Cape Town

Port and oldest city (founded in 1652) in South Africa, situated at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, on Table Bay; population (2001) 2,893,300. Industries include oil-refining, shipbuilding, diamond-cutting, food processing, and the manufacture of plastics and clothing. The port is the second-largest in the country after Durban and there is considerable trade in wool, wine, fruit, grain, and oil. Tourism is important. It is the legislative capital of the Republic of South Africa and capital of Western Cape province.

History
The city dates from 1652 when Jan van Riebeeck established a settlement for the Dutch East India Company. He started construction of the Castle of Good Hope, and also established the gardens at Kirstenbosch in order to provide fresh vegetables and fruit for Dutch East India Company ships. The Dutch controlled the settlement (with the help of a French garrison) from 1781 to 1795, when it was captured by the British during the Napoleonic Wars. It reverted to Dutch control from 1803 to 1806, when it was once again occupied by British troops. In 1814 it became the capital of the British Cape Colony. From 1904 to 1961 it was the legislative capital of the Union of South Africa, and subsequently of the Republic of South Africa.