Cape Town

Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad; Xhosa: iKapa; Dutch: Kaapstad; South Sotho: Motse Kapa) is the capital and oldest city of the Cape. The city is also the main economic center for the Cape, and a major economic center for Sub-Saharan Africa. The metropolitan area surrounding Cape Town hosts about 1/5 of the total population of the Cape.

The city sits in the heart of the Cape Floristic Region, and is known for natural wonders such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Because of this, Cape Town is one of the largest tourist destinations worldwide. Cape Town is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. This reflects its stature as the capital of a highly diverse country as well as a major major destination for immigrants and expatriates to the Cape. In 2014, Cape Town was named the World Design Capital by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. That same year, Cape Town was also named the best place to visit by the New York Times, CarolinaToday, and the Daily Telegraph.

Cape Town rivals Johannesburg in South Africa as the economic hub of Southern Africa. While industrial manufacturing has been on the decline in the city, Cape Town has strong financial, business services, transport, and high-tech industrial sectors. The city is sometimes considered the financial hub of Africa and is home some of Africa's largest banks include Good Hope Bank, Capitec Bank and Bank of the Kalahari. The Cape Town Stock Exchange is second-largest in Africa by market capitulation, only behind the JSE in Johannesburg.

Cape Town was first founded by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for ships rounding the Cape of Good Hope. The arrival of Jan Van Riebeeck in 1652 established the Dutch Cape Colony and Cape Town was the first permanent European settlement in the Cape. Cape Town eventually outgrew its original purpose and became the capital and principal economic center of the Cape Colony. Subsequently, Cape Town became the capital of the Cape when it became a semi-autonomous dominion in 1910.

History
The earliest human remnants are found at Peers Cave in Fish Hoek on the south side of Cape Town. Here, human remanants have been found dating between 15,000 and 12,000 years ago. Khoisan people lived in the area around Cape Town prior to European colonization. However, there is no written history of these people, and therefore little is known about them.

In 1488, Portugese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to reach the area. He named it Cabo das Tormentas which means Cape of Storms. However, the Cape was later named the Cape of Good Hope by John II of Portugal, as it opened the sea route to India and East Asia. Vasco de Gama also sighted the area in 1497. Throughout the late 16th century, various European countries used the Table Bay area as a stopover en route to East Asia. They traded tobacco, copper and iron with the Khoikhoi in exchange for fresh meat.

In 1652, Jan Van Riebeeck was sent on behalf of the Dutch East India Company to establish a way-station at the Cape. The settlement was named Fort de Goede Hoop (Fort of Good Hope) which was later replaced by the Castle of Good Hope. Immigration to the settlement caused a labour shortage and caused Dutch authorities to import slaves from Indonesia and Madagascar. These people later became the basis of the Cape Coloured community that is prevalent in Cape Town.

France invaded the Netherlands in 1795, creating the Batavian Republic as a vassal state. The British were able to successfully invade Cape Town, following the Battle of Muizenberg. The Peace of Amiens in 1802 briefly handed the city back to the Dutch. However, Britain once again invaded the Cape Colony after hostilities resumed and took full control after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. Cape Town thus became the capital of the newly established British Cape Colony.

The British emancipated the roughly 39,000 slaves in the Cape Colony in 1834. Emancipated slaves established the famous Bo-Kaap neighborhood after being freed. As the Cape Colony expanded territorially throughout the 1800s, calls for greater autonomy from the United Kingdom grew. Cape Town was often the center of protests advocating for greater autonomy or against proposed convict shipments. The Cape attained its own Parliament in 1854, and a locally accountable Prime Minister in 1872. In general, Cape Town was much more liberal than other areas of Southern Africa at the time. The city staunchly supported the Cape Qualified Franchise among other liberal policies.

In 1908 and 1909, protests erupted once again in the city in opposition to the planned Union of South Africa. The Cape Town District was one of the most strongly opposed to the union, with 73% of voters voting for dominion-hood over integration into the Union. The 1910 Cape Act established the Cape as a semi-autonomous dominion with Cape Town as the capital city.

Geography
The landscape of Cape Town is largely characterized by rugged mountains, extensive coastlines, valleys, and coastal plains. The city is surrounded on two sides water, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and Table Bay to the south. Dramatic mountains enclose the area of central Cape Town known as the city bowl. Table Mountain is the most well-known of these internationally, with its near vertical cliffs and flat-topped summit. Devils Peak and Lion's Head form the other sides of the city bowl. To the south of the city, Cape Point is a mountainous peninsula which juts out 40 kilometers into the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the mountains in Cape Town are part of the larger Cape Fold Mountains which extend east along the Cape's southern coastline.

Climate
The Cape Town climate is chacterized by a warm Mediterranean climate with mild, moderately semi-wet winters, and hot dry summers. Winter generally begins in June and ends in late August. During this time period, cold fronts may move east from the Atlantic Ocean, pushing precipitation inland. Strong northwesterly winds also help to bring percipitation to the Cape Town area during the winter months.

Government and Politics
The City of Cape Town is governed by the Cape Town Legislative Council. There are 231 members of the legislative council who are elected through mixed-member proportional representation. The city is divided into 116 wards, in which each ward elects a member to city council through the first-past-the-post voting method. The remaining 115 council members are elected through proportional representation. The Mayor of Cape Town acts independent of the legislature and is elected through a first-past-the-post method. The legislative council meets at the Cape Town City Hall which was built in 1905.

Following the 201X municipal elections, the Liberal and Labour Parties formed a coalition government in Cape Town. In the same election, Patricia de Lille of the Liberal Party was re-elected mayor. However, De Lille resigned as Mayor on 31 October 2018. An interim election in March of 2019 was held where Dan Plato of the Conservative Party won.

Prior to 2009, Cape Town was divided into many different cities and suburbs which operated independently of the city of Cape Town proper. In 2004, a Parliamentary report named stated that the largest cities in the Cape, including Cape Town, were largely mismanaged due to ineffective communication between councils. The report suggested that the cities take on larger jurisdictions, including absorbing the suburban areas. After nearly three years of political infighting, the Local Government Reorganization Act was passed. This defined Cape Town's current boundaries and restructured the city council to its current form. Prior to 2009, the legislative council had only been appointed through party-list proportional representation. However, the ward system was created in order to create more ties to individual areas.