Pools and other Places Where did the people of South Africa like to swim? Before Great Britain occupied the Dutch East Indian station at the Cape in 1795, little attention was paid to aquatic sports of any kind. The English, having introduced their enthusiasm for organized sports, built indoor swimming pools where they swam and played water polo. Water carnivals that drew large crowds were held in the "graving" or dry dock in Cape Town harbour, and clubs were set up to foster rivalries.
The whole sub-continent had been occupied by various groups for a very long time. There are thousands of Stone Age sites in the wild – caves and rock shelters; inland and along the coast – that record the way of life and history of people in the region over nearly 2 million years. The San, or Bushmen, who roamed the area leaving behind their rock art, are among the oldest cultures on Earth. Later Bantu tribes migrated into the area from central Africa, occupying the northeastern part of South Africa. These tribesmen were particularly warlike (genocidal) amongst themselves, and any San peoples found along the way.
The Europeans came into the area next. The first Portuguese reached Mozambique in 1498, and then the Dutch, in the form of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), set up their African settlement at the Cape in 1652. They brought in people from their Indian Ocean colonies as slaves or prisoners, who later became members of the Cape Coloured community.
The British took control of the Cape in 1795 after defeating the VOC at the Battle of Muizenberg. By then the Dutch had spread northeastwards, to the Fish River and north up Governor van Plettenberg's beacon near the Orange River - 800 km away. The Dutch farmers who lived on their isolated farms usually got together once a month for the nagmaal church service. The British military presence expanded into the same space but was largely limited to the towns., where they displaced the existing Dutch political leaders.
Where did the people of South Africa like to swim? Before Great Britain occupied the Dutch East Indian station at the Cape in 1795, little attention was paid to aquatic sports of any kind. The English, having introduced their enthusiasm for organized sports, built indoor swimming pools where they swam and played water polo. Water carnivals that drew large crowds were held in the "graving" or dry dock in Cape Town harbour, and clubs were set up to foster rivalries.
The whole sub-continent had been occupied by various groups for a very long time. There are thousands of Stone Age sites in the wild – caves and rock shelters; inland and along the coast – that record the way of life and history of people in the region over nearly 2 million years. The San, or Bushmen, who roamed the area leaving behind their rock art, are among the oldest cultures on Earth. Later Bantu tribes migrated into the area from central Africa, occupying the northeastern part of South Africa. These tribesmen were particularly warlike (genocidal) amongst themselves, and any San peoples found along the way.
The Europeans came into the area next. The first Portuguese reached Mozambique in 1498, and then the Dutch, in the form of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), set up their African settlement at the Cape in 1652. They brought in people from their Indian Ocean colonies as slaves or prisoners, who later became members of the Cape Coloured community.
The British took control of the Cape in 1795 after defeating the VOC at the Battle of Muizenberg. By then the Dutch had spread northeastwards, to the Fish River and north up Governor van Plettenberg's beacon near the Orange River - 800 km away. The Dutch farmers who lived on their isolated farms usually got together once a month for the nagmaal church service. The British military presence expanded into the same space but was largely limited to the towns., where they displaced the existing Dutch political leaders.