Early architecture at the Cape under the VOC (1652-1710) : the characteristics and influence of the proto-Cape Dutch period

[摘要] This thesis is set within the historical context of the commercial empire of the VOC(Dutch East India Company), which established a refreshment post for its ships at theCape of Good Hope, South Africa, in 1652.The central proposition of the thesis is that the architectural principles established at theCape between 1652 and 1710 had a greater influence on subsequent developments thanhas previously been acknowledged.This proposition challenges the widely accepted theory that Cape Dutch architecturedeveloped as an evolution from vernacular beginnings. Re.search in the field to date hasfocused largely on Cape Dutch buildings, dating from after the mid-18th century, andon later survivals of vernacular types. As a result the buildings erected prior to 1710,defined here as proto-Cape Dutch, have been largely ignored.To redress this imbalance, the thesis investigates the proto-Cape Dutch period in itsown right, by presenting the widest possible range of building types erected during thisperiod. Since few of these buildings survive, the evidence for the thesis was derivedlargely from archival material. This comprised three types of contemporary sources:the official records of the VOC, the written accounts of visitors to the Cape, and thedrawings of visiting artists. Some sources were clearly unreliable, but in several cases itwas possible to reconcile evidence which initially appeared to be contradictory.The interpretation and evaluation of this research is addressed in Part 1 of the thesis.The architectural evidence is presented in Part 2, where the process of analysis andreconciliation is revealed. This process facilitated the detailed reconstruction of some ofthe more prominent buildings of the proto-Cape Dutch period no longer in existence.The thesis contends that such buildings, with sophisticated plans and Renaissanceproportions, were the stimulus for the development of Cape Dutch architecture later inthe 18th century.The thesis thus comprises three major components: the development of a researchmethod; the re-evaluation through this method of a number of buildings knownprimarily from documentary sources; and the proposition based on this re-evaluationthat Cape Dutch architecture was a simplification of the precedent established by themore sophisticated buildings of the proto-Cape Dutch period. The method employedand the conclusions drawn from the evidence may suggest applications in similarcolonial circumstances elsewhere.LIST OF KEY WORDSCape Dutch architecture - Civil engineering works - Dutch colonial architecture -Fortifications - Hospitals - Non-residential buildings - Proto-Cape Dutch architecture -Religious buildings - Residential buildings - Town planning

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand