DUTCH SOUTH AFRICA, late-18th century

The Dutch came to Cape of Good Hope (or Kaap de Goede Hoop) in 1652 and till 1795, the region was a Dutch colony. But even after it was occupied by the British, Cape Colony's Dutch legacy continued to live in its cities. Before formation of British establishments such as Port Elizabeth, East London, George, Hanover etc., Cape Colony (or Kaapkolonie) had towns such as Groene Kloof, Krakeel Klip, Krat Krijtdistrict, Plattenburg etc. Various administrative levels of districts such as Fluviatiel, Kempens, Krijtdistrict and Fonteins were suffixed after many place names. Even when the British arrived and rearranged the colony with British administrative blocks such as Clanwilliam, Worcester, George, Somerset etc, these Dutch names continued to appear for a good part of the late-18th and 19th centuries.

Cape Colony became a British colony in 1797 (formally; it was reoccupied briefly again by the Dutch between 1803-06 as Colony of the Batavian Republic). Between 1835 to 1839, Natal was added (although it was formally annexed in 1845), Transorangia (later Orange River Sovereignty) in 1854, Transvaal in 1877 and finally a South African Republic in 1902. In between there were numerous independent Boer republics formed (due to Boer Wars fought in the 19th century) that were later occupied by the British.

But the Dutch legacy continued to exist. It could be seen even now in certain place names such as Breda, Rotterdam, Overyssel, Middelburg, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Haarlem, Gouda, Dordrecht etc. Before the arrival of the Dutch, the bays and capes had Portuguese names and since no European had penetrated inland, the places had Bushmen, Hottentot and Bantu origins. By the 17th century there were Germans, French, Portuguese, Afrikanders and other local ethnic population flourishing in the region. Particularly the French or the Huguenots (French Protestants) who named a couple of farms they were given to settle in. Some of these such as Val du Charron, Chavonnesberg, Coligny, La Dauphine etc. which were later renamed as Dutch and English.

The map here shows a 18th century map of Cape Colony when although the colony was British, but establishments were still Dutch.