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Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century
The farm Blaauwbergsvalley, situated on the Cape west coast just outside Cape Town, has been identified as the place where a field hospital was set up for the casualties from the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. The significance of the site, however, extends beyond this specific event and includes a lo...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Archaeology
2018
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| _version_ | 1867613163854233600 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Breytenbach, Marius Ebersohn |
| author2 | Hall, Simon |
| author_browse | Breytenbach, Marius Ebersohn Hall, Simon |
| author_facet | Hall, Simon Breytenbach, Marius Ebersohn |
| author_sort | Breytenbach, Marius Ebersohn |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The farm Blaauwbergsvalley, situated on the Cape west coast just outside Cape Town, has been identified as the place where a field hospital was set up for the casualties from the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. The significance of the site, however, extends beyond this specific event and includes a longer sequence of colonial and precolonial occupation. This is because a vlei provided a continuous supply of fresh but brackish water. Documentary evidence is discussed that draws attention to the growing importance of the western Cape Slagtersveld from 1652 as a region for livestock production to supply that VOC and its trading fleet. This contrasts with the Stellenbosch and Franschoek areas that developed more broadly around agriculture. More specifically, while it is likely that Blaauwbergsvalley, was a node in the 18th century development of this livestock landscape, it only formally appears in the documentary record from the late 18th century. The documents suggest that Blaauwbergsvalley, never fully functioned as a livestock farm but that it served as an outspan and a place that served the wider region and the flow of livestock and goods between the Table Valley settlement and the western Cape interior. The documented character of Blaauwbergsvalley is cautiously assessed against the archaeology of one area associated with the vlei. It is suggested that the archaeological evidence supports the transient, outspan function of Blaauwbergsvalley particularly in the period between 1800 and 1837 and that its material signature is not typical of other farms and werfs in the region. This needs to be assessed through future research. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/27523 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:47.142Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publishDateRange | 2018 |
| publishDateSort | 2018 |
| publisher | Department of Archaeology |
| publisherStr | Department of Archaeology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/27523 Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century Breytenbach, Marius Ebersohn Hall, Simon Archaeology The farm Blaauwbergsvalley, situated on the Cape west coast just outside Cape Town, has been identified as the place where a field hospital was set up for the casualties from the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. The significance of the site, however, extends beyond this specific event and includes a longer sequence of colonial and precolonial occupation. This is because a vlei provided a continuous supply of fresh but brackish water. Documentary evidence is discussed that draws attention to the growing importance of the western Cape Slagtersveld from 1652 as a region for livestock production to supply that VOC and its trading fleet. This contrasts with the Stellenbosch and Franschoek areas that developed more broadly around agriculture. More specifically, while it is likely that Blaauwbergsvalley, was a node in the 18th century development of this livestock landscape, it only formally appears in the documentary record from the late 18th century. The documents suggest that Blaauwbergsvalley, never fully functioned as a livestock farm but that it served as an outspan and a place that served the wider region and the flow of livestock and goods between the Table Valley settlement and the western Cape interior. The documented character of Blaauwbergsvalley is cautiously assessed against the archaeology of one area associated with the vlei. It is suggested that the archaeological evidence supports the transient, outspan function of Blaauwbergsvalley particularly in the period between 1800 and 1837 and that its material signature is not typical of other farms and werfs in the region. This needs to be assessed through future research. 2018-02-12T08:55:17Z 2018-02-12T08:55:17Z 2017 Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27523 eng application/pdf Department of Archaeology Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Archaeology Breytenbach, Marius Ebersohn Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century |
| title_full | Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century |
| title_fullStr | Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century |
| title_short | Sequence and settlement at the rural farm of Blaauwbergsvalley in the Western Cape during the 18th and 19th century |
| title_sort | sequence and settlement at the rural farm of blaauwbergsvalley in the western cape during the 18th and 19th century |
| topic | Archaeology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27523 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT breytenbachmariusebersohn sequenceandsettlementattheruralfarmofblaauwbergsvalleyinthewesterncapeduringthe18thand19thcentury |