Early architecture at the Cape under the VOC (1652-1710) : the characteristics and influence of the proto-Cape Dutch period
Date
1996
Authors
Fitchett, Rowallan Hugh
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Abstract
This thesis is set within the historical context of the commercial empire of the VOC
(Dutch East India Company), which established a refreshment post for its ships at the
Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, in 1652.
The central proposition of the thesis is that the architectural principles established at the
Cape between 1652 and 1710 had a greater influence on subsequent developments than
has previously been acknowledged.
This proposition challenges the widely accepted theory that Cape Dutch architecture
developed as an evolution from vernacular beginnings. Re.search in the field to date has
focused largely on Cape Dutch buildings, dating from after the mid-18th century, and
on later survivals of vernacular types. As a result the buildings erected prior to 1710,
defined here as proto-Cape Dutch, have been largely ignored.
To redress this imbalance, the thesis investigates the proto-Cape Dutch period in its
own right, by presenting the widest possible range of building types erected during this
period. Since few of these buildings survive, the evidence for the thesis was derived
largely from archival material. This comprised three types of contemporary sources:
the official records of the VOC, the written accounts of visitors to the Cape, and the
drawings of visiting artists. Some sources were clearly unreliable, but in several cases it
was possible to reconcile evidence which initially appeared to be contradictory.
The interpretation and evaluation of this research is addressed in Part 1 of the thesis.
The architectural evidence is presented in Part 2, where the process of analysis and
reconciliation is revealed. This process facilitated the detailed reconstruction of some of
the more prominent buildings of the proto-Cape Dutch period no longer in existence.
The thesis contends that such buildings, with sophisticated plans and Renaissance
proportions, were the stimulus for the development of Cape Dutch architecture later in
the 18th century.
The thesis thus comprises three major components: the development of a research
method; the re-evaluation through this method of a number of buildings known
primarily from documentary sources; and the proposition based on this re-evaluation
that Cape Dutch architecture was a simplification of the precedent established by the
more sophisticated buildings of the proto-Cape Dutch period. The method employed
and the conclusions drawn from the evidence may suggest applications in similar
colonial circumstances elsewhere.
LIST OF KEY WORDS
Cape Dutch architecture - Civil engineering works - Dutch colonial architecture -
Fortifications - Hospitals - Non-residential buildings - Proto-Cape Dutch architecture -
Religious buildings - Residential buildings - Town planning
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Architecture, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Johannesburg, 1996
Keywords
Citation
Fitchett, Rowallan Hugh (1996) Early architecture at the Cape under the VOC (1652-1710) : the characteristics and influence of the proto-Cape Dutch period, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,<