South Africa Colonial Records

Portuguese Colonization (1487-1488)
The Portuguese claimed the islands of South Africa in name only in the late 15th century, never sending settlers to the area. The largest single event of Portuguese settlement occurred when the former Portuguese colonies became independent in 1975, with most of these refugees going to Portugal and Brazil. However, a significant number of refugees from Angola and Mozambique made their way to South Africa, making South Africa the home of the largest Portuguese African population we have today.

Dutch Colonization (1652-1795 and 1803-1806)
In 1652, the Dutch East India Company sent an expedition to the Cape of Good Hope to establish a permanent Dutch settlement. Britain invaded and took control from 1795-1803. When war between the British and French broke out in 1806, Britain took permanent occupation. In 1814 the Dutch government formally ceded sovereignty over the Cape to the British, under the terms of the Convention of London.

British Colonization (1795-1960)
In 1795, after the Battle of Muizenberg in present-day Cape Town, the British occupied the colony. Under the terms of the Peace of Amiens of 1802, Britain returned the colony to the Dutch on 1 March 1803. However, the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803 invalidated the Peace of Amiens, and in 1806 the British occupied the colony for the second time. The South Africa Act of 1909 consolidated British colonies into one nation called the Union of South Africa. The nation became an independent Dominion of the British Empire, governed by constitutional monarchy, with the British monarch represented by a Governor-General. The Union of South Africa came to an end after a referendum on 5 October 1960, when a majority of white South Africans voted in favor of unilateral withdrawal from the British Commonwealth and the establishment of a Republic of South Africa.