Cape Colony

This article is about the British colony. For the original Dutch colony, see Dutch Cape Colony.

Cape Colony
Kaapkolonie (Dutch)
1806–1910
Anthem: God Save the King (1795–1837; 1901–1910)
God Save the Queen (1837–1901)
The Cape Colony in 1885 shown in red.
The Cape Colony in 1885 shown in red.
StatusCrown colony of the British Empire
CapitalCape Town
Official languagesEnglish
Dutch[a]
Common languagesAfrikaans, Khoekhoe, Xhosa also spoken
Ethnic groups
(1904)
Religion
Dutch Reformed Church, Anglican, San religion
GovernmentSelf-governing colony under Constitutional monarchy
King/Queen 
• 1795–1820
George III
• 1820–1830
George IV
• 1830–1837
William IV
• 1837–1901
Victoria
• 1901–1910
Edward VII
Governor 
• 1797–1798
George Macartney
• 1901–1910
Walter Hely-Hutchinson
Prime Minister 
• 1872–1878
John Charles Molteno
• 1908–1910
John X. Merriman
Historical eraImperialism
1803–1806
• Occupied
8 January 1806
1814
1844
• Basutoland incorporated into the Cape Colony
3 November 1871
• Basutoland separated to form its own colony
2 February 1884
31 May 1910
Area
1822[1]331,907 km2 (128,150 sq mi)
Population
• 1822[1]
110,380
• 1865 census[2][3]
496,381
• 1875 census[3]
720,984
• 1891 census[3]
1,527,224
• 1904 census[3]
2,409,804
CurrencyPound sterling
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Dutch Cape Colony
British Bechuanaland
Republic of Swellendam
Republic of Graaff-Reinet
Islands of Refreshment
Union of South Africa
Basutoland
Tristan da Cunha
Today part ofNamibia[b]
South Africa
Lesotho[c]
Historical states
in present-day
South Africa
before 1600
1600–1700
1700–1800
1800–1850
1850–1875
1875–1900
1900–present
flag South Africa portal
Map of the Cape of Good Hope in 1885 (blue). The areas of Griqualand West and Griqualand East were annexed to the Cape Colony around 1880.

The Cape Colony (Dutch: Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, then became the Cape Province, which existed even after 1961, when South Africa had become a republic, albeit, temporarily outside the Commonwealth of Nations (1961–94).

The British colony was preceded by an earlier corporate colony that became an original Dutch colony of the same name, which was established in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The Cape was under VOC rule from 1652 to 1795 and under rule of the Napoleonic Batavia Republic from 1803 to 1806.[4] The VOC lost the colony to Great Britain following the 1795 Battle of Muizenberg, but it was ceded to the Batavia Republic following the 1802 Treaty of Amiens. It was re-occupied by the British following the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806, and British possession affirmed with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. The Cape of Good Hope then remained in the British Empire, becoming self-governing in 1872.

The colony was coextensive with the later Cape Province, stretching from the Atlantic coast inland and eastward along the southern coast, constituting about half of modern South Africa: the final eastern boundary, after several wars against the Xhosa, stood at the Fish River. In the north, the Orange River, natively known as the ǂNūǃarib (Black River) and subsequently called the Gariep River, served as the boundary for some time, although some land between the river and the southern boundary of Botswana was later added to it. From 1878, the colony also included the enclave of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands, both in what is now Namibia.

It united with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa in 1910, and was accordingly renamed the Province of the Cape of Good Hope.[5] South Africa became a sovereign state in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster. In 1961, it became the Republic of South Africa. Following the 1994 creation of the present-day South African provinces, the Cape Province was partitioned into the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Western Cape, with smaller parts in North West province.


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  1. ^ a b Wilmot & Chase 1869, p. 268.
  2. ^ Cape of Good Hope 1866, p. 11.
  3. ^ a b c d Malherbe 1939, p. 1038.
  4. ^ Heese 1971, p. 15.
  5. ^ Keltie & Epstein 1920, p. 222.