Franschhoek and the French Huguenots
Franschhoek and the French Huguenots
On the 31st of December – 1687 a group of French Huguenots set sail from Europe as the first of the large scale emigration to the Cape Colony of the Dutch East India Company that took place between 1688 and 1689.There was a total of approximately 200 French Huguenots from France, and 18 Walloons from the country of Belgium, who eventually settled as farmers at the Cape of Good Hope. An example of this is the emigration of Huguenots from La Motte d’Aigues in Provence, France – after which the present day La Motte wine estate in the Franschhoek valley is named. After this large scale emigration, individual Huguenot immigrant families arrived at the Cape of Good Hope as late as the first quarter of the 18th Centuary.The French Huguenots had a marked influence on both the original Dutch and German settlers and about 18% of the present day Afrikaners can trace their roots back to the Huguenot settlers. The Dutch East India Company purposely spread out the Huguenot farmers and they were given farms amongst the Dutch farmers to stop any type of solidarity forming between the French. Owing to the policy instituted in 1701 of the Dutch East India Company which dictated that schooling and all official correspondence had to be done in Dutch, the French Huguenots ceased by the middle of the 18th century to maintain a distinct identity, and the knowledge of French diminished and eventually disappeared as a home language. This assimilation into the colonial population was also due to the fact that many Huguenot descendants married with individuals from the Dutch and German population. This mixing of the different European settlers ultimately led to the birth of the Afrikaner people with their new language of Afrikaans.
The Franschhoek valley was originally known as Olifantshoek (Elephant’s Corner), because of the numerous herds of elephants that moved through the area during the summer and before the arrival of the European settlers. Many of these settlers were given their farms in this area, later called Franschhoek, – Afrikaans word for “French corner”. Many of the early settlers named their farms after the areas in France from where they came. Chamonix La Motte, La Dauphine , Cabriere, Provence, Dieu Donne and La Cotte were some of the first established farms and still retain their original farm houses today and have now grown into world renowned wineries. The French heritage is represented today by the Huguenot Monument and the museum that is situated at the end of the Franchhoek town’s main road. The museum follows the full story of the history of the first settlers and the original Huguenot farms having their own story to tell. The Cape Dutch architecture of Franschhoek remains unspoilt, and special restrictions have been placed on renovations and new construction in order to preserve the history and spirit of the original settlers to this valley.
Once a sleepy country retreat, the village began experiencing a boom since the 1990s, and property prices have sharply increased. The ideal summer weather, snowy peaks in winter and proximity to Cape Town have turned Franschhoek into one of South Africa’s most sought after residential addresses. Franschhoek is noted for having some of the best restaurants in the South Africa and this fact, together with the wine culture, and natural and architectural beauty has made Franschhoek into the food and wine capital of country.
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