Author: Colin Graham Botha

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-09

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9781331049975

Excerpt from The French Refugees, at the Cape I have endeavoured in the following pages to give a brief account of the arrival and settlement of the French Refugees at the Cape in the seventeenth century. Their coming was of some importance to the Colony, especially with regard to farming operations. They brought with them a knowledge of viticulture which in no small measure helped to promote and advance the prosperity of the Cape of Good Hope. Further, they were an aid to the general colonization of the place. The Refugees came when there was a want of men with a knowledge of the manufacture of wine and brandy and of the cultivation of olives. The Dutch East India Company had no definite scheme of colonizing its various possessions, but an exception was made as regards the Cape. Emigrants were sent out from time to time during the seventeenth century, and Netherlanders came here at the same time as the French. With regard to the latter, I have dealt in the following pages with matters relating to their settlement at Drakenstein, their church and their language, and have added a list of names of those who came out from 1688 onwards. It is hoped that this list will throw some fresh light on some of those who found a new home here. It has been compiled from a variety of sources, and has taken some years of careful research to complete. A little while ago my attention was drawn to a paper read in 1895 to the Huguenot Society in London by Captain W. H. Hinde, R.E., on "The Huguenot Settlement at the Cape of Good Hope." Annexed to the publication is a list of Huguenot families of the Cape compiled by the late Mr. C. C. de Villiers. Upon comparing it with my list I was pleased to see what I had gathered was in many respects in more detail, especially as to the place of origin and the ships in which some of the Refugees came out. However, a debt of gratitude is due to the late Mr. de Villiers for what he has done for the student interested in genealogical studies of this country. None but those who have undertaken the task of framing such a list can appreciate the labour expended. Every conceivable class of record which might throw some light on the enquiry was examined. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.