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CAPE TOWN

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 253 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CAPE See also:

TOWN , the See also:capital of the Cape See also:Province, See also:South See also:Africa, in 330 56' S., 18° 28' E. It is at the See also:north-See also:west extremity of the Cape See also:Peninsula on the south See also:shore of Table See also:Bay, is 6181 m. by See also:sea from See also:London and 957 by See also:rail south-west of See also:Johannesburg. Few cities are more magnificently situated. Behind the bay the massive See also:wall of Table See also:Mountain, 2 M. in length, rises to a height of over 3500 ft., while on the See also:east and west projecting mountains enclose the See also:plain in which the See also:city lies. The mountain to the east, 3300 ft. high, which projects but slightly seawards, is the See also:Devil's See also:Peak, that to the west the See also:Lion's See also:Head (over 2000 ft. high), with a lesser height in front called the Lion's Rump or See also:Signal See also:Hill. The city, at first confined to the See also:land at the head of the bay, has extended all See also:round the, shores of the bay and to the See also:lower spurs of Table Mountain. The purely Dutch aspect which Cape Town preserved until the See also:middle of the 19th See also:century has disappeared. Nearly all the See also:stucco-fronted See also:brick houses, with See also:flat See also:roofs and cornices and wide spreading stoeps, of the See also:early Dutch settlers have been replaced by shops, warehouses and offices in styles See also:common to See also:English towns. Of the many See also:fine public buildings which adorn the city scarcely any date before 186o. The mixture of races among the inhabitants, especially the presence of numerous See also:Malays, who on all festive occasions appear in gorgeous raiment, gives additional animation and See also:colour to the See also:street scenes. The mosques with their cupolas and minarets, and houses built in Eastern See also:fashion contrast curiously with the See also:Renaissance See also:style of most of the See also:modern buildings, the See also:medieval aspect of the See also:castle and the See also:quaint See also:appearance of the Dutch houses still See also:standing. See also:Chief Public Buildings.—The castle stands near the shore at the head of the bay.

Begun in 1666 its usefulness as a fortress has See also:

long ceased, but it serves to See also:link the city to its past. West of the castle is a large oblong space, the See also:Parade Ground. A little farther west, at the See also:foot of the central See also:jetty is a statue of See also:Van Riebeek, the first See also:governor of the Cape. In a See also:line with the jetty is Adderley Street, and its continuation See also:Government See also:Avenue. Adderley Street and the avenue make one straight road a mile long, and at its end are " the Gardens," as the suburbs built on the rising ground leading to Table Mountain are called. The avenue itself is fully See also:half a mile long and is lined on either See also:side with fine See also:oak trees. In Adderley Street are the customs See also:house and railway station, the See also:Standard See also:bank, the See also:general See also:post and See also:telegraph offices, with a See also:tower 120 ft. high, and the Dutch Reformed See also:church. The church See also:dates from 1699 and is the See also:oldest church in South Africa. Of the See also:original See also:building only the See also:clock tower (sent from See also:Holland in 1727) remains. Government Avenue contains, on the east side, the Houses of See also:Parliament, government house, a modernized Dutch building, and the Jewish See also:synagogue; on the west side are the See also:Anglican See also:cathedral and See also:grammar See also:schools, the public library, botanic gardens, the museum and South See also:African See also:college. Many of these buildings are of considerable architectural merit, the material chiefly used in their construction being See also:granite from the See also:Paarl and red brick. The botanic gardens See also:cover 14 acres, contain over 8000 varieties of trees and See also:plants, and afford a magnificent view of Table Mountain and its See also:companion heights.

In the gardens, in front of the library is a statue of See also:

Sir See also:George See also:Grey, governor of the Cape from 1854 to 1861. The most valuable portion of the library is the 5000 volumes presented by Sir George Grey. In See also:Queen See also:Victoria Street, which runs along the west side of the gardens, are the Cape University buildings (begun in 1906), the See also:law courts, City See also:club and Huguenot memorial See also:hall. The Anglican cathedral, begun in 1901 to replace an unpretentious building on the same site, is dedicated to St George. It lies between the library and St George's Street, in which are the chief newspaper offices, and premises of the wholesale merchants. West of St George's Street is Greenmarket Square, the centre of the town during the Dutch See also:period. From the See also:balcony of the town house, which overlooks the square, proclamations were read to the burghers, summoned to the spot by the ringing of the See also:bell in the small-domed tower. Still farther west, in Riebeek Square, is the old slave See also:market, now used as a church and school for coloured See also:people. Facing the north side of the Parade Ground are the handsome municipal buildings, completed in 1906. The most conspicuous feature is the clock tower and See also:belfry, 200 ft. high. The hall is 130 ft. by 62, and 55 ft. high. Opposite the See also:main entrance is a statue of See also:Edward VII. by See also:William Goscombe See also:John, unveiled in 1905.

The See also:

opera house occupies the north-west corner of the Parade Ground. Plein Street, which leads south from the Parade Ground, is noted for its cheap shops, largely patronized on Saturday nights by the coloured inhabitants. In Sir Lowry Road, the chief eastern thoroughfare, is the large See also:vegetable and See also:fruit market. Immediately west of the See also:harbour are the convict station and See also:Somerset See also:hospital. They are built at the town end of Greenpoint Common, the open space at the foot of Signal Hill. Cape Town is provided with an excellent See also:water See also:supply and an efficient drainage See also:system. The Suburbs.—The suburbs of Cape Town, for natural beauty of position, are among the finest in the See also:world. On the west they extend about 3 m., by See also:Green Point to Sea Point, between the sea and the foot of the Lion's Rump; on the east they run round the foot of the Devil's Peak, by See also:Woodstock, See also:Mowbray, Rondebosch, See also:Newlands, See also:Claremont, &c., to Wynberg, a distance of 7 M. Though these are managed by various municipalities, there is practically no break in the buildings for the whole distance. All the parts are connected by the suburban railway service, and by an electric See also:tramway system. A tramway also runs from the town over the Kloof, or pass between Table Mountain and the Lion's Head, to See also:Camp's Bay, on the west See also:coast south of Sea Point, to which See also:place it is continued, the tramway thus completely circling the Lion's Head and Signal Hill. Of the suburbs mentioned, Green Point and Sea Point are seaside resorts, Woodstock being both a business and residential See also:quarter.

Woodstock covers the ground on which the See also:

British, in 18o6, defeated the Dutch, and contains the house in which the articles of See also:capitulation were signed. Another seaside suburb is Milnerton on the north-east shores of Table Bay at the mouth of the Diep See also:river. Near See also:Maitland, and 3 M. from the city, is the Cape Town See also:observatory, built in. 182o and maintained by the British government. Rondebosch, 5 M. from the city, contains some of the finest of the Dutch mansions in South Africa. Less than a mile from the station is Groote Schuur, a typical specimen of the See also:country houses built by the Dutch settlers in the 17th century. The house was the See also:property of See also:Cecil See also:Rhodes, and was bequeathed by him for the use of the See also:prime See also:minister of Federated South Africa. The grounds of the See also:estate extend up the slopes of Table Mountain. At Newlands is See also:Bishop's See also:Court, the See also:home of the See also:archbishop of Cape Town. More distant suburbs to the south-east are See also:Constantia, with a famous Dutch See also:farm-house and See also:wine farm, and Muizenberg and See also:Kalk Bay, the two last villages on the shore of False Bay. At Muizenberg Cecil Rhodes died, 1902. Facing the See also:Atlantic is Holies Bay, 10 m. south-south-west of Wynberg.

Most of the suburbs and the city itself are exposed to the south-east winds which, passing over the flats which join the Cape Peninsula to the mainland, reach the city See also:

sand-laden. From its bracing qualities this See also:wind, which blows in the summer, is known as the " Cape See also:Doctor." During its prevalence Table Mountain is covered by a dense whitish-grey See also:cloud, overlapping its side like a tablecloth. The Harbour.—Table Bay, 20 M. wide at its entrance, is fully exposed to north and north-west See also:gales. The harbour See also:works, begun in 1860, afford sheltered See also:accommodation for a large number of vessels. From the west end of the bay a See also:breakwater extends north-east for some 4000 ft. East of the breakwater and parallel to it for 2700 ft. is the South See also:pier. From breakwater and pier arms project laterally. In the See also:area enclosed are the Victoria See also:basin, covering 64 acres, the See also:Alfred basin of 82 acres, a graving See also:dock 529 ft. long and a patent slip for vessels up to 1500 tons. There is See also:good anchorage outside the Victoria basin under the See also:lee of the breakwater, and since 1904 the See also:foreshore east of the south pier has been reclaimed and additional wharfage provided. Altogether there are 22 M. of See also:quay walls, the wharfs being provided with See also:electrical cranage. See also:Cargo can be transferred See also:direct from the See also:ship into railway trucks. Vessels of the deepest See also:draught can enter into the Victoria basin, the See also:depth of water at See also:low See also:tide ranging from 24 to 36 ft.

See also:

Trade and Communication.—The See also:port has a See also:practical mono-poly of the passenger See also:traffic between the Cape and See also:England. Several lines of steamers—chiefly British and German—maintain See also:regular communication with See also:Europe, the British See also:mail boats taking sixteen days on the See also:journey. By its railway connexions Cape Towh affords the quickest means of reaching, from western Europe, every other town in South Africa. In the import trade Cape Town is closely rivalled by Port See also:Elizabeth, but its export trade, which includes diamonds and See also:bar See also:gold, is fully 70% of that of the entire See also:colony. In 1898, the See also:year before the beginning of the Anglo-See also:Boer See also:war, the See also:volume of trade was:—Imports £5,128,292, exports £15,881,952. In 1904, two years after the conclusion of the war the figures were: imports £9,070,757; exports £17,471,760. In 1907 during a period of severe and prolonged trade depression the imports had fallen to £5,263,930, but the exports owing entirely to the increased output of gold from the See also:Rand mines had increased to £37,994,658; gold and diamonds represented over £37,000,000 of this See also:total. The See also:tonnage of See also:ships entering the harbour in 1887 was 801,033. In 1904 it had risen to 4,846,012 and in 1907 was 4,671,146. The trade of the port in tons was 1,276,350 in 1899 and 1,413,471 in 1904. In 1907 it had fallen to 658,721. See also:Defence.—Cape Town, being in the event of the closing of the See also:Suez See also:Canal on the main route of ships from Europe to the East, is of considerable strategic importance.

It is defended by several batteries armed with modern heavy guns. It is garrisoned by Imperial and See also:

local troops, and is connected by railway with the See also:naval station at See also:Simon's Town on the east of the Cape Peninsula. See also:Population.—The Cape electoral See also:division, which includes Cape Town, had in 1865 a population of 50,064, in 1875 57,319, in 1891 97,238, and in 1904 213,167, of whom 120,475 were whites. Cape Town itself had a population in 1875 of 33,000, in 1891 of 51,251 and in 1904 of 77,668. Inclusive of the nearer suburbs the population was 78,866 in 1891 and 170,083 in 1904. Of theinhabitants of the city proper 44,203 were See also:white (1904). Of the coloured inhabitants 6561 were Malays; the See also:remainder being chiefly of mixed See also:blood. The most populous suburbs in 1904 were Woodstock with 28,990 inhabitants, and Wynberg with 18,477• See also:History and Local Government.—Cape Town was founded in 1652 by settlers sent from Holland by the See also:Netherlands East See also:India Co., under See also:Jan van Riebeek. It came definitely into the See also:possession of See also:Great See also:Britain in 1806. Its See also:political history is indistinguishable from that of Cape Colony (q.v.). The town was granted municipal institutions in 1836. (Among the councillors returned at the See also:election of 1904 was Dr Abdurrahman, a See also:Mahommedan and a See also:graduate of See also:Edinburgh, this being, it is believed, the first instance of the election of a See also:man of colour to any See also:European representative See also:body in South Africa.) The See also:municipality owns the water and See also:lighting services.

The municipal rating value was, in 1880 £2,054,204, in 1901 £9,475,260, in 1908 (when the See also:

rate levied was 3d. in the £) £14,129,439. The total rateable value of the suburbs, not included in the above figures, is over £8,000,000. Rates are based on capital, not See also:annual, value. The See also:control of the port is vested in the Harbour and Railway See also:Board of the See also:Union. Cape Town is the seat of the legislature of the Union of South Africa, of the provincial government, of the provincial division of the Supreme Court of South Africa, and of the Cape University; also of an archbishop of the Anglican and a bishop of the See also:Roman See also:Catholic churches.

End of Article: CAPE TOWN

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