Die geskiedenis van die Langkloof tot 1795

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Sincethebeginning ottheeighteenth centurywhite cattlefarmers passed regularlythrough theLangkloof. Atthetimethey appeared on thescene native hunters and stock-farmers hadalready settled inthe valley.By takingtwenty farms onloanfromthe DutchEast India Colllpanythe entire Langkloofwasoccupiedby whitesbetween the years1760 to1765. Theywere predominantlymembersd the secondand thirdgenerationof the settlerswhooriginallyca;neto the Cape clGoodHope.Thecommunity whichevolved duringthe lastfourdecades ot theeighteenth centuryin the Langkloof as a result or the influx cl whites,consistedofa smallnumber offamilies.Themajority oC thesefamilies wererelated to oneanother.Except for a fewleading figures andpersonsnotorious for theirunconventional conduct, therewereno other outstanding characters inthe Langkloof.Thefirst whiteinhabitants were pioneers who,living inisolation, had tostruggle forsurvival. They weremainlystock-farmers, butasthe result of theclimate andvegetation,thelargedistancesfn:Ma themarketplace,andthe detrimental economic policyorthegovern nentoC the DutchEastIndia Company,they could notprosper.Culturally they weredeprived. There isonly scanty evidence of formal educationin theLangkloof, butthemajority of white adults could atleast signtheir names. The only contacttheyhad withthe outside world waswithexpeditions travellingthrough thevalley, and with theofficials oftheCompany, especially those stationed atthe drostdyatSwellendam. Thechurches closest tothem,inTulbagh andcape Town,wereas a result of the distances, almostexclusively visited onoccasions ofbaptismand weddings.During approximately thelasttwodecades ofthe ruleottheDutch East India Company, liteIn theLangklootgained anadditional dimension asaresultofthepoliticalturbulence surrounding the rebellion againsttheauthoritiesatSwellendam,andthethreatthe Bantueast ofthe valley posedto the survival of the whites.Up to1795therewereno significant dramatichappenings in the Langkloof.Withoutbeing inthe centre ofattention the community in thevalley wasdeveloping anownunique identity.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University