankment of the former port harbor with the once dirty and poor port facilities; in modern times it is a giant entertainment and shopping center, which includes more than 200 shops, galleries, cinemas, hotels, restaurants and pubs, a popular walking place for city residents and tourists.

Two Oceans Aquarium ( Two Oceans Aquarium ) is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Behind glass with a height of 11 meters, more than 300 representatives of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are swimming.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden ( Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens ) was founded in 1913 on the eastern slope of Table Mountain to preserve the flora of southern Africa. Recognized as one of the 7 best and most famous botanical gardens in the world. The territory of the garden is 528 hectares. In the summer there are regular concerts of classical music ^[6] .

Castle of Good Hope ( Eng. Castle of Good Hope ) - one of the oldest buildings in South Africa , construction was completed in 1679, and became the base of the Dutch East India Company (on the trade route to India), as well as a defensive fort for settlers. In 1936, the fort became a museum and is still the regional center of the South African military forces in the Western Cape.

The South African National Gallery is one of the largest museums in South Africa .

Iziko is a national museum with the largest exposition of exhibits on zoology, paleontology and archeology in Africa.

The area of ​​the vegetable market ( eng. Greenmarket Square ) is a large market, surrounded on all sides by houses built in the distinctive architectural style of the South African Art Deco. In addition, the square houses an old town hall building ( Old Town House ), which houses a major painting exhibition by 17th-century Dutch masters, including Rembrandt engravings.

On the part of Long Street between Orange Street and Vale Street, there are completely renovated houses from the time of Queen Victoria. Thanks to the artistic forging of balconies, stucco and bright facades, the street is very similar to the French quarter in New Orleans . Numerous boutiques, antique and second-hand shops are located in this part of Long Street.

. It was built in the early and mid-1970s, but was not completed due to lack of funding, becoming a local landmark: film episodes and commercials were shot against its background ^[7] .

• Tourist Information in Cape Town
• Cape Town Time (Unsolved) (inaccessible link) . Archived March 5, 2012. Current time in Cape Town.