The First Vryburghers May 1656

Early Land Grants and Entrepreneurship at the Cape

In 1655, the Lords Seventeen decided to reduce the Company's expenses by settling free families on land above the fort. This initiative was further developed in May 1656, when the council at the Cape resolved to grant families as much land as they could cultivate.

This period also saw the emergence of early private enterprise. In May 1656, both Annette de Boerin and the wife of Sergeant Jan Harwarden were granted licenses to open boarding houses for visitors.

Usage Terms for Website Content

This applies to all databases on this website.

You are welcome to copy facts, names, and dates for your own use, subject to the terms of our license. Please click on the link provided to view the full terms.

However, please be aware that you may not copy and paste sentences from my histories or introductions, and Blog, onto your own website, as these are protected by copyright.

All images and photographs on this site are either AI-generated, open source, or copyright protected.

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.