Olof Bergh

Last updated
Olof Martini Bergh
Olof Bergh.jpg
Portrait of Ensign Olof Bergh in 1685
Captain of the Garrison
In office
circa 1695 –unknown
Employer Dutch East India Company

Olof Bergh (sometimes spelled Olaf Bergh) was an early Swedish-South African explorer and Cape Colony official as well as the progenitor of the well-known Bergh family in South Africa. He is also a former owner of South Africa's first wine estate "Groot Constantia" after Simon van der Stel. His accounts of his travels to the interior of the Cape Colony are among some of the first Dutch writings to originate on South African soil.

Contents

Life and work

Birth and arrival in the Cape

Olof Martini Bergh was born on 16 April 1643. [1] in Gothenburg in Sweden to Norwegian parents. Little is known about his pre-South African background although he appears to have been the youngest son from a aristocratic family of Swedish-Norwegian origin. At the age of 22, he entered the service of the Dutch East India Company in 1665. He first served in the East in Batavia (present day Jakarta) and then in 1676 moved to the Cape where he continued his service with the Company. He married Anna de Coningh [2] on 10 September 1678 in Cape Town, who herself had arrived in the Cape with her mother in 1657. [3] When Simon van der Stel became governor in 1679 he was a ensign at the Cape.

Expeditions and travel accounts

Early expeditions

Some of Bergh's earliest work at the Cape included leading bartering trips to the neighboring as well as to the more remote kraals such as those of the Hessequas, a Khoi tribe, in search of livestock and in particular cattle. [4] In addition to these, one of the earliest accounts of Bergh's expeditions included leading a small party of colonists assembled to recapture and return to the Colony three men, who had escaped a few days earlier, which he did.

Later notable expeditions

In 1682, shortly before his scheduled trip to Vigiti Magna, Bergh was despatched instructed to investigate and retrieve any surviving treasures from the stranded English ship Johanna , [5] which had was wrecked near Cape Agulhas on 8 June 1682. This ship had sunk beyond present day town of Hermanus, in the neighborhood of Gansbaai. After three months, Bergh returned with more than 28,000 guilders worth of treasure and a great deal of experience in conducting local expeditions. The details of this story named the "Landtocht na de Cape das Agulhas in den jare 1682" were recorded in the Company Day Register.

Six weeks later, on 30 October, 1682, Bergh embarked on one of his most well-known expeditions, in which he was despatched by the then Governor of the Cape in search of the Namaqua and fabled "Copper Mountains" which had garnered significant attention of both the Cape officials and the VOC itself. He turned north and the details of this trip were again recorded, this time in "Die Journael van de landtocht gedaen by d'E Vaendrich Olof Bergh". [6] [7] During this expedition, Bergh and two other members of his group inscribed their names on the face of a rock near the site of a spring [8] (later to become known as "Berghfontein", and designated as a former South African National Monument) as well as discovered and spent the night in a large cave (later to become known as "Heerenlogement", and which was used subsequently by numerous later explorers, including Van Der Stel himself).

He returned to the Kasteel at the Cape on 19 December 1682 without any tangible results, although one success of his trip was an initial detailed mapping of this region of the Cape. Despite the failure of his own expedition, it has been noted that both Bergh's expedition as well as that of a previous explorer (Jonas de la Guerre, who set out in 1663), were instrumental in paving the way for the later successful trip of Governor Simon van der Stel's expedition in 1685, in which he successfully sampled copper-containing ore near the present day town of Springbok. [9] As a result of his experience in 1682, van der Stel again chose Bergh to lead another expedition in 1683 to the Namaquas, the people from the North who came to trade copper ore at the Castle.[ citation needed ] This journey is documented in "Rapport van den Vaendrich Olof Bergh op hare reyse na de Cralie van de Namaquas" (1683).

According to the Daily Register, in a journal kept by Hendrik Claudius ("Dagregister van de landtocht van de Caap de Goede Hoop, waren gedistineert naar de Tropikus Caprikornij"), Bergh also undertook a trip to North in search of the Tropic of Capricorn. On this journey, however, he did not progress much further than the Doornbosch River (now Green River) due to the great drought and the difficulty of the terrain he encountered.[ full citation needed ]

Imprisonment and exile to Ceylon

In 1686 Bergh, who was now a high ranking member of Cape society and a close friend of Governor van der Stel, was named a member of the Political Council. In July 1686 Bergh was once again despatched in the direction of Cape Agulhas to search for the wreck of the Portuguese ship, Nostra Signora de los Milagnos , which had run aground and been abandoned and which Company officers had subsequently purchased. [10] In addition to a group of Jesuit priests, onboard the ship had been three envoys from the King of Siam with gifts intended for Pedro, King of Portugal, Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England. However, despite these valuables being on the ship at the time of departure, they were not accounted for at the wreck nor among the items returned at the conclusion of the expedition. Later, when Bergh was supervising the construction of the Council House in Stellenbosch in 1687, rumors began to circulate that items had been stolen from the Portuguese wreck during the previous expedition. Bergh was subsequently arrested and imprisoned at the Castle. After a month in custody, he pleaded guilty on 5 May 1687 and the valuables, including two golden pears and a flask of musk, were found buried in his garden. Bergh was subsequently banished to Robben Island, the place of great terror for both black and white criminals during Company times. [11] The following month, when a fleet of enemy French vessels sailed into Table Mountain, he was briefly returned to the mainland, but was returned to the island after the fleet's departure a short time later. Sometime later, in September 1690 he was released into the supervision of the Council of Seventeen (Here Sewentien).

Upon his release, because of his previous notable service to the Company, Bergh was given the option to retain his rank and leave the Cape immediately and take up duties at the Company station in Dutch Ceylon (currently Sri Lanka), or be remain at the Cape but be discharged from the Company and continue as a Freeburgher. Bergh chose the former and left for Ceylon shortly thereafter on the 29 December 1690 (without his wife) on the ship Pampus, [12] where he remained for five years until 1695 before being allowed to return to the Cape, once the scandal of his previous conviction had dissipated amidst the Burghers.

Later life

Soon after his return the Cape, it appears Bergh's previous conviction was not held against him and he was appointed Captain of the Garrison by the Governor and took up residence in a grand home on the Heerengracht (currently Adderleystraat) next to the church. [13] In 1698, Bergh was granted the farm Groot Phesantekraal near present day Durbanville, [14] whose flagship wine is named after his wife Anna. In 1701 he bought the farm De Kuilen (today's Kuils River) as well as the adjacent farm Saxenberg. He was again nominated as a member of the Political Council in 1697, 1699 and again in 1709 and 1710 was honored with a seat on the Council of Justice, when the new Governor, Willem Adriaan van der Stel, was facing various difficulties (including the attempted suicide of his wife Maria, who was saved by apparent intervention of Bergh's wife Anna[ citation needed ]). In addition to his home on the Heerengracht, Bergh was also the first owner of the farm De Hoop, located close to the town (on the site of present day Gardens), the remaining buildings of which still exist today and are operated as historic luxury accommodation [15] as well as two bungalows in Piquetberg.

After his retirement, Bergh bought the historic farm Groot Constantia from the estate of Simon van der Stel where he lived with his wife until his death. [16] [17] [18] With his wife Anna, he fathered no less than twelve children, including Christina (1679), Maria (1682), Petrus (1684), Appolonia Africana (1686), Carolus Erlandt (1689), Johanna Magdalena (1691), Dorothea Francina (1695), Marthinus (1696), Simon Petrus (1696), Engela (1700) and Albertus (1702). He died on 19 July 1725 in Cape Town.

Legacy

Excerpt of Bergh's journal of his journey to the Namaqua, 1682 Olof Bergh journal 1682.jpg
Excerpt of Bergh's journal of his journey to the Namaqua, 1682

Historical and cultural

As a result of his various activities at the Cape as well as being one of the earliest European explorers of the Northern Cape, Bergh has become a well known member of early Cape Dutch history and lends his name to a number of cultural as well as official sites, including:

Several of Bergh's journals as well as missives have been preserved as part of the Dutch East India Company archives [34] [35] which have subsequently preserved as part of the United Nations UNESCO Silk Roads project [36]

Development of the Afrikaans language

Through the diaries of his travels (which were among some of the first Dutch writings to originate from the Cape within which it was already evident how these early writers had begun to evolve the Dutch language to deal with the unique circumstances and living habits of the colonists), Bergh is considered like many other early Colonists to have made an important contribution to the early development of the Afrikaans language.

For example, Bergh appears to have been the first to record the phrase "bosjesmans" (later translated to "bushmen") when referring to the local indigenous people he came into contact with on his travels North from the Cape [37] [38] as well as "Afrijkaenders" (referring to local European Colonists of Dutch heritage) as early as September 1683. [39]

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References

  1. 1 2 "244 (Svenska män och kvinnor : biografisk uppslagsbok / 1. A-B)". runeberg.org (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  2. ↑ "Anna De Koningh | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  3. ↑ Gibson, Joanne (2018-08-14). "SA wine history: On some of the 'invisible' people of early Cape wine". winemag. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  4. ↑ "Our Farm History". Wildekrans Wine Estate. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  5. ↑ "The Johanna | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  6. ↑ admin. "Journals of the expedition of the Honourable Ensign Olof Bergh [1682 and 1683] and Isaq Schrijver [1689]". HIPSA. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  7. ↑ Bergh, Olof; Mossop, E. E.; Schrijver, Isaq (1931). Journals of the expeditions of the honourable ensign Olof Bergh (1682 and 1683) and the ensign Isaq Schrijver (1689). Van Riebeeck Society (Series). Cape Town: The Van Riebeeck Society.
  8. ↑ "9/2/102/0003 | SAHRA". sahris.sahra.org.za. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  9. ↑ "History of the Okiep copper district: Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province South Africa. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  10. ↑ "Olof Bergh | Göteborgs historia" (in Swedish). 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  11. ↑ Hope (Colony), Cape of Good (1837). Government Gazette. Government Printer, South Africa.
  12. ↑ Genealogie, Coret. "Olof Bergh, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, chamber Amsterdam". Open Archives. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  13. ↑ Conradie, Elizabeth (1934). HOLLANDSE SKRYWERS UIT SUID-AFRIKA - 'N KULTUUR-HISTORIESE STUDIE - DEEL I (1652-1875) (in Afrikaans) (1st ed.). J. DUSSEAU & Co., KAAPSTAD. pp. 30–34.
  14. ↑ "HISTORY". Groot Phesantekraal. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  15. ↑ iTTCONNECT. "Our Story". Mountain Manor. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  16. ↑ heinz (2019-10-07). "Groot Constantia honours those that came before". Groot Constantia. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  17. ↑ "Interim era: 1714 -1778 | Heritage of Slavery". slavery.iziko.org.za. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  18. ↑ "Right of reply: Groot Constantia's response to 'Mail & Guardian' article". The Mail & Guardian. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  19. ↑ "South Africa once again scoops best brandy in the world". wine.co.za. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
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  21. ↑ Karlsson, Per (2015-09-07). "South Africa is not only good wines and good food, also delicious brandy | BKWine Magazine |". BKWine Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  22. ↑ "ANNA DE KONING". Groot Phesantekraal. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  23. ↑ "olof bergh pass - Mountain Passes South Africa". www.capemountainpasses.co.za. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  24. ↑ "Tracks4Africa". Tracks4Africa. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
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  26. ↑ Kirby, Percival (1941). "THE HEERENLOG EMENT AND ITS VISITORS; THE STORY OF ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA'S "HISTORICAL MONUMENTS."". South African Journal of Science. XXXI/llI: 352–386 – via JSTOR.
  27. ↑ "Leaving their mark: names recorded on the walls of the Heerenlogement Cave | Archive & Public Culture". www.apc.uct.ac.za. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  28. ↑ "1684 The Copper Mountain of Namaqualand". southafrica.co.za. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
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  33. ↑ "Kites: Fact and Fiction". Therese Benadé, Author. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  34. ↑ "South African Records Transcribed - 4018 (1682-1683)". www.eggsa.org. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  35. ↑ "South African Records Transcribed - 4019 (1683-1684)". www.eggsa.org. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  36. ↑ "Archives of the Dutch East India Company | Silk Roads Programme". en.unesco.org. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  37. ↑ MAINGARD, L.F. (1935). "THE FIRST CONTACTS OF THE DUTCH WITH THE BUSHMEN UNTIL THE TIME OF SIMON VAN DEn STEL". South African Journal of Science. XXXII: 479–487 – via Sabinet.
  38. ↑ Parkington, John (1977). "Soaqua: Hunter-Fisher-Gatherers of the Olifants River Valley Western Cape". The South African Archaeological Bulletin. 32 (126): 150–157. doi:10.2307/3888661. ISSN   0038-1969. JSTOR   3888661.
  39. ↑ van Wyk, A (1990) "Wie is n Afrikaner". Rapport magazine. pp 6. Online: https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/archive-files/DeApr90.1017.0243.000.000.Apr1990.7.pdf
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