Cape of Good Hope, a promontory of Africa, where the Dutch have built a good town and fort. It is situated in the country of the Hottentots: for an account of whom, and of the country at large, with its first discovery, see the article HOTTENTOTS.

The Cape of Good Hope has been generally esteemed the most southerly point of Africa, though it is not truly so. In Phillipi's Voyage to Botany Bay*, we are * P. 35 told, that the land which projects farthest to the south is a point to the east of it, called by the English Cape Lagullus; a name corrupted from the original Portuguese das Aguilles, which, as well as the French appellation des Aiguielles, is descriptive of its form, and would rightly be translated Needle cape.

On approaching the cape, a very remarkable emi- Good Hope nence may in clear weather be discovered at a considerable distance; and is called the Table-mountain from its appearance, as it terminates in a flat horizontal surface, from which the face of the rock descends almost perpendicularly. In the mild or summer season, which commences in September, and continues till March, the Table Land or Mountain, is sometimes suddenly capped with a white cloud, by some called the spreading of the Table-cloth. When this cloud seems to roll down the steep face of the mountain, it is a sure indication of an approaching gale of wind from the south-east; which generally blows with great violence, and sometimes continues a day or more, but in common is of short duration. On the first appearance of this cloud, the ships in Table Bay begin to prepare for it, by striking yards and top-masts, and making every thing as snug as possible.—A little to the westward of the Table Land, divided by a small valley, stands on the right-hand side of Table Bay a round hill, called the Sugar Loaf; and by many the Lion's Head, as there is a continuance from it contiguous to the sea, called the Lion's Rump; and when you take a general view of the whole, it very much resembles that animal with his head erect. The Sugar Loaf or Lion's Head, and the Lion's Rump, have each a flag staff on them, by which the approach of ships is made known to the governor, particularly their number, nation, and the quarter from which they come. To the eastwards, separated by a small chasm from the Table Land, stands Charles's Mount, well known by the appellation of the Devil's Tower, or Devil's Head; and so called from the violent gusts of wind supposed to issue from it when it partakes of the cap that covers the Table Land, though these gusts are nothing more than a degree of force the wind acquires in coming through the chasm. When this phenomenon appears in the morning, which is by no means so frequent as in the evening, the sailors have a saying, as the Devil's Tower is almost contiguous to the Table Land, that the old gentleman is going to breakfast; if in the middle of the day, that he is going to dinner; and if in the evening, that the cloth is spread for supper. Table-mountain rises about 3567 feet above the level of the sea; the Devil's Tower, about 3368; and the Lion's Head, 2764. In the neighbourhood of the latter lies Constantia, a district consisting of two farms, wherein the famous wines of that name are produced.

The above-described high lands form a kind of amphitheatre about the Table-valley, where the Cape-town stands. This is situated at the bottom of the middle height, or Table mountain; and almost in the centre of the Table Bay, so called from that mountain.—This bay, it is observed in Phillips's Voyage, "cannot properly be called a port, being by no means a station of security; it is exposed to all the violence of the winds which let into it from the sea; and is far from sufficiently secured from those which blow from the land. The gusts which descend from the summit of Table-mountain are sufficient to force ships from their anchors, and even violently to annoy persons on the shore, by destroying any tents or other temporary edifices, which may be erected, and raising clouds of fine dust, which produce very troublesome effects. A gale of this kind, from the south-east, blew for three days successively when Captain Cook lay here in his first voyage; at which time, he informs us, the Good Hope, Resolution was the only ship in the harbour that had not dragged her anchor." The storms from the sea are still more formidable; so much so, that ships have frequently been driven by them from their anchorage, and wrecked at the head of the bay. But these accidents happen chiefly in the quadra monson, or winter months, from May 14th to the same day of August; during which time few ships venture to anchor here. Our fleet arriving later, lay perfectly un molested as long as it was necessary for it to remain in this station.—False Bay, on the south-east side of the Cape, is more secure than Table Bay during the prevalence of the north-west winds, but still lets so in strong gales from the south-east. It is, however, less frequented, being 24 miles of very heavy road distant from Cape Town, whence almost all necessaries must be procured. The most sheltered part of False Bay is a recess on the west side, called Simon's Bay."

Mr White, in his Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, thus describes Cape Town. From the shipping, he observes, "the town appears pleasantly situated, but at the same time small; a deception that arises from its being built in a valley with such stupendous mountains directly behind it. On landing, however, you are surprised, and agreeably disappointed, to find it not only extensive, but well built, and in a good style; the streets spacious, and intersecting each other at right angles with great precision. This excellence in the formation of the streets, when viewed from the Table Land, is observed to be very great. The houses in general are built of stone, cemented together with a glutinous kind of earth which serves as mortar, and afterwards neatly plastered and whitewashed with lime. As to their height they do not in common exceed two stories, on account of the violence of the wind, which at some seasons of the year blows with great strength and fury. For the same reason thatch has been usually preferred to tiles or shingles; but the bad effects that have proceeded from this mode when fires happen, has induced the inhabitants in all their new buildings to give the preference to flates and tiles. The lower parts of the houses, according to the custom of the Dutch nation, are not only uncommonly neat and clean in appearance, but they are really so; and the furniture is rather rich than elegant. But this is by no means the case with the bedrooms or upper apartments; which are very barely and ill furnished. The streets are rough, uneven, and unpaved. But many of the houses have a space flagged before the door; and others have trees planted before them, which form a pleasant shade, and give an agreeable air to the streets.

The only landing-place is at the east end of the town, where there is a wooden quay running some paces into the sea, with several cranes on it for the convenience of loading and unloading the scows that come alongside. To this place excellent water is conveyed by pipes, which makes the watering of ships both easy and expeditious. Close to the quay, on the left hand, stands the castle and principal forts; a strong extensive work, having excellent accommodations for the troops, and for many of the civil officers belonging to the company. Within the gates, the company have their principal stores; which are spacious as well as convenient. This fort covers and defends the east part of the town and harbour Good Hope. bour, as Amsterdam fort does the west part. The latter, which has been built since Commodore Johnston's expedition, and whereon both French and Dutch judgment have been united to render it effectual and strong, is admirably planned and calculated to annoy and harass ships coming into the bay. Some smaller detached fortifications extend along the coast, both to the east and west, and make landing, which was not the case before the late war, hazardous and difficult. In a word, Cape Town is at this time fortified with strength, regularity, and judgment.

The governor's house is delightfully situated, nearly in the centre of an extensive garden, the property of the Dutch East India company, usefully planted, and at the same time elegantly laid out. The governor's family make what use they please of the produce of the garden, which is various and abundant; but the original intention of the company in appropriating so extensive a piece of ground to this purpose was, that their hospital, which is generally pretty full when their ships arrive after long voyages, may be well supplied with fruits and vegetables, and likewise that their ships may receive a similar supply. This garden is as public as St James's park; and for its handsome, pleasant, and well-shaded walks, is much frequented by persons of every description, but particularly by the fashionable and gay. At the upper end of the principal walk is a small space walled in for the purpose of confining some large ostriches and a few deer; and a little to the right of this is a small menagerie, in which the company have half a dozen wild animals, and about the same number of curious birds.

There are two churches in the town; one large, plain, and unadorned, for the Calvinists, the prevailing sect; and a smaller one for the Lutherans. The hospital, which is large and extensive, is situated at the upper end of the town, close to the company's garden; where the convalescents reap the benefit of a wholesome pure air, perfumed with the exhalations of a great variety of rich fruit trees, aromatic shrubs, and odorous plants and flowers; and likewise have the use of every production of it.

Besides their hospital, the Dutch East India company have several other public buildings, which tend to improve the appearance of the town. The two principal of these are, the stables and a house for their slaves. The former is a handsome range of buildings, capable of containing an incredible number of horses. Those they have at the Cape are small, spirited, and full of life. The latter is a building of considerable extent, where the slaves, both male and female, have separate apartments, in a very comfortable style, to refresh in after the fatigues and toil of the day; and there are several officers placed over them, who have commodious apartments, and treat them humanely.

The inhabitants of the Cape, though in their persons large, stout, and athletic, have not all that phlegm about them which is the characteristic of Dutchmen in general. The physical influence of climate may in some degree account for this; for it is well known that in all southern latitudes the temper and disposition of the people are more gay, and that they are more inclined to luxury and amusements of every kind, than the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. The ladies are lively, good natured, and familiar; and from a peculiar gay turn, they admit of liberties that would be thought reprehensible in England, though perhaps they as seldom overleap the bounds of virtue as the women of other countries.

The heavy draft work about the Cape is mostly performed by oxen; which are here brought to an uncommon degree of usefulness and docility. It is not uncommon to see 14, 16, and sometimes 18, in one of their teams; when the roads are heavy, they sometimes, though rarely, yoke 20; all which the Hottentots, Malays, and Cape slaves, have in the most perfect subjection and obedience. One of these fellows places himself on the fore part of the waggon, or, when loaded, on the top of the load, and with a tremendous long whip, which from its size he is obliged to hold in both his hands, manages these creatures with inexpreffible address. When he finds expedition needful, he can make them keep whatever pace he chooses, either trot or gallop, (a gait performed or kept up with difficulty by European oxen), and that with as much ease as if he was driving horses. They likewise manage horses with the same dexterity; and to see one of them driving three, four, five, and sometimes six pair, in hand, with one of these long whips, would make the most complete master of the whip in England cut a deplorable figure. Carriages are not very numerous at the Cape, as the inhabitants in general travel in covered waggons, which better suit the roughness of the country. The governor and some few of the principal people keep coaches, which are a good deal in the English style, and always drawn by fix horses.

The Cape of Good Hope was taken by the British on 17th August 1796, with little or no difficulty, and afterwards given up at the peace of 1801. It has been since retaken, and is at present (1806) in the possession of the British.

When the news of the capture of this important settlement reached England, it was considered as of incalculable value to the East India Company in particular, forming a barrier or grand outwork to their immense possessions in India. They obtained the unconditional grant of supplying the Cape with India and China goods, and care was taken to defeat every attempt that could be made to undermine their interest. Aware of its great importance, it was the resolution of ministry, "that no foreign power, directly or indirectly, should obtain possession of the Cape of Good Hope, for that it was the physical guarantee of the British territories in India." While all were convinced of its political importance, none disputed its commercial advantages.

Its geographical position on the globe is so commanding a feature, that the mere looking at a map, independent of any other information, must shew its value and importance in various respects. Its distance from the coast of Brazil is a month's voyage; from the Dutch colonies of Surinam, Berbice, and Essequibo, it is a voyage of fix weeks; it is about equally distant from the Red sea, and two months from Coromandel and Malabar. It is half way between Britain and India, in a temperate climate, and productive of every species of refreshment in great abundance.

Considered in the light of a naval station, the importance of the Cape is equally conspicuous. It may serve as a port for refreshing and refitting the ships of Good Hope; the East India Company; a station for ships of war keeping the entrance into the Indian seas, and affording by its geographical position, a ready communication with every part of the globe. There is no place, in the homeward bound voyage from India, so proper or convenient for the valuable fleets of the East India Company, to assemble at for convoy, as the Cape of Good Hope. Their crews might be refreshed with fruits, vegetables, and fresh provisions, at a very reasonable rate. Salt beef for the remainder of the voyage might there be laid in. An establishment for curing salt provisions, would be an incalculable saving to the Company, as well as a singular convenience. The moderate expense at which a fleet could here be maintained, is a circumstance that deserves attention. At the Cape a sailor may be furnished his ration of fresh beef or mutton, biscuit and wine, for one-fourth of what the same ration of salt beef costs the government when sent out from Britain. He can have a pint of wine for threepence, and were it not for the monopoly of that article, he might purchase it for half the sum.

If a naval establishment was formed at Saldanha bay, many coating vessels and fishing ships would be constructed in it, as it abounds with every convenience that could be required for building ships, which would be the means of very much increasing the coasting trade.

To what extent the Cape might have been rendered advantageous to the British empire as an emporium of eastern produce, as furnishing articles of export for consumption in Europe and the West Indies, and taking articles of British growth and manufacture in exchange for colonial produce, it may be proper to enquire. The chief objection against this use of the Cape is the prejudice it would occasion to the sales of Leadenhall street, and the diminution of his majesty's customs; for though the East India Company might be made responsible to the crown for the duties on the amount of its sales at the Cape, yet the intention of the emporium would be entirely defeated, if the duties demanded there so far enhanced the value of the Indian commodities, as to make it equally eligible for foreign shipping to proceed to India, or to resort to the London market. The East India Company could supply their emporium at the Cape with the produce and manufacture of Great Britain to any amount, and at so cheap a rate as to underfell any other nation.

Should the Cape become a commercial depot in the hands of the East India Company, the consumption in Spanish and Portuguese America, of eastern produce, would increase to a very great extent, for all which they would pay in specie, of which the Company stand in the greatest need for their China trade.

A new branch of traffic might be opened between the Cape and New South Wales, the latter supplying the former with coals, of which they have abundant mines, in exchange for cattle, butter, wine, and articles of clothing.

The Cape may also be considered as of advantage to the British nation, by furnishing articles of export for general consumption in Europe and the West Indies. These are grain and pulse, wine and brandy, wool, hides and skins, whale oil and bone, dried fruits, salt provisions, soap and candles, aloes, ivory, and tobacco.

Were a depot for the southern whale fishery established at the Cape, it might be attended with beneficial consequences. By promoting navigation, the strength and security of the British empire are also promoted, and its very existence as an independent nation is owing to the superiority of its navy. A nation of fishermen implies a nation of seamen, a race of bold and hardy warriors. The cultivation of the fisheries would afford a never-failing supply of men to instruct, increase our conveniency, and promote our commerce.

The colony of the Cape comprehends at least 120,000 square miles, yet the whole population of whites, blacks, and Hottentots, does not exceed 65,000 souls, or a single individual for every two square miles. The upper regions of the mountains are masses of sandstone, and where the waters break out in springs upon the surface of the plains, vegetation is very luxuriant. In the vicinity of the Cape, where the soil is coloured with iron, or oxide of iron combined with clay, the most luxuriant crops of grapes are produced. The climate in general is friendly to vegetation, but being within the influence of the periodical winds, the rains are very unequal.

The chief rivers on the south coast are the Gauritz, Knyfna, Keurboom, Cantoo, Zwartkops, Sunday, and Great Fish rivers, and the two principal rivers on the western coast are the Berg, or mountain river, and the Oliphant river, which falls into the Southern Atlantic in 31° 30' S. Lat. *.

GOOD Manners. See MANNERS.