The following lists events that happened during the 1790s in South Africa.

Events

1790

* More

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

clans started crossing the

Great Fish River The Great Fish River (called ''great'' to distinguish it from the Namibian Fish River) ( af, Groot-Visrivier) is a river running through the South African province of the Eastern Cape. The coastal area between Port Elizabeth and the Fish R ...

in search of better grazing

1791

* 29 June – Johan Isaac Rhenius is appointed acting

Governor of the Cape Colony This article lists the governors of British South African colonies, including the colonial prime ministers. It encompasses the period from 1797 to 1910, when present-day South Africa was divided into four British colonies namely: Cape Colony (p ...

1792

* A

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

is founded in

Graaff Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was t ...

* A Moravian Mission is founded at

Genadendal Genadendal is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, built on the site of the oldest mission station in the country. It was originally known as Baviaanskloof, but was renamed Genadendal in 1806. Genadendal was the place of the fir ...

* 23 June –

Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh (7 March 1762 – 3 August 1811) was a Dutch statesman, first advocate and Commissioner General of the Dutch East India Company. Early life and career Nederburgh was the son of Advocate Herman Nederburgh, from The H ...

and Simon Hendrik Frijkenius, both Commissioner-Generals of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

arrive in the Cape to settle disputes between the free citizens and the company. ** 3 July – Sebastiaan Nederburgh is appointed Commissioner-general of the Cape

1793

s clash with the white settlers at the Fish River starting full out war, 2nd Cape Frontier War * War is declared by the victorious French revolutionaries against the Dutch Prince of Orange *

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

goes to war against France * 2 September –

Abraham Josias Sluysken Abraham Josias Sluysken (3 December 1736, Deventer - 18 January 1799, The Hague) was the last Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony before British occupation in 1795. Sluysken was born in the Netherlands, and in 1765 became governor of the Dutch tra ...

is appointed the Governor of the Cape. He is the last governor under

rule * 8 October – After a series of victories, the Dutch commandoes led by Landdrost Honoratus CD Maynier, could not force the

over the Fish River and peace was accepted and thereby ending the 2nd Cape Frontier War.

1795

* The

is in financial ruins * 29 January – Farmers expelled the officials of the Dutch East India Company and established an independent government at Graaff Reinet * 18 June

Swellendam Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them ...

follows

and declares a republic under Hermanus Steyn * The

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

is invaded by the French under the leadership of

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

* A republic is declared by Dutch revolutionaries and the Prince of Orange flees to England * 16 September – British forces under General Sir

James Henry Craig General Sir James Henry Craig KB (1748 – 12 January 1812) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. Early life and military service Craig came from a Scottish family whose father was a judge of the civil and military cour ...

seizes the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

for the Stadtholder Prince

William V of Orange William V (Willem Batavus; 8 March 1748 – 9 April 1806) was a prince of Orange and the last stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. He went into exile to London in 1795. He was furthermore ruler of the Principality of Orange-Nassau until his death in ...

* The republics of Graaff Reinet and Swellendam reject the British and the British army is sent in * The start of free trade was announced

1797

* 5 March – The Cape becomes a British colony * 4 May – Sir John Barrow, author and explorer, arrives at the

* 23 May – The first British

, Lord Macartney, arrives.

1798

* The first Post Office is established in the Cape Colony * The Dutch East India Company is

liquidate Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

d * The first mosque in southern Africa is established in Dorp Street by Tuan Guru * A Dutch Reformed Church is founded at Swellendam * 22 November Dundas is appointed Governor of the Cape

1799

* Farmers of Graaff Reinet revolt against the British * The 3rd Cape Frontier War starts between white settlers and the Xhosas and only ends in 1801 * The British build Fort Frederick in Algoa Bay * The eastern cape

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also '' Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 May 2018. Citing G. S. ...

revolt * The

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...

set up their first station at Zak River * First recorded landing on the

Prince Edward Islands The Prince Edward Islands are two small uninhabited islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island (named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, 1724–1772) and Prince Edward Island ...

by French sealersExploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia
/ref> * 5 November – HMS Sceptre, wrecking,

Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named b ...

* 18 December – Sir George Young is appointed Governor of the Cape

Births

* 19 December 1792 –

Hendrik Potgieter Andries Hendrik Potgieter, known as Hendrik Potgieter (19 December 1792 – 16 December 1852) was a Voortrekker leader and the last known Champion of the Potgieter family. He served as the first head of state of Potchefstroom from 1840 and 1845 ...

Voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyo ...

leader, is born in

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the ...

* 1 March 1797 – Gerhardus Marthinus Maritz, Voortrekker leader, is born in the

District * 21 June 1797 – Christoffel Brand, politician, (d. 1875) * 27 November 1798 –

Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa ...

, Voortrekker leader, is born in

Deaths

* 1793 – Baron

Joachim van Plettenberg Baron Joachim Ammena van Plettenberg (8 March 1739, Leeuwarden, Netherlands – 18 August 1793, Zwolle, Netherlands) was the governor of the Cape of Good Hope from 11 August 1771 to 14 February 1785. Plettenberg was presiding governor after ...

, Governor of the

, dies

References

{{Reflist See

Years in South Africa This is a list of years in South Africa. Before European colonization * BCE in Southern Africa * Early CE in Southern Africa * 13th century * 14th century Colonization *15th century * 16th century * * * * * * * * * * * * * Union of So ...

for list of other References History of South Africa