9 July 1737
Georg Schmidt arrives at the Cape
On 9 July 1737, Moravian missionary Georg Schmidt arrived at the Cape to begin mission work among Khoikhoi communities.
View in timelineGeorg Schmidt arrived at Table Bay on 9 July 1737 as a Moravian missionary. He was sent to work among Khoikhoi communities and began learning Dutch and engaging people through religious instruction. In the following months he moved into the Overberg, where he established a mission base at Baviaanskloof and taught reading, Christian doctrine and agricultural practices to people who joined the settlement.
Significance
Schmidt's arrival opened the first Moravian mission phase at the Cape and created the institutional setting for the Baviaanskloof community, its schools and the later dispute over baptism.
Why it matters
Schmidt's arrival began the first Moravian mission phase at the Cape and connected Khoikhoi religious and educational initiatives with a wider transoceanic Protestant network.
Perspective notes
Schmidt's surviving missionary accounts describe his teaching and religious aims. Khoikhoi participation, choices and later responses are reconstructed from mission records and should not be treated as simple acceptance of the mission programme.