Cape Town

Cape Town (in Afrikaans, Kaapstad), city, legislative capital of South Africa and capital of Western Cape Province. It is located at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula and is one of South Africa’s major ports and industrial centres; associated suburbs and satellite towns of the fast-growing metropolitan area extend south across the neck of the Cape Peninsula to False Bay (Valsbaai). The old part of the city, now marked by high-rise buildings and sprawling suburbs, is located between Table Bay to the north and the steep slopes of Table Mountain (1,086 m/3,563 ft) to the south. Several lesser peaks, including Lion’s Head to the south-west and Signal Hill to the west, rise above the city and overlook the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Town is a popular holiday resort, noted for its scenic beauty and fine beaches. Population 2,993,000 (2001 estimate).

Cape Town is South Africa’s second-largest port after Durban. Activities are concentrated in a large artificial harbour in Table Bay. Equipped with dry docks and modern cargo-handling facilities, it is a regular port of call for freight and passenger vessels rounding the Cape of Good Hope to the south. Gold, diamonds, and citrus fruit are principal exports. Major industries include oil-refining, shipbuilding and repairing, diamond-cutting, printing, food processing, viticulture, and the manufacture of clothing, plastics, and leather goods.

Table Mountain, which has cable car service to the summit, dominates the city landscape and provides an excellent point from which to view the surrounding area. Historic places of interest include the Castle, the oldest building in Cape Town (begun 1665); the Dutch Reformed Church (begun 1699); Old Town House (1755); and the old Dutch-style buildings and mosques found in the Malay Quarter on Signal Hill. Other important landmarks are the houses of parliament; the South African Museum (1825); the South African National Gallery (1871); the important Michaelis Collection of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings; the South African Library; and Groote Schuur, former home of the British colonial statesman Cecil Rhodes. The University of Cape Town (1829) and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (2005) are in the city, and the University of the Western Cape (1960) is at Bellville on the outskirts.

Cape Town was founded in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck as a supply base for the Dutch East India Company and is the oldest city of European origin in South Africa. It remained under Dutch control, aided by the presence, from 1781 to 1795, of a French garrison, until captured by British forces in 1795 during the Napoleonic Wars. The settlement briefly reverted to Dutch control in 1803 and was again occupied by British troops in 1806. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, before the building of the Suez Canal, Cape Town was a major station for ship-provisioning. It became the capital of the British Cape Colony in 1814 and subsequently was made the legislative capital of the Union of South Africa (1910-1961) and the present Republic of South Africa.