Dutch Empire/Governors of Cape Colony
The Governors of Cape Colony. From 1651-1691 they were called Commanders.
| Name | In Office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan van Riebeeck | 1652–1662 | Was the founder of Cape Town, he was charged with building a fort, with improving the natural anchorage at Table Bay, planting fruit and vegetables and obtaining livestock from the indigenous Khoi people. |
| 2 | Zacharias Wagenaer | 1662–1666 | |
| 3 | Cornelis van Quaelberg | 1666–1668 | |
| 4 | Jacob Borghorst | 1668–1670 | |
| 5 | Pieter Hackius | 1670–1671 | |
| 6 | Albert van Breugel | 1672 | |
| 7 | Isbrand Goske | 1672–1676 | |
| 8 | Johan Bax dit van Herenthals | 1676–1678 | |
| 9 | Hendrik Crudop | 1678–1679 | |
| 10 | Simon van der Stel | 1679–1699 | He became Commander at the Cape in 1679. The following year the town of Stellenbosch was founded, and named after him. In 1691 he was promoted to Governor of the Cape. He retired in 1699 |
| 11 | Willem Adriaan van der Stel | 1699–1707 | During his rule, van der Stel was viewed as corrupt and dictatorial. He spent much of the VOC money granted to him on his private estate. Fearing that the discontent might cause some burghers to become spies for the French, the VOC dismissed van der Stel, and ordered his return to the Netherlands. |
| 12 | Johannes Cornelis d’Ableing | 1707–1708 | |
| 13 | Louis van Assenburg | 1708–1711 | |
| 14 | Willem Helot | 1711–1714 | |
| 15 | Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes | 1714–1724 | |
| 16 | Jan de la Fontaine | 1724–1727 | After Governor Pasques de Chavonnes' demise de la Fontaine served as acting governor from 8 September 1724 to 25 February 1727. |
| 17 | Pieter Gijsbert Noodt | 1727–1729 | In 1727 Noodt succeeded de la Fontaine as governor until his sudden death on 23 April 1729. |
| 18 | Jan de la Fontaine | 1729–1737 | After Noodt's demise, de la Fontaine was again appointed as acting governor. He was finally appointed as official governor of the Cape on 8 March 1730. His service is described as "quietly efficient". Under his rule the area up to the Little Karoo valley was explored. He colonised the Mossel Bay area in 1734 by erecting a stone beacon displaying the VOC's and Dutch Republic's coats of arms. |
| 19 | Adriaan van Kervel | 1737 | Died after 3 weeks in office. |
| 20 | Daniël van den Henghel | 1737–1739 | |
| 21 | Hendrik Swellengrebel | 1739–1751 | |
| 22 | Ryk Tulbagh | 1751–1771 | As a 16-year old, he enlisted with the VOC and in 1716 embarked on the ship Terhorst to South Africa. The town of Tulbagh was named after him. |
| 23 | Joachim van Plettenberg | 1771–1785 | The town of Plettenberg Bay was named after him in 1779. |
| 24 | Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff | 1785–1791 | |
| 25 | Johannes Izaac Rhenius | 1791–1792 | |
| 26 | Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh and Simon Hendrik Frijkenius | 1792-1792 | |
| 27 | Abraham Josias Sluysken | 1793–1795 | |
| - | British Rule | 1795–1803 | |
| 28 | Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist | 1803–1804 | |
| 29 | Jan Willem Janssens | 1803–1806 | Upon another war between Britain and France, Janssens attempted to strengthen the defenses of the colony, but found resources lacking, having few trained troops at his disposal and the political situation tenuous at best. During this time, he was promoted to Lieutenant-General. Janssens was under no impression that he had the ability to defeat the British force, led by Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird, yet he mobilized his forces and engaged the British on January 8, 1806, at the Battle of Blaauwberg, near Cape Town. His force was defeated and he was forced to surrender Cape Colony to the British, this time permanently. |
