Cape Coloureds
 Extended coloured family with roots in Cape Town, Kimberley and Pretoria. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe | |
| Languages | |
| Afrikaans, Kaapse Afrikaans, South African English | |
| Religion | |
| Christian (80%), Muslim (5%)[1] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afrikaners, European, Khoikhoi, Xhosa, Cape Malay, Indian South Africans |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2008) |
The term Cape Coloureds refers to an ethnic group in South Africa whose ancestors include European settlers, indigenous Khoisan and Xhosa people, and slaves imported from the Dutch East Indies. They are the predominant population group found in the Western Cape Province, with a population size is roughly 4 million. Some Cape Coloureds are mother tongue Afrikaans speakers, as a result of their cultural development in the Dutch and Afrikaans-speaking areas of South Africa. Others are English speaking. People from India and the islands within the Indian Ocean region were also taken to the Cape and sold into slavery by the Dutch settlers. The Indian slaves were almost invariably given Christian names but their places of origin were indicated in the records of sales and other documents so that it is possible to get an idea of the ratio of slaves from different regions. These slaves were, however, dispersed and lost their Indian cultural identity over the course of time. Slaves of Malay ancestry were brought from Indonesia, Malaysia, Madagascar, and Mozambique. This diverse assortment of people was subsequently classified as a single group under the Apartheid regime. [2][3]
Under Apartheid, the term Cape Coloured referred to a subset of Coloured South Africans, with subjective criteria having been used by the bureaucracy to determine whether a person was a Cape Coloured, or belonged to one of a number of other related subgroups such as the "Cape Malays", or "Other Coloureds".
Much racial mixture has occurred over the generations, but the Cape Coloured group is far from being homogeneous. Many Cape Coloureds are from entirely different heritages, some having mostly European and others mostly black South African heritage. Many also have mostly Indian or mostly Indonesian/Malay heritage.
Cape Coloureds in the media
A group of Cape Coloureds were interviewed in the documentary series Ross Kemp on Gangs. One of the gang members who participated in the interview mentioned that black South Africans have been the main beneficiaries of South African social promotion initiatives while the Cape Coloureds have been further marginalized.
The award winning film I'm Not Black, I'm Coloured - Identity Crisis at the Cape of Good Hope (Monde World Films, 2009 USA release) is one of the first historical documentary films to explore the legacy of Apartheid through the viewpoint of the Cape Coloured community, including interviews with elders, Pastors, members of Parliament, students and everyday people struggling to find their identity in the new South Africa.
Famous Cape Coloureds
Politics
Trevor Manuel, former Finance Minister, currently Head of National Planning Commission.
Patricia de Lille, former PAC, then Independent Democrats leader, currently Democratic Alliance mayor of Cape Town.
Gerald Morkel, the former mayor of Cape Town.
Dan Plato, Western Cape Community Safety Minister.
Percy Sonn, former president of the International Cricket Council.
Adam Small (Writer)
Artists and writers
Richard Rive
Tyrone Appollis
Willie Bester
Peter Clarke
Mustafa Maluka
Tracey Rose
Robin Rhode
Berni Searl
Sport
Pieter de Villiers, 2011 rugby coach.
Athletics
Sergio Mullins, 2008 Olympian, S.A Sprinter.
Shaun Abrahams, 800m Runner.
Geraldine Pillay, 2004 Olympian,Commonwealth medalist.
Donovan Wright, marathon runner.
Leigh Julius, 2004 Olympian.
Cricket
Omar Henry
Basil d'Oliveira
Jean-Paul Duminy
Herschelle Gibbs
Ashwell Prince
Robin Peterson
Charl Langeveldt
Garnett Kruger
Wayne Parnell
Rugby
Bryan Habana
Breyton Paulse
Adrian Jacobs
Conrad Jantjes
Ashwin Willemse
Ricky Januarie
Gio Aplon
Bolla Conradie
Football
Benni McCarthy
Mark Williams
Shaun Bartlett
Andre Arendse
Delron Buckley
Quinton Fortune
Lance Davids
Nasief Morris
Leroy Maluka
Steven Pienaar
Moeneeb Josephs
Entertainment
Jonathan Butler, Jazz musician.
JJ Damon , Afrikaans Hip-Hop artist.
Meryl Cassie, actress from Sci-Fi series The Tribe.
Lesley-Ann Brandt, actress from Spartacus Blood and Sand TV series.
Jean Grae, Hip-Hop artist.
Kurt Schoonraad, South African comedian.
Soli Philander, television and radio presenter.
Marc Lottering, comedian.
Jenny Powell, television presenter.
Jeremy Friedricks,cricket commentator and presenter