History: 1652-1814

The Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC), a.k.a. "Dutch East India Company, established the first European outpost in South Africa, at the Cape of Good Hope, in 1652, and ruled it until 1795. Naturally, the VOC established Dutch laws and customs, including the use of heraldry, at the Cape.

Under Roman-Dutch law everyone, irrespective of social status, is entitled to a coat of arms, and is free to assume them as he pleases, so long as he doesn't encroach on arms which someone else has already adopted. A man's arms are his property, and if someone else misuses or usurps them, his recourse is through the law courts.

As the colony was a Dutch possession, the arms of the Netherlands were the official arms, and the Dutch lion is still to be seen carved above the entrance to the Castle of Good Hope, which was the seat of government.

However, as the VOC actually ruled the colony, its corporate arms, displaying a ship in full sail, were in effect also official arms. They were seldom used, and for most purposes the VOC's logo served instead. The only other corporate body was the Dutch Reformed Church which, following a policy laid down in 1586, used congregational seals rather than arms.

Most of the arms in the colony were thus personal arms, transplanted from Europe or perhaps, in some cases, devised and assumed at the Cape. First and foremost were those of the colony's founder, Jan van Riebeeck, who ruled for the first ten years.

Military heraldry made its appearance in 1664, in the form of unit flags for the burgher militia companies.

The burgher, i.e. permanent settler, population was built up from Hollanders, Germans, Frenchmen, and other Europeans. In time, they assimilated into a single Dutch-speaking nation, known as Boers (farmers) or Afrikaners. Swedish-born Olof Bergh, who arrived in 1676, seems to be the earliest identifiable armigerous burgher. His arms appear on a portrait dated 1685.

The Afrikaner burgher population grew during the first half of the 18th century, with the arrival of more families from Europe, particularly from Germany.

In 1715, the colony took the first step towards acquiring an official symbol of its own when the figure of Hope was authorised as the hallmark for Cape silver. However, it was 160 years before she appeared in a coat of arms.

From this period survive several pieces of armorial silverware and china (known as "wapengoed"). There was also an armorial stained glass window, erected in 1723 but no longer extant.

The burgher population continued to grow during the second half of the 18th century. Many of the "stamvaders" (family founders) were armigerous. Relics of this period's heraldic display survive in the form of "wapengoed", some bookplates, and several dated memorial boards ("rouborde") in Cape Town's Groote Kerk and some other churches.

In 1767, German-born Johann Kirst obtained a grant of arms from the Holy Roman Empire, the only known instance of an imperial grant to a Cape colonist.

Two examples of military arms date from the 1780s: a silver cup depicting what appears to be a unit's arms, and a silver gorget which bears a rococo shield displaying the figure of Hope.

The Revolutionary War (1793-1801) in Europe ended VOC rule. French military forces occupied the Netherlands in 1795 and established the "Batavian Republic". To prevent the French from gaining control of the all-important sea route, British forces seized the Cape and occupied the colony until 1803.

The first British occupation began to introduce British influences into the colony. The British royal arms (which included the arms of the German state of Hanover) were the arms of the occupying authority, and the Union Jack superseded the Dutch flag. Both the royal arms and the flag changed when Britain was reconstituted in 1801, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Perhaps the best-known figure of the period was Lady Anne Barnard (neé Lindsay), who was unofficial "first lady" for most of the occupation.

In 1803, the Batavian Republic assumed direct control of the Cape. The Dutch flag and arms - variations of the pre-1795 emblems - were introduced. The administration gave staffs of office, displaying the Batavian lion, to African traditional leaders with whom they established relations.

Following France's lead, the Batavian Republic had outlawed heraldic display in 1795, but this ban was not enforced at the Cape. In fact, it was the Batavian administration that introduced municipal heraldry, by granting armorial seals to Cape Town and the rural local authorities in 1804.

The outbreak of the Napoleonic War (1803-14) ended the Batavian administration, for British forces re-occupied the Cape in 1806, and ruled it until 1814 when, in terms of the peace settlement, the Netherlands transferred the Cape of Good Hope to the United Kingdom as a permanent possession.

The Union Jack and the British royal arms became the symbols of government again. British settlers began to establish themselves in the colony during this period, among them the Englishman John Ebden (1806) and the Scot Col John Graham (1806), later founder of Grahamstown.

1814-1910

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn