History of Cape Town
| History of South Africa |
|---|
| Timeline |
| List of years in South Africa |
| South Africa portal |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1658 | 360 | — |
| 1731 | 3,157 | +3.02% |
| 1836 | 20,000 | +1.77% |
| 1875 | 45,000 | +2.10% |
| 1891 | 67,000 | +2.52% |
| 1901 | 171,000 | +9.82% |
| 1950 | 618,000 | +2.66% |
| 1955 | 705,000 | +2.67% |
| 1960 | 803,000 | +2.64% |
| 1965 | 945,000 | +3.31% |
| 1970 | 1,114,000 | +3.35% |
| 1975 | 1,339,000 | +3.75% |
| 1980 | 1,609,000 | +3.74% |
| 1985 | 1,933,000 | +3.74% |
| 1990 | 2,296,000 | +3.50% |
| 1996 | 2,565,018 | +1.86% |
| 2001 | 2,892,243 | +2.43% |
| 2007 | 3,497,097 | +3.22% |
| 2011 | 3,740,025 | +1.69% |
| 2016 | 4,005,016 | +1.38% |
| 2022 | 4,772,846 | +2.97% |
| Note: Census figures (1996–2011) cover figures after 1994 reflect the greater Cape Town metropolitan municipality reflecting post-1994 reforms. Sources: 1658–1904, 1950–1990,
1996, 2001, and 2011 Census; 2007, 2016 Census estimates., 2022 | ||
The written history of the area known today as Cape Town starts with its first mention by Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias in 1488, although it is possible that Admiral Zheng He may have traveled to the region half a century before the Portuguese. However, archaeologists have established that the Cape peninsula and the region along the Southwestern coastline of Africa was inhabited by various Khoe and San peoples, who mostly lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle.
"There were independent Khoe farmers with large families, there was the relatively small group of Khoe who self-identified as ǁAmmaqua (Watermans) traders, there were the Sonqua line-fishermen who were a San offshoot joined by deserters and outcasts from Khoe groups, and there was also another San clan of herder-hunters inland known as the Ubiqua."
The German anthropologist Theophilus Hahn recorded that the original name of the area was 'ǁHui ǃGais' – a toponym in the indigenous Khoe language meaning "where clouds gather."