7 May 1662
Jan van Riebeeck leaves the Cape
Jan van Riebeeck left the Cape for Batavia on 7 May 1662, after ten years as VOC commander; Zacharias Wagenaer succeeded him.
View in timelineOn 7 May 1662, Jan van Riebeeck departed the Cape for Batavia after ten years as commander of the VOC refreshment station. Zacharias Wagenaer took over the command, continuing the administration of a settlement that combined the Company’s provisioning facilities with free-burgher agriculture, coerced labour and increasingly regular trade with Khoikhoi pastoral communities.
Significance
The change of command transferred the Cape station to a new administration after a decade of institutional and economic expansion.
Why it matters
The change of command transferred the Cape station to a new administration after a decade of fort construction, agricultural settlement, livestock trade and the expansion of enslaved labour.