Cape Town

Article Summary by: MAHIDHARSINGH

Original Author: Mahidhar Singh

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Cape Town is the southernmost part on the coast of Africa, situated about 48 kilometres (30 miles) north of the

Cape of Good Hope. It is the capital of Western Cape province and one of the three capitals of the Republic of South Africa. The South African parliament meets here, but the main government offices are at Pretoria in the northern part of the country, while the highest law court is in Bloemfontein in the orange Free State. Many people wrongly think of the port of Cape Town as being located on the shallow False Bay and facing south. In reality, the harbour is located on Table Bay and faces in a general northerly direction. The seas off Cape Town are noted for their rough water and severe storms. The construction of a sea-well or breakwater has been necessary to provide safe shelter for ships.
Cape Town is one of the most spectacularly situated cities in the world. Below it is Table Bay and behind it is flat-topped Table Mountain, with Devil’s peak to the East and Lion’s Head to the West. The highest point, Maclear’s Beacon, is 1086 metres (3563 feet) high and can be reached by cable car.
The climate of Cape Town is different from the climates elsewhere in South Africa. It is considered the most pleasant climate of the country. It is the same type of climate as the west coast of California in the United States and the Mediterranean lands of Europe. The temperatures are moderate all year round. The summers are dry and most of the rainfall between occurs during the winter months. Summer is between October and March because the city is in the Southern Hemisphere. Numerous species of flowers, such as orchids, grow in abundance.
The principal street, Adderley Street, leads down to the docks area, which includes one of the world’s largest dry docks (used for ship repair). Cape Town used to be the "halfway house" for ships sailing between Europe and the countries of the East, but it lost that advantage when the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, giving ships a shorter route through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The port has one of the world’s largest dry docks and ship repair is an important industry. Other industries include petroleum refining, chemical and fertiliser processing, cement production, car assembly, and light industries such as the manufacture of clothing, plastics, and leather goods.
In the suburb of Rondebosch is Groote Schuur, once the home of the South African statesman Cecil Rhodes. It was used for many years as the residence of the prime minister and then the president of South Africa. Behind it in the mountain slopes is the University of Cape Town, the city’s principal centre of learning.
The population of the Cape Town metropolitan area is more than two million, and in the early 1990s it was the only such area whose white population outnumbered its blacks. Its other residents include coloureds (people of mixed race), Indians, and Malays. Under the influence of the Malays, who were brought in as slaves by early Dutch colonists, a lovely type of architecture was developed in the early homes. Some of these homes, with their white washed and curved faceds and spiralled chimneys, have been preserved as national monuments.
The first permanent white settlement in the area that is now Cape Town was begun in 1652 by Dutch settlers, who built a fort and established vegetable gardens so that ships on their way to the Dutch colonies in the East Indies could obtain fresh provisions. French protestants who had been forced to leave their home country later joined the colony, which steadily grew, until by the end of the 17th century the town had taken shape.