KECOVERY OF THE COLONY BY ENGLISH. 27 
English fleet arrived in Simons' Bay, bringing 
letters from the Prince of Orange, enjoining 
the Cape Government to place the Colony un- 
der British protection. This advice being dis- 
regarded by the French party then at the head 
of affairs, a forcible possession of the Colony 
was taken, on the 16th of September follow- 
ing. 
At the signature of the treaty, at the peace 
of Amiens, in 1801, the restoration of this 
Colony to the Dutch was ordered to take place, 
on the 1st of October of that year. This was, 
however, delayed until the 20th of February, 
1803 ; when its inhabitants were " absolved 
from their allegiance, to his Britannic Ma- 
jesty." 
On the recommencement of hostilities in 
Europe shortly afterwards, the British Govern- 
ment, knowing the utility of the Cape as a depot, 
determined again to resume possession of it. 
After some slight resistance on the part of 
the Dutch troops at Blauwberg, Cape Town 
capitulated on the 10th of January, 1806, and 
the Colony was finally ceded to England, at the 
congress of Yienna, in 1815. From that date 
to the present, it has remained, as we hope long 
to see it, a colony of the British Empire. 
Thus far we have sketched the early records 
of this part of the world, including its geogra- 
