biface from Stellenbosch
Pre-history In 1899
Louis Péringuey discovered
Paleolithic stone tools of the
Acheulean type at a site named Bosman's Crossing near the Adam Tas Bridge at the western entrance to Stellenbosch. This indicates that human habitation of the area dates as far back as 1 million years. By 10,000 to 20,000 years ago the population, assumed to have been ancestors of the
San people, were established in the area.
Founding and early history style in Stellenbosch The town was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the
Cape Colony,
Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself – Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's Forest". It is situated on the banks of the Eerste River ("First River"), so named as it was the first new river he reached and followed when he went on an expedition over the Cape Flats to explore the territory towards what is now known as Stellenbosch. The town grew so quickly that it became an independent local authority in 1682 and the seat of a
magistrate with jurisdiction over in 1685. From the beginning, the population living in the town and its surroundings was highly mixed, consisting of European (Dutch, French, German) burghers, enslaved people, 15 individual free-blacks, 16 and indigenous Khoi and San people. A minority of these free-blacks were able to amass significant wealth, even owning farms and enslaved people and employing white servants. The indigenous Khoisan were never officially enslaved, but due to several factors, including colonial encroachment on their hunting and grazing lands, illness, and extermination by European hunting parties, they were gradually forced to submit to colonial rule despite widespread resistance. Many became labourers on farms, domestic workers, or wagon drivers. Farming was the dominant industry of the town, and due to the massive size of the early land grants, European farmers depended on enslaved and Indigenous labour. Early visitors commented on the oak trees and gardens. During 1690 some
Huguenot refugees settled in Stellenbosch,
grapes were planted in the fertile valleys around Stellenbosch and soon it became the centre of the South African
wine industry. When the church was rebuilt in 1723 it was located on what was then the outskirts of the town, to prevent a similar incident from destroying it again. This church has been enlarged a number of times since 1723 and is currently known as the "Moederkerk" (Mother Church).
Since the 1800s The first school had been opened in 1683, but education in the town began in earnest in 1859 with the opening of a seminary for the Dutch Reformed Church.
Rhenish Girls' High School, established in 1860, is the oldest school for girls in South Africa. A
gymnasium, known as
het Stellenbossche Gymnasium, was established in 1866. In 1874 some higher classes became Victoria College and then in 1918
University of Stellenbosch. The first men's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Wilgenhof, in 1903. In 1905 the first women's hostel to be established in Stellenbosch was Harmonie . Harmonie and Wilgenhof were part of the Victoria College. In 1909 an old boy of the school,
Paul Roos, captain of the first national rugby team to be called the
Springboks, was invited to become the sixth rector of the school. He remained rector until 1940. On his retirement, the school's name was changed to
Paul Roos Gymnasium. With the manumission of enslaved people in 1838, the population of Stellenbosch's town centre increased as formerly enslaved people moved there, away from the isolated farmsteads. This small exodus formed the basis of the District's coloured community, and by 1850, they had established a neighbourhood and community which became known as ‘Die Vlakte’. came into use; so much so, that in similar cases officers were spoken of as "Stellenbosched" even if they were sent to some other place. == Apartheid ==