CAP 



404 



CAP 



Cape of 

 Good 

 Hope, 

 Cape 



Town. 



as were to be condemned to banishment or the guil- 

 lotine ; and even the slaves had their meetings, and 

 began to hail the period of their complete emancipa- 

 tion. The appearance of a British fleet, however, in 

 ' 1795, soon put an end to these proceedings. The 

 Dutch force was driven from the advanced posts of 

 Simon's Town and Muysemberg by General Craig, 

 with a very small body of the 78th regiment, aided 

 by corps of seamen and marines, landed for the oc- 

 casion from the fleet in False Bay, commanded by 

 Sir George Keith Elphinstone ; and the important 

 advantage which had been gained was maintained in 

 the face of a superior force by that able general, un- 

 til the arrival of an army under Sir Alured Clarke, 

 when, on the advance of the British to Wynberg, 

 terms of capitulation were accepted of. During 

 the seven years it remained in our possession, a wise 

 and liberal policy had considerably increased its 

 revenue and commerce ; and, on closing the pub- 

 lic accounts the year after the departure of Lord 

 Macartney, the governor, a balance of between two 

 and three hundred thousand rix-dollars remained in 

 the treasury, after defraying all the expences of the 

 colony. By the peace of Amie.is, in 1802, it was 

 delivered up to the Batavian republic in full sove- 

 reignty ; but so far declared a free port, that the 

 ships of the British and French nations were to be al- 

 lowed to enter its harbours, upon paying the same 

 duties as those of the mother country. In 1806, it 

 was again taken by the British, under Sir David 

 Baird and Sir Home Popham, under whose domi- 

 nion it still remains. See BRITAIN, vol. ir. p. 680. 

 See An Account of Travels into the Interior of South- 

 ern Africa, by John Barrow, Esq. who, in the se- 

 cond volume of this valuable work, has treated, at 

 considerable length, of the value and importance of 

 the Cape of Good Hope, as a military and naval sta- 

 tion, as a seat of commerce, as a central depot for 

 the southern whale fishery, and as a territorial pos- 

 session ; and by way of conclusion adds, " that, un- 

 der the present implacable disposition of France to- 

 wards this country, and the insatiable ambition of its 

 government, Great Britain never can relinquish the 

 possession of this colony for any length of time, with- 

 out seriously endangering the safety of her Indian 

 trade, and the existence of her empire in the East." 

 See also Sparrman, Le Vaillant, Thunberg, and Pa- 

 terson's Travels in 1 his Settlement ; Stavormus's Voy~ 

 ages to the East Indies, vol. i. p. 535, &c. and iii. p. 

 432, &c.; Lord Valentia's Travels* vol. i. p. 41, &c.; 

 Peuchet Dictionnaire, &c. ; Semple's Walks and 

 Sketches at the Cctpe of Good Hope ; and Perceval's 

 Account of the Cape of Good Hope, (p) 



CAPE TOWN, the capital of the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and the only place in the colony that deserves 

 the name of a town, stands on a sloping plain at the 

 south-west corner of Table Bay, and is surrounded, 

 except towards the sea, by black and dreary moun- 

 tains. It is a regular and neatly built town, and well 

 watered by a plentiful stream which issues from the 

 Table Mountain. Many of the streets are of con- 

 siderable breadth, having canals of water running 

 through them, which are walled in, and planted on 

 each side with oaks ; but others are narrow and lil- 

 paved. They are all straight, however, being laid 

 ut with a line, and intersect each other at right 



angles. The houses are in general built of stone, 

 and white washed, and the greatest numbers are two 

 stories high, with flat roofs, and a kind of pediment 

 in the centre. The spacious squares give the town 

 an open and airy appearance ; the public market is 

 held in one ; another is the common resort of the 

 farmers and graziers with their waggons ; and a third 

 is used as a parade for exercising the troops. This 

 last lies between the town and the castle, and has 

 two of its sides completely built up with large and 

 handsome houses. The castle stands a little east of 

 the town. It is a pentagon fort, surrounded with 

 a ditch and regular outworks, and contains with- 

 in its walls the Lombard Bank, the Orphan Cham- 

 ber, and most of the public offices of government. 

 It also affords accommodation for 1000 men witk 

 their officers, and has magazines for artillery storea 

 and ammunition. But though it commands the town 

 and part of the anchorage, it is entirely indefensible 

 against the batteries which have been erected upon 

 the rising ground towards the Devil's Hill. The 

 barracks, originally intended for an hospital, grana- 

 ries, &c. which, with its two wings, occupies a part 

 of one of the sides of the great square, is a large 

 and regular edifice, and has sufficient convenience in 

 the upper part of the building for 4000 men. The 

 other public buildings are the Calvinist church, the 

 Lutheran church, the court of justice, the guard- 

 house, and the theatre. 



Behind the town, on the acclivity of Table Moun- 

 tain, is the government house, and a beautiful pub- 

 lic garden, which is an oblong piece of ground, con- 

 taining about 40 acres of rich land, and divided into 

 forty-tour squares by oak hedges. Part of it has 

 been appropriated for the reception of scarce and 

 curious native plants, and for experiments upon such 

 Asiatic and European productions as may seem most 

 likely to be cultivated with benefit to the colony. 

 Over the same acclivity are also scattered a number 

 of handsome villas, each of which is surrounded with 

 plantations and gardens. Besides the castle, Cape 

 Town is defended by several other forts, which have 

 been erected along the shore of Table Bay. On 

 the east side of the town is Fort Knokke, which is 

 connected with the castle by a rampart called the 

 sea- lines ; and a little farther on is Craig's tower and 

 battery. On the west side, and surrounding the 

 Lion's Rump, are Rogge-bay battery, Amsterdam 

 battery, and Chavonne battery, which all bear upon 

 the anchorage ; and the entrance of the bay is com- 

 manded by a small battery, called the Mouille. 



This town contains 1145 dwelling-houses, which 

 are inhabited by 5500 whites and people of colour, 

 and about 10,000 blacks. The greatest portion of 

 the day is devoted to drinking and smoking by ma- 

 ny. They have no relish for public amusements, 

 and no taste for literature and the fine arts. Indeed, 

 there is not a bookseller's shop in the whole town : 

 and the only library oi the place was .eft by an indi- 

 vidual for the use of the public. It is under the di- 

 rection of the church, but it is very little used. A 

 public school even has never yet been established in 

 the colony, though the exertions both of the govern- 

 ment and the clergy have been united in the attempt. 

 Many of the inhabitants are in easy circumstances, 

 although there are not many who can be called rich, 

 1 



Gape 

 Town. 



