From Table Mountain to the Sea: A Cape Town Journey
A fourteen-day stay in Cape Town, known as the “Mother City”, the first European settlement in South Africa. An absolutely beautiful city with its majestic flat-top Table Mountain overlooking the sea. The birthplace of political prisoner Nelson Mandela imprisoned for 27 years to eventually become the first president of South Africa in 1994 after ending racial segregation in 1985…quite an achievement but at a significant human cost. A multicultural city where at least four languages are spoken with a long history of harvesting wine. A city with probably one of the most horrific past yet able to find a pathway toward reconciliation. Here is what I’ve learned …..
But First a Bit of History
South Africa’s history, much like the rest of the continent, is mired by some of the worst colonization and patterns of racist behavior seen til this day. Going back to the 16th century, this beautiful coastal city of Cape Town was taken over by the Dutch becoming the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. It did not take long before the Dutch imported slaves from East Africa, Madagascar, and the Bay of Bengal, both of African and Asian races as its primary labor. By 1781, the French and the Dutch entered an alliance to later be attacked and occupied by the British.
