The seat of the legislative branch of the government of South Africa.
(Afrikaans Kaapstad) Port and oldest city (founded 1652) in South Africa, situated in the SW on Table Bay; urban area). Industries include horticulture and trade in wool, wine, fruit, grain, and oil. It is the legislative capital of the Republic of South Africa and capital of Western Cape province.
It includes the Houses of Parliament, City Hall, Cape Town Castle 1666, and Groote Schuur (“great barn”), the estate of Cecil Rhodes (he designated the house as the home of the premier, and a university and the National Botanical Gardens occupy part of the grounds). The naval base of Simonstown is to the SE; in 1975 Britain’s use of its facilities was ended by the Labour government in disapproval of South Africa’s racial policies.