Leendert Janszen, junior merchant of the VOC, recommends settlement at the Cape

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was established as a trading company in 1602, with the aim of monopolising trade in East Asia, in particular the spice trade. Company ships travelling to and from the East would call at the Cape to replenish their supplies. In 1647, a Dutch ship, the Nieuwe Haerlem, was wrecked at Table Bay and its crew were marooned for more than a year. Their survival, as well as the written accounts of one crew member, Leendert Janszen, convinced the DEIC that the establishment of a refreshment station at the Cape was possible. On 26 July 1649, Janszen, together with Matthijs Proot, handed in a report on the possibility of company settlement in the Cape. In 1652, following the 'Remonstrantie' or recommendation to the Chamber of Amsterdam, a group of company officials under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck, set out for the Cape. With the establishment of the refreshment station at the Cape, the course of South Africa history was changed forever.