European Settlement
In 1652 a permanent European settlement was established in Cape Town in the far south west of the country. It was not originally planned as a colony but as a refreshment station. Malnutrition, especially scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency arising from a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, was a problem for the ships of the Dutch East India Company that were plying trade between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, modern Indonesia.
To deal with the problems, the Company established a garden at the foot of Table Mountain and bartered cattle from the Khoikhoi to supply to passing ships.
However, the arrival of permanent European settlers triggered profound change. The Europeans decimated the San driving them to the Kalahari Desert region and virtually destroyed the Khoikhoi people as a struggle for land commenced. The Khoikhoi became farm workers and their identity merged with other groups.
Land hunger led to wars between the Bantu as the settlers migrated eastwards from the original settlement in Cape Town.
Between the wars, commerce developed between the settlers and the indigenous peoples. Sales of produce and stock saw the development of a black, landed peasantry.
Read more about this topic: Economic History Of South Africa
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