Old Towns and Villages of the Cape: A Survey of the Origin and Development of Towns, Villages and Hamlets at the Cape of Good Hope

by Hans Fransen

Old Towns and Villages of the Cape is the first comprehensive study of the physical history of the older towns of the former 'Cape Colony'. It contains over seven hundred illustrations, including hundreds of previously unpublished pioneer photographs and early watercolors. Many detailed aerial photographs, few of them ever seen in print, some dating back to the 1930s, allow the reader to step back in time and view the original towns before modern developments brought about irrevocable changes in the townscape. Covering almost one hundred towns, villages and hamlets, Old Towns and Villages of the Cape not only examines the role of surveyors, and other factors, in their initial layout and subsequent growth, but also describes the formation of new drostdy districts, new Dutch Reformed church congregations, boeredorpe, harbor settlements and mission towns. Hans Fransen applies his extensive knowledge and insight to present the information, research and insights, most of it previously un

368 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009