Cape Colony, 1652

Jan van Riebeek arrived with 82 men and eight women at the Cape in 1652 to make a supply station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies. He became the Commander of the Dutch Cape Colony, built a fort, improved the harbour, made a garden and obtained livestock from the native Khoi. The upper stripe of the flag of the Dutch Republic was changed from orange to red around this time. Darker colours were better visible at sea against a light sky, and the orange-coloured dye was not easy to make and did not remain colour-fast.