Ancestors of Rosa Fredrika Blankenberg

When the Dutch and German settlers left Europe for South Africa, they had no idea what to expect. Like their fellow Calvinists and cousins who went to Plymouth Colony in the Americas, these people left Leiden, Netherlands for the Cape Colony in South Africa. Here they faced hardship and conflict as they settled amongst the African tribes of southern Africa, the British and Sweden as they fought for control of the colony. Businesses, farms, and wineries were built and families intermarried with other ethnic groups and freed slaves. Many of those freed slaves became property owners in their own right and the Cape Colony grew exponentially. Some of the free slaves actually lived at the Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building on the Cape and many of the ships that brought them cave into Table Bay. Many of Rosa's ancestor were original Progenitors, meaning they were the first of that name to come to South Africa. Front cover: Castle of Good Hope, Cape of Good Hope