Kaap Kolonie or ZuidAfrika
This is the 2nd autonomous dominion within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Established in 1652 as a refreshing station by the VOC it slowly grew in a colony around the main settlement Kaapstad (Capetown) During the 18th century several other hamlets were established. How ever colonization was discouraged by the VOC numerous ways. The influx of colonist there for was limited and the wealth of the settlers remained low.
In 1689 a second colony was founded in Terra Natal, after a difficult start this fort Stavenisse grew to a significant trading settlement but like theCape colony was hampered in it growth and prosperity by the rules and regulations of the VOC
The real growth came when VOC came in financial problems during the4th Anglo-Dutch war and as a sort of government support sold their Cape colony and Stavenisse colony to the State General of the United Provinces.
The price the Dutch Republic paid was not significant but it relieved the VOC of the cost of defending and maintenance
The State General rewarded the settlements of the Cape Colony and the Stavenisse colony with several charters and raised Cape town to Kaap stad. The charters give the settlement the right for several privileges like right of (city0 government, making laws, raising taxes etc. and the right to call them city.
All settlements united them selves in a counsel of cities which formed the basis for future government. With the barriers of the VOC gone, the colonies saw an increased economical growth an with that an increase flow of immigrants. Due to the trading with India, Arabia and East Africa the immigrants were not only from Europe. This in turn was reason for several families to move ever further inland, a way from what they called strangers. Never the less the number of this families was low but, they were the fore runners and scouts of interior.
When the Dutch Republic became the Batavian Republic and defacto a vassal of France, the Cape colony was occupied by the United Kingdom in 1799. After improving relations between the UK and France the colony was given back to the Dutch. The first occupation of the English went almost without resistance. When tensions and finaly open war between France and the UK came the British invaded the colony again in 1806. Mean while military reinforcements arrived from the Netherlands and the former neutral attitude towards the English of the Cape colonist changed toward hostile the English experienced an armed resistance. This resistance was not met in open battles but in guerrilla kind of assaults. When Napoleon left the stage and Europe tried to restore the old order the Cape colony was returned back to the new Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The colony had given the United Kingdom to much troubles and it was found easier to govern the own refreshing station and colony East of the Cape colony.
This was confirmed it the Treaty of London in 1814, in which also the slave trade was forbidden. This last gave some stir in the Cape colony but only a hand full of families joined the small group of ''voortrekkers'' in to the ''veld".
Like all trading post or colonies of the Dutch, Dutch was the ''lingua franca '' of the administration and trade, but it was not propagated as the official laguage. So the Dutch of Zuid Africa developed like the Dutch of Brasil and Guyana and Gold Coast as a "Dutch" with multiple loan words form other languages. This also reflecting the numerous origins of the people living there. The cape colony was not only in habit by immigrants from the Netherlands but as well, French Huguenots, German from Rhineland, Flemish, Walon, Scots, Indians from Kerala and Tamil Nadu and Omani, and Khoisan and Xhosa.
One significant boast for the economy and immigration was the discovery of gold around 1870 and diamonds.