Although apartheid in South Africa was not legally put in place until 1948, to fully understand the circumstances that enabled such racism and segregation we must first understand the key events starting with the colonization of South Africa by the Dutch in 1652. Jan van Riebeeck arrived in what is now known as South Africa in April 1652. He claimed land that was already inhabited by the Khoikhoi and founded the Fort of Good Hope on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. This port was intended to be a supply station for Dutch ships on the trade route to India. Although it is believed that it was not the original intention of the Dutch East India Company to colonize the area, they were the first of what would become a permanent European presence in South Africa. As more and more ships used this port to resupply, it became clear that a workforce would need to be created to maintain them. The Dutch and English had a long history in Indonesia using the slave model to force indigenous people to grow spices that could not be grown in Europe but, here in South Africa the Khoikhoi had their own land and were not easily forced to work . . “The indigenous peoples with whom the Dutch first came into contact, the Khoikhoi, had settled in the region at least a thousand years before the Dutch arrived, and were a reluctant workforce. This is because the Khoikhoi were a pastoral people, and as long as they had their lands, flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, they could not be put at the service of the Dutch settlers” (History n.d.). For this reason the Dutch settlers had to look elsewhere for forced labor. They had already released many members of the East India Company from their contracts to work on the land...... middle of paper......First colonization in South Africa."South African History Online. Np, nd Web. 10 April 2014. Turton, A. R. (2009). “A South African Diary: Contested Identity, My Family – Our Story, Part A: Pre-1700” from How Many Bones You Have to Bury Before You Can Call Yourself an Africa [online]. from www.anthonyturton.com [Accessed 1 April 2014]Turton, AR (2009 "A South African Diary: Contested Identity, My Family - Our Story, Part D: 1886-1909" from How Many Bones You Have to Bury Before You Can Call Yourself a 'Africa? [online]. Available from www.anthonyturton.com [Accessed 1 April 2014]" The Union of South Africa 1910."South African History Online, nd Web. 2014. .