Cape Town, South Africa

Mar. 13, 2023

Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa and capital of Western Cape province. The city lies some 30 miles from the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, and its southernmost boundary is north of the Cape of Good Hope. Because it was the site of the first European settlement in South Africa, Cape Town is known as the country’s “mother city.”

Cape Town has a beautiful setting: parts of the city and its suburbs wind about the steep slopes of Table Mountain (3,563 feet and neighboring peaks and rim the shores of Table Bay; other parts lie on the flats below the slopes or stretch southward across the flats to False Bay. The city covers an area of 116 square miles. Cape Town’s 2023 population is estimated at 5,845,299.

The city of Cape Town had its origin in 1652, when the Dutch East India Company established a refreshment station for its ships on the shores of Table Bay. The location was magnificent, on well-watered, fertile soil, beneath the precipitous walls of Table Mountain. The indigenous inhabitants provided cattle but not labor, and the company imported slaves, mainly from East Africa, Madagascar, and the Bay of Bengal area. The slaves brought with them something of their culture and—especially in the case of the Muslims from the East Indies—their religion.

Today Cape Town is a modern city with high-rise office buildings and pedestrian malls. Although it is a major political and economic center, its reputation still rests on its beautiful situation between mountain and sea, its cosmopolitan population, and the liberal outlook of many of its citizens.

The climate of Cape Town is Mediterranean in type; The average high temperature is 70° F, in January and February, and the average low is 55° F, in July, but temperatures are cooler on the mountain slopes and on the coast. The winds, generally strong, come from the northwest in winter and vary from between southeast and southwest in summer. Southerly winds produce a cloud cover over Table Mountain known as the “tablecloth.”

More than half of the residents of the city and metropolitan area are Colored (the official term for people of mixed race), about one-fourth are white, about one-fifth are Black, and the remainder are of Asian—primarily Indian—origin. The cape’s early Dutch-speaking settlers gradually evolved a distinct variant of Dutch known as Afrikaans, and they themselves became known as Afrikaners, or Boers. In the metropolitan area Afrikaans is the first language of almost half the Coloreds and whites. Almost one-quarter speak English as a first language, and another quarter are equally at home in both languages. The Blacks are predominantly Xhosa speaking. The majority of the residents are members of Protestant churches, but there are also sizable communities of Roman Catholics and Muslims.

South Africa’s Group Areas Act of 1966 consolidated earlier acts aimed at enforcing the policy of racial segregation known as apartheid, and it provided for the reservation of certain areas for occupation by specific racial groups within the population.

During much of the 20th century there were no racial barriers in Cape Town, and both whites and nonwhites could vote and hold office. In 1972 (when there were six nonwhite councilors) national legislation removed nonwhites from the electoral rolls over protests from the citizens. The municipality continued to oppose apartheid legislation and in 1985 formally reiterated its belief that all people, regardless of race, color, or creed, have the democratic right to participate fully in the affairs of the city and its council. A peaceful protest march of some 40,000 people in September 1989 helped to create the climate for similar demonstrations in other parts of South Africa, the subsequent release from prison of the African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela, and the end of the system of apartheid.

Nelson Mandela, nicknamed Madiba, was born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, South Africa—and died December 5, 2013, in Johannesburg. He was a Black nationalist and the first Black president of South Africa (1994–99). His negotiations in the early 1990s with South African Pres. F.W. de Klerk helped end the country’s apartheid system of racial segregation and ushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule. Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993 for their efforts. Mandela was jailed for a total of 27 years. From 1964 to 1982 Mandela was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town.

Our objective in Cape Town was to visit Robben Island. We reached Robben Island by ferry — the former leper colony that was a political prison during Apartheid.

We viewed Nelson Mandela’s prison cell and heard a detailed commentary from a former political prisoner.

We saw the quarry, where prisoners faced back-breaking labor and where Mandela’s eyes were permanently damaged by the bright sun and dust. A typical day in the quarry for the convicts was to dig up limestone using picks, shovels and bare hands for 12 hours and move the limestone to the opposite end of the quarry. The next day, they were required to move it all back.

Soon it was time to return to the mainland where our journey through history continued with a visit to Langa — the oldest existing township (shanty town) in the Western Cape. Local community workers hosted us in this poor but lively community, as numerous squatters set about building their own brick homes, with the help of state grants.

We were served a lunch of traditional South African dishes at Lelapa Restaurant, which also happens to be a local home.

Finally, we drove back through town on our way to the ship. Here are a few sites of downtown Cape Town.