9 a.m. Learn about South Africa’s history
The Castle of Good Hope was built as a fort starting in 1666 by the colonists of the Dutch East India Company. It now stands as the oldest colonial building in South Africa. It served many purposes over the years, including a military base, a slave port and a government headquarters. Today, the castle houses nine mini-museums that tell the story of the diverse people who shaped the Cape and the nation. The Cape Heritage Museum was created by Igshaan Higgins, a human rights lawyer, during the pandemic. With artifacts that Mr. Higgins assembled over 25 years, the museum tells the stories of settler colonialism and the various groups who struggled through that oppression, including the Indigenous Khoi and San people, the Cape Muslims and the Xhosas. The castle also houses the William Fehr Collection, an assemblage of oil paintings and decorative art created by settlers that reflects on themes including slavery and the wars of dispossession.