View source for Coloureds

{{Short description|Multiracial ethnic group of southern Africa}}
{{Redirect|Coloured|the component ethnic group originating in the Cape|Cape Coloureds|usage of the term outside southern Africa|Colored|other uses|Color (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Coloureds
| image            = [[Image:Coloured-family.jpg|250px]]<br />An extended Coloured family with roots in Cape Town, [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] and [[Pretoria]]
| population       = '''5,600,000'''
| popplace         = 
| region1          = {{flagcountry|South Africa}}
| pop1             = 5,052,349 (2022 census)
| ref1             = <ref name="Census2022">{{cite web|url=https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf|title=Census 2022 Statistical Release|publisher=Statistics South Africa|access-date=2024-11-01}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flagcountry|Namibia}}
| pop2             = 107,855 (2023 census)
| ref2             = <ref name="Census2023">{{cite web|url=https://census.nsanamibia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2023-Population-and-Housing-Census-Main-Report-28-Oct-2024.pdf|title=Namibia 2023 Population and Housing Census Main Report|publisher=Namibia Statistics Agency|access-date=2024-10-30}}</ref>{{efn|Includes 45,629 [[Basters]].}}
| region3          = {{flagcountry|Zimbabwe}}
| pop3             = 14,130 (2022 census)
| ref3             = <ref>{{cite web |title=Zimbabwe 2022 Population and Housing Census Report, vol. 1 |website=ZimStat |publisher=Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency |url=https://www.zimstat.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/Demography/Census/2022_PHC_Report_27012023_Final.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001155012/https://www.zimstat.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/Demography/Census/2022_PHC_Report_27012023_Final.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2024 |page=122 }}</ref>
| region4          = {{flagcountry|Zambia}}
| pop4             = 3,000 (2012 census)
| ref4             = <ref name="Shadow">{{cite book|last = Milner-Thornton|first = Juliette Bridgette|title = The Long Shadow of the British Empire: The Ongoing Legacies of Race and Class in Zambia|date = 2012|pages = 9–15|publisher = Palgrave Macmillan|isbn = 978-1-349-34284-6|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ncc6sOUexo8C&pg=PA9}}{{Dead link|date=February 2025|bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
| region5          = {{flagcountry|Botswana}}
| pop5             = ?
| ref5             =
| langs            = [[Afrikaans]] (primarily)<br /> [[South African English|English]] (primarily)<br />[[Xhosa language|Xhosa]], [[Tswana language|Tswana]], [[Zulu language|Zulu]] (minority)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Mary |date=2019-06-09 |title=What languages do black, coloured, Indian and white South Africans speak? |url=https://southafrica-info.com/infographics/languages-black-coloured-indian-white-south-africans-speak/ |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=South Africa Gateway |language=en-GB}}</ref>
| rels             = Predominantly [[Christianity in Africa|Christianity]], minority [[Islam in Africa|Islam]] and [[Hinduism in Africa|Hinduism]]
| related          = [[List of ethnic groups of Africa|Africans]], [[Mulatto]], [[White South Africans]], [[Afrikaners]], [[Boers]], [[Cape Dutch]], [[Cape Coloureds]], [[Cape Malay]]s,[[Griquas]], [[San people]], [[Khoikhoi]], [[Zulu people|Zulu]], [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]], [[Demographics of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|Saint Helenians]], [[Rehoboth Basters]], [[Tswana people|Tswana]]
}}
[[File:South Africa 2011 Coloured population proportion map.svg|thumb|250px|Coloured people as a proportion of the total population in South Africa:
{{clear}}
{{legend-col
|{{legend|#EDF8E9|0–20%}}
|{{legend|#BAE4B3|20–40%}}
|{{legend|#74C476|40–60%}}
|{{legend|#31A354|60–80%}}
|{{legend|#006D2C|80–100%}}
}}]]
[[File:South Africa 2011 Coloured population density map.svg|thumb|250px|Density of the Coloured population in South Africa:
{{clear}}
{{legend-col
|{{legend|#ffffcc|&lt;1 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#ffeda0|1–3 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#fed976|3–10 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#feb24c|10–30 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#fd8d3c|30–100 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#fc4e2a|100–300 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#e31a1c|300–1000 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#bc0026|1000–3000 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
|{{legend|#800026|&gt;3000 /km<sup>2</sup>}}
}}]]

'''Coloureds''' ({{langx|af|Kleurlinge}}) are [[multiracial people]] in [[South Africa]], [[Namibia]] and to a smaller extent [[Zimbabwe]] and [[Zambia]]. Their mixed heritage descends from the [[Miscegenation|interracial mixing]] that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South Africa began in the 17th century in the [[Dutch Cape Colony]] where the Dutch men mixed with [[Khoekhoe]] women and female slaves from different parts of Africa and Asia, creating mixed-race children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Coloured Communities of Southern Africa, a story |url=https://aaregistry.org/story/the-coloured-communities-of-southern-africa-a-story/ |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=African American Registry |language=en}}</ref> Eventually, interracial mixing occurred throughout South Africa and the rest of [[Southern Africa]] with various other European nationals (such as the Portuguese, British, Germans, Irish, French etc.) who mixed with other African tribes leading to more mixed-race children, whose descendants would later be officially classified as 'Coloured' under the [[Population Registration Act, 1950]] during Apartheid.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://aaregistry.org/story/the-coloured-communities-of-southern-africa-a-story/#:~:text=In%20KwaZulu-Natal%2C%20the%20Coloured%20possess%20a%20diverse%20heritage%2C,British%20and%20Afrikaner%20colonizers%2C%20and%20Arabs%20and%20Asians | title=The Coloured Communities of Southern Africa, a story }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=coloured|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/coloured?q=coloured|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309100643/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/coloured?q=coloured|archive-date=March 9, 2014|work=Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=Oxford University|access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="Posel2001">{{cite journal|url=http://www.transformation.und.ac.za/issue%2047/47%20posel1.pdf|title= What's in a name? Racial categorisations under apartheid and their afterlife|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108101109/http://www.transformation.und.ac.za/issue%2047/47%20posel1.pdf|archive-date=2006-11-08|journal=Transformation|issn=0258-7696|year=2001|last=Posel|first= Deborah|pages= 50–74}}</ref>

The majority of Coloureds are found in the Western Cape, but are prevalent throughout the country. According to the [[2022 South African census]], Coloureds represent 8.15% of people within South Africa, while they make up 42.1% of the population in the [[Western Cape]] and 41.6% in the [[Northern Cape]], representing a plurality of the population in these two [[provinces of South Africa]].<ref name="census.statssa.gov.za" /> In the Western Cape, a distinctive [[Cape Coloureds|Cape Coloured]] and affiliated [[Cape Malay]] culture developed. Genetic studies suggest the group has the highest levels of mixed ancestry in the world.

==Ancestral background==

===South Africa===
South Africa is known as a '[[Rainbow nation]]' because of its diverse cultures, tribes, races, religions and nationalities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://henristeenkamp.org/whats-in-a-name-the-story-behind-the-rainbow-nation/ | title=What's in a Name? The Story Behind the Rainbow Nation {{pipe}} Henri Steenkamp | date=26 January 2017 }}</ref> As a result of this diversity, Coloured people in South Africa have different ancestries as they come from different regions in the country that have different ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://onomajournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Onoma-55-1.12-Neethling-final-web-August.pdf |journal=Onoma |volume=55 |last=Neethling |first=Bertie |year=2020 |title=The so-called Coloured people of South Africa: Modern anthroponymic reconstruction? |pages=229–246 |doi=10.34158/ONOMA.55/2020/13}}</ref>

====Dutch Cape Colony/Cape Colony/Cape Province====
{{Main|Cape Coloured}}

The first and the largest phase of [[interracial marriages]]/[[Miscegenation]] in South Africa happened in the [[Dutch Cape Colony]] and the rest of the [[Cape Colony]] which began from the 17th century, shortly after the arrival of Dutch settlers, who were led by [[Jan van Riebeeck]], through the [[Dutch East India Company]] (also known as the 'VOC').<ref>{{cite web | title=Cape Melting Pot the Role and Status of the Mixed Population at the Cape 1652-1795 | url=https://docslib.org/doc/7111625/cape-melting-pot-the-role-and-status-of-the-mixed-population-at-the-cape-1652-1795 }}</ref> When the Dutch settled in the Cape in 1652, they met the [[Khoi Khoi]] who were the natives of the area.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/who-are-the-cape-coloureds-of-south-africa | title=Who are the Cape Coloureds of South Africa? }}</ref> After settling in the Cape, the Dutch established farms that required intensive labour, therefore, they enforced [[Slavery in South Africa|slavery in the Cape]]. Some of the [[Khoi Khoi]] became labourers for the Dutch farmers in the Cape. Despite this, there was resistance by the Khoi Khoi, which led to the [[Khoikhoi-Dutch Wars]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.africarebirth.com/how-indigenous-south-africans-resisted-the-first-european-intruders/ | title=How Indigenous South Africans Resisted the First European Intruders | date=24 October 2023 }}</ref>

As a result, the Dutch imported slaves from other parts of the world, especially the [[Malay people]] from present-day Indonesia and the [[Bantu peoples|Bantu people]] from various parts of [[Southern Africa]].<ref name="The Early Cape Slave Trade {{pipe}} S">{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/early-cape-slave-trade | title=The Early Cape Slave Trade {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Slaves were also imported from Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh (also known as 'Bengal'), Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Madagascar, Mauritius and the rest of Africa.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Groenewald | first1=Gerald | title=Slaves and Free Blacks in VOC Cape Town, 1652–1795 | journal=History Compass | date=2010 | volume=8 | issue=9 | pages=964–983 | doi=10.1111/J.1478-0542.2010.00724.X | url=https://www.academia.edu/8018427 }}</ref><ref name="CAMISSA HERITAGE - Origin and Histo">{{cite web | last1=Skies | first1=Infinite | title=CAMISSA HERITAGE - Origin and History of South African Cape Coloured People | date=10 March 2019 | url=https://www.academia.edu/38523613 }}</ref> Because of this, the Cape had the most diverse slave population in the world.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Groenewald | first1=Gerald | title=Slaves and Free Blacks in VOC Cape Town, 1652–1795 | journal=History Compass | date=2010 | volume=8 | issue=9 | pages=964–983 | doi=10.1111/J.1478-0542.2010.00724.X | url=https://www.academia.edu/8018427 }}</ref> The 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 estimate the ratio of slaves from different regions.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/first-slaves-cape | title=The First Slaves at the Cape {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Usually, slaves were given their masters' surnames, surnames that referred to the characters in the bible (e.g. Adams, Jephta, Thomas, Esau, Solomons, Jacobs, Matthews, Peters, Daniels), surnames that reflected the month when they arrived in the Cape (e.g. September, March/Maart, January/Januarie, April), surnames that referred to Greek and Roman mythology (e.g. Cupido, Adonis, Titus, Hannibal) or surnames that referred to the geographical location where they came from (e.g. 'Afrika' from different parts of mainland Africa, 'Balie' from [[Bali]] in Indonesia and 'Malgas' which referred to the [[Malagasy people]] from Madagascar).<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Groenewald | first1=Gerald | title=Slaves and Free Blacks in VOC Cape Town, 1652–1795 | journal=History Compass | date=2010 | volume=8 | issue=9 | pages=964–983 | doi=10.1111/J.1478-0542.2010.00724.X | url=https://www.academia.edu/8018427 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The slave experience – Slavery in South Africa | url=https://slavery.iziko.org.za/slaveexperience/#:~:text=Examples%20of%20such%20names%20are%3A%20Fortuijn%20%28English%20%3D,surnames%20such%20as%20January%2C%20February%2C%20September%20o }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bPuGewLPUE | title=I'm Not Black, I'm Coloured - South Africa (2009) | website=[[YouTube]] | date=6 April 2024 }}</ref> These slaves were, however, dispersed and lost their cultural identity over the course of time.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-slavery-and-early-colonisation-south-africa | title=History of slavery and early colonisation in South Africa {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref>

Even in the early years of colonialism, the area that became known as '[[Cape Town]]', received international interest because it was the perfect halfway point for the trade route between Europe and Asia, which made Cape Town a vital trading station.<ref name="historyrise.com">{{cite web | title=The Arrival of the Dutch: VOC, Cape Colony, and Early Settlers | date=27 February 2025 | url=https://historyrise.com/the-arrival-of-the-dutch-voc-cape-colony-and-the-early-settler-era/ }}</ref> This is the main reason why the Cape was colonised by the Dutch so that the VOC could control and benefit from the Cape-Sea Route. This is also the main reason why the Dutch Cape Colony (especially in Cape Town) became a melting pot of people who came from different parts of the world and this melting pot still exists.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cape Melting Pot the Role and Status of the Mixed Population at the Cape 1652-1795 | url=https://docslib.org/doc/7111625/cape-melting-pot-the-role-and-status-of-the-mixed-population-at-the-cape-1652-1795 }}</ref> The majority of the early Europeans who settled in the Cape were men because they were mostly traders, sailors, soldiers, explorers, farmers and politicians who hardly brought their families with them; therefore, they created new families in the Cape.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cape Melting Pot the Role and Status of the Mixed Population at the Cape 1652-1795 | url=https://docslib.org/doc/7111625/cape-melting-pot-the-role-and-status-of-the-mixed-population-at-the-cape-1652-1795 }}</ref>

Because most of the Dutch settlers in the Cape were men, many of them married and fathered the first group of mixed-race children with the local Khoi Khoi women.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cape Melting Pot the Role and Status of the Mixed Population at the Cape 1652-1795 | url=https://docslib.org/doc/7111625/cape-melting-pot-the-role-and-status-of-the-mixed-population-at-the-cape-1652-1795 }}</ref> Soon after the arrival of slaves, the Dutch men also married and fathered mixed-race children with the [[Malay Indonesians|Malay]] from Indonesia, the Southern African Bantu, Indians and other enslaved ethnic groups in the Cape.<ref name="study.com">https://study.com/academy/lesson/cape-coloureds-origins-culture.html?msockid=31e14f9a4e30671f2e725b284f306666 {{Bare URL inline|date=July 2025}}</ref> To a certain extent, the slaves in the Cape also had interracial unions with each other and mixed-race children were also conceived from these unions as well because the slaves were of different races ([[Demographics of Africa|African]] and [[Asian people|Asian]]).<ref name="History of Camissa People">{{cite web | title=History of Camissa People | date=21 June 2019 | url=https://camissapeople.wordpress.com/history-of-camissa-people/ }}</ref> Some of these slaves also intermixed with the local Khoi Khoi workers and another breed of children were born with diverse heritage.<ref name="History of Camissa People"/> Unlike the [[One-drop rule]] in the US, the Dutch settlers in the Cape did not view mixed-race children as "white enough to be white", "black enough to be black" nor "Asian enough to be Asian", therefore, mixed race children from all these interracial unions in the Cape grew up, came together and married amongst themselves, forming their own community that would later be known as the "[[Cape Coloured]]" (a term that was given by the Apartheid regime during the 20th century).<ref name="aaregistry.org">{{cite web | url=https://aaregistry.org/story/the-coloured-communities-of-southern-africa-a-story/ | title=The Coloured Communities of Southern Africa, a story }}</ref>

[[File:Krotoa.webp|thumb|[[Krotoa]], a Khoi Khoi woman who was the first indigenous person in South Africa to have an official interracial marriage]]

The first interracial marriage in the Cape was between [[Krotoa]] (a Khoi Khoi woman who was a servant, a translator and a crucial negotiator between the Dutch and the Khoi Khoi. Her Dutch name was "Eva Van Meerhof") and [[Peter Havgard]] (a Danish surgeon whom the Dutch renamed as "Pieter Van Meerhof").<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/krotoa-eva | title=Krotoa (Eva) {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Having conceived 3 mixed-race children, Krotoa was also known as the mother that gave birth to the Coloured community in South Africa.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://humanities.uct.ac.za/apc/love-time-imperialism-krotoa-eva-van-meerhof | title=Love in the time of imperialism: Krotoa 'Eva' van Meerhof {{pipe}} University of Cape Town }}</ref>

Eventually, more Dutch people settled in the Cape until the Cape fell under British rule in the early 19th century.<ref name="historyrise.com"/> Amongst them were the Van Wijk family (whose descendants became 'Van Wyk') who arrived in the Cape in 1686 and the Erasmus family that arrived in 1689.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sahistory.org.za/article/dutch-settlement | title=The Dutch Settlement {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref><ref>https://www.candlewoodsvenue.co.za/images/CandlewoodsHistory.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://familyvanwyk.blogspot.com/2007/04/history-of-van-wyk-family-name.html | title=Van Wyk Family: History of the van Wyk Family Name | date=24 April 2007 }}</ref> The arrival of more Dutch people in the Cape led to the recruitment of more Khoi Khoi labourers and the importation of more slaves from different parts of Asia and Africa.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Worden | first1=Nigel | last2=Malan | first2=Antonia | title=17 Constructing and Contesting Histories of Slavery at the Cape, South Africa | date=19 January 2017 | url=https://www.academia.edu/30997994 }}</ref> From the mid-17th century until the 19th century and the 20th century, all the Dutch surnames in the Cape region and the rest of South Africa evolved into Afrikaans surnames which are the most common surnames amongst White South Africans and Coloured South Africans e.g. Van Niekerk, Strydom (from 'Strijdom'), De Waal, Pietersen, Van Rooyen, Van Tonder, Hanekom, Steenhuisen, De Jongh (from De Jong), Van Wyk, Van Der Walt, Van Der Merwe, Koekemoer, Meintjies, Beukes, Van Der Bijl, Uys, Oosthuizen, Theunissen, Pieterse, Willemse, Nieuwoudt.

The [[Huguenots]] (also known as 'French Huguenots') were French Protestants who escaped banishment and persecution of Protestants in France. Many of them emigrated to the Dutch Cape Colony to seek refuge among the existing Dutch community during the late 1600s and early 1700s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://huguenotsociety.org.za/history-of-the-huguenots/ | title=The Huguenot History }}</ref><ref>https://huguenotsociety.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HUGUENOT_SOCIETY-SA_History.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=July 2025}}</ref> Despite being refugees, they played a huge role on the history of the current [[Afrikaans|Afrikaans-speaking community]], the Cape region as a whole and the rest of South Africa. Coming from a country that has a rich history of wine production, these [[Huguenots in South Africa|French refugees]] pioneered the vineyards of the Cape Winelands, turning it into one of the biggest wine producers in the world.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://southafrica.co.za/french-huguenots.html | title=The French Huguenots - Franschhoek, South Africa }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/biggest-wine-producers-by-country/ | title=Ranked: World's Biggest Wine Producers by Country | date=18 August 2023 }}</ref> The town of [[Franschhoek]] (which means "French corner" in Dutch and Afrikaans) in the current [[Western Cape]], was named as a refuge where many Huguenots were allocated by the VOC. Many Huguenots were also allocated to [[Stellenbosch]], [[Paarl]] and the rest of the [[Cape Winelands]] because this was the perfect environment (in terms of climate and fertile land) for them to plant their vineyards and produce wine.<ref>https://quod.lib.umich.edu/w/wsfh/0642292.0047.007/--from-viticulture-to-commemoration-french-huguenot-memory?rgn=main;view=fulltext</ref>

Although many Huguenots, who arrived in the Cape, were already married, their children and descendants were soon absorbed into Cape society and after few generations, they spoke [[Dutch language|Dutch]], not [[French language|French]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/first-large-group-french-huguenots-arrive-cape | title=The first large group of French Huguenots arrive at the Cape {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Just like many White-Afrikaans speakers, many Coloured-Afrikaans speakers (especially those from the current [[Western Cape]], [[Eastern Cape]] and the [[Northern Cape]]) also have some ancestry from France due to the Huguenots who integrated with the Dutch and other ethnic groups in the Cape region.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite journal |last=Romero |first=Patricia |date=2004-01-01 |title=Encounter at the Cape: French Huguenots, the Khoi and Other People of Color |url=https://www.academia.edu/109760433 |journal=Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History |doi=10.1353/CCH.2004.0038}}</ref> White-Afrikaans speakers and Coloured-Afrikaans speakers who specifically originate from the sub-region of the [[Cape Winelands]] (especially from the Franschhoek area, the Stellenbosch area and the Paarl area) may have more French ancestry because this is where most Huguenots in the Cape Colony where allocated for the purpose of wine-making.<ref>https://huguenotsociety.org.za/</ref> Through the impact of the Huguenots in the Cape, French names became popular within the Afrikaans-speaking community (both White and Coloured) e.g. Jacques, Cheryl, Elaine, André, Michelle, Louis, Chantel/Chantelle, Leon, François, Jaden, Rozanne, Leroy, Monique, René, Lionel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 1,000 French Names (Male and Female) |url=https://listophile.com/names/nationality/french/ |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=Listophile |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB"/> Due to integration with the Dutch and other ethnic groups in the Cape, many Afrikaans surnames are of French origin e.g. [[Delport]], [[Nel (name)|Nel]], [[Du Preez]], [[Leroux (surname)|Le Roux]], [[De Villiers]], [[Joubert]], [[Marais (surname)|Marais]], [[Du Plessis]], [[Visagie]], [[Pienaar]], De Klerk(from 'Le Clerc'), [[Fourie]], Theron, [[Cronje]], [[Viljoen]] (from 'Villion'), [[Du Toit]], [[Reyneke]], Malan, [[Naude]], [[Terblanche]], [[De Lille]], Fouche, [[Minnaar]], [[Blignaut]], [[Retief]], [[Boshoff]], [[Rossouw]], [[Olivier (surname)|Olivier]] and [[Cilliers]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oocities.org/hugenoteblad/surname.htm?202523 | title=Huguenot surnames which exist in South Africa }}</ref>

During the 1600s and the 1700s, Germany was the Netherlands' biggest trading partner in Europe and due to good relations, more than 100 000 Germans were recruited by the [[Dutch East India Company|VOC]] making Germans the largest foreign Europeans in the Dutch empire.<ref name="ghil.hypotheses.org">{{Cite web |author=Olga Witmer |date=2020-09-15 |title=Germans, the Dutch East India Company, and Early Colonial South Africa |website=German Historical Institute London Blog |url=https://ghil.hypotheses.org/23 |doi=10.58079/P1PG |doi-access=free}}</ref> Throughout Dutch rule, the VOC sent nearly 15 000 Germans to the Dutch Cape Colony to work as officials, sailors, administrators and soldiers.<ref name="ghil.hypotheses.org"/> Just like the French Huguenots, the Germans in the Dutch Cape Colony were also assimilated into the existing Dutch community and also learnt Dutch which replaced [[German language|German]].<ref>https://www.cdbooks-r-us.com/supportdocs/personaliapreface.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=July 2025}}</ref> Eventually, Germans in the Cape became farmers, teachers, traders and ministers.<ref name="ghil.hypotheses.org"/> Almost all Germans who settled in the Cape throughout Dutch rule were men and therefore, almost all German men in the Cape married women outside their culture (including African and Asian women).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://safrika.org/Personalia_en.html | title=German Immigrants to the Cape Colony under the Dutch 1652-1806 }}</ref><ref name="ghil.hypotheses.org"/> Due to integration with the Dutch and other ethnic groups in the Cape, there are many Afrikaans surnames of German origin e.g. Klaasen, [[Ackerman (surname)|Ackerman]], [[Vosloo]], [[Hertzog (disambiguation)|Hertzog]], [[Botha]], [[Grobler]], [[Hartzenberg]], [[Pretorius]], [[Booysen]], [[Steenkamp]], [[Kruger]] (from '[[Krüger]]'), [[Louw]], [[Venter]], [[Cloete (surname)|Cloete]], [[Schoeman]], [[Mulder]], [[Kriel]], [[Meyer (surname)|Meyer]], [[Breytenbach]], [[Engelbrecht]], [[Potgieter]], [[Muller]], Maritz, [[Liebenberg]], [[Hoffman]], [[Fleischmann (surname)|Fleischman]], [[Weimers]], and [[Schuster]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://afrikanerway.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/german-influence-on-boer-afrikaner-people/#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20most%20common%20Afrikaner%20surnames%20are,Muller%20%28M%C3%BCller%29%2C%20Meyer%2C%20Potgieter%2C%20Schoeman%20%28Schuman%29%20or%20Liebenberg | title=German influence on Boer-Afrikaner people | date=17 November 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://venere.it/en/the-meaning-and-history-of-the-last-name-grobler | title=The meaning and history of the last name Grobler | date=31 July 2024 }}</ref>

Another group of Europeans who settled in the Dutch Cape Colony came from Northern Europe (also known as '[[Scandinavia]]'). In fact, they were amongst the earliest Europeans who settled in the Cape Colony, along with the Dutch and the Germans. Most Scandinavians in the Cape were VOC workers while others were independent traders who also needed the Cape as a halfway point to Asia and vice versa.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Winquist | first1=Alan | title=Scandinavians and South Africa | journal=Ayres Special Collection | date=January 1978 | url=https://pillars.taylor.edu/ayres-collection-books/12/ }}</ref> The Scandinavians in the Cape mostly came from Sweden and Denmark while a few came from Norway and Finland.<ref name="pillars.taylor.edu">https://pillars.taylor.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=ayres-collection-books</ref> As the VOC struggled to find Dutch volunteers to become workers, it turned to the Scandinavians. Scandinavians in the Cape were mostly missionaries, soldiers, administrators, traders, teachers, nurses, doctors and public servants.<ref name="pillars.taylor.edu"/> One of the earliest Scandinavians to settle in the Cape was the Danish husband of [[Krotoa]], [[Peter Havgard]], whose Dutch name was '[[Pieter Van Meerhof]]'.<ref name="pillars.taylor.edu"/> One of the most prominent Scandinavians in the Cape was the Swedish explorer and VOC official, [[Olof Bergh]] (whose wife, Anna De Konnning, was mixed-race).<ref name="pillars.taylor.edu"/> Just like many White-Afrikaans speakers, many Cape Coloureds also have some ancestry from Northern Europe (especially Sweden and Denmark) because these Scandinavians who integrated with the Dutch and other ethnic groups in the Cape region.<ref name="pillars.taylor.edu"/> The common Afrikaans surname 'Trichardt'/'Triegaardt' originates from the Swedish surname '[[Trädgård]]'.<ref name="pillars.taylor.edu"/> Other surnames of Scandinavian origin became part of the Afrikaans-speaking community e.g. [[Zeederberg]], [[Knoetze]], [[Blomerus]], [[Wentzel]], [[Lindeque]]/[[Lindeques]] (from the Swedish surname '[[Lindequast]]').<ref name="pillars.taylor.edu"/>

Some of the Portuguese people also settled in the Cape and they were also integrated into the Cape society, which is how the Portuguese surname '[[Ferreira (surname)|Ferreira]]' ended up being an Afrikaans surname as well.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.baviaans.net/articles/the_ferreira_family_in_sa | title=The Ferreira Family in SA }}</ref> Overtime, the white community of the Cape evolved into an ethnic group of [[White South Africans]] who are now known as [[Boers]]/[[Afrikaners]].

With the arrival of more Europeans (as mentioned above), more African and Asian slaves and the recruitment of more Khoi Khoi labourers in the Cape Colony, there were more interracial unions with more mixed-race children who were absorbed into the Cape Coloured community.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-cape-coloureds-are-a-mix-of-everything | title=The Cape Coloureds are a mix of everything }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://safrika.org/Personalia_en.html | title=German Immigrants to the Cape Colony under the Dutch 1652-1806 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/the-huguenots-in-south-africa/ | title=The Huguenots in South Africa }}</ref> The recruitment of Khoi Khoi labourers and the importation of African and Asian slaves continued until the Cape fell under British rule in the early 1800s and eventually, these slaves and labourers were absorbed into the Cape Coloured community.<ref name="The Early Cape Slave Trade {{pipe}} S"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.studocu.com/en-za/document/university-of-johannesburg/historical-studies-1b/khoikhoi-dutch-relations/62351724 | title=Khoikhoi -Dutch relations - Aboriginal Khoikhoi Servants and Their Masters in Colonial Swellendam, - Studocu }}</ref>

The most notorious ethnic group of Asian slaves in the Cape were the [[Malay race|Malays]] who came from Indonesia while some also came from [[Malaysian Malays|Malaysia]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://henristeenkamp.org/south-africas-forgotten-minority-cape-malays/ | title=South Africa's Forgotten Minority: The Cape Malays - Henri Steenkamp | date=10 February 2017 }}</ref> Indonesian slaves were also made up of other tribes (such as the [[Javanese people]] from the island of [[Java]] and the [[Balinese people]] from the island of [[Bali]]).<ref>https://camissapeople.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/camissa-heritage-indigenes-slaves-indentured-labour-and-migrants-of-colour-at-the-cape-of-good-hope/</ref> Because Indonesia and Malaysia are both predominantly Muslim-states, the slaves who were taken from these 2 countries introduced Islam into the Dutch Cape Colony, which became the 2nd largest religion amongst Cape Coloureds, after Christianity.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/history-muslims-south-africa-1700-1799-ebrahim-mahomed-mahida | title=History of Muslims in South Africa: 1700 - 1799 by Ebrahim Mahomed Mahida {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Just like the Christians, these Muslims also spread Islam through missionary work, hence it became the 2nd largest religion amongst Cape Coloureds.<ref name="naqshbandi.org.za">https://naqshbandi.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/PAGES-FROM-CAPE-MUSLIM-HISTORY-V3.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=September 2025}}</ref> Indonesian Muslims were also known as 'Mardyckers' or 'Mardijkers'.<ref>https://www.kapsztad.com/galeria/coloured.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=September 2025}}</ref> However, many Indonesians were also none-Muslims, therefore, they also converted to Christianity. Many Indonesians were also sent to the Dutch Cape Colony as exiled prisoners who ended up as slaves as a punishment for rebelling against Dutch rule in Indonesia (which was then called the [[Dutch East Indies]]).<ref name="The Cape Malay {{pipe}} South African">{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/cape-malay | title=The Cape Malay {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> These Malays and other Indonesians had the largest none-European influence in the Cape Colony under Dutch rule.<ref name="The Cape Malay">{{cite web | title=The Cape Malay | url=https://www.scribd.com/document/799458895/The-Cape-Malay }}</ref> The main reason behind this influence was that, unlike other enslaved ethnic groups in the Cape, Malay slaves and other Indonesian slaves were also royals, clerks, former politicians and former religious leaders who were initially brought as exiled prisoners; therefore, they used their influence and power to become prominent figures amongst the oppressed and enslaved people of the Cape.<ref name="The Cape Malay"/> These exiled prisoners include [[Tuan Guru]] (an exiled Indonesian prince who founded the first mosque in South Africa which is located in the [[Bo-kaap]], Cape Town) and [[Sheikh Yusuf]] (an Indonesian Muslim who was exiled to the Cape. The town of [[Macassar, Western Cape|Macassar]] near Cape Town was named after his hometown, [[Makassar]] in Indonesia).<ref name="The Cape Malay"/> Through the influence of these Indonesians, Islam also became a refuge for the other slaves and the Khoi Khoi labourers.<ref>https://repository.up.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/32132c3b-2dca-4cc1-ab53-bb4f64d5c0ec/content</ref>

Although the majority of Malays (together with other Indonesian slaves and Malaysian slaves) in the Cape were interracially mixed into the Cape Coloured community, a small minority of them preserved their own community in order to keep their culture and influence alive, therefore, they became known as the '[[Cape Malays]]' (also known as the 'Cape Muslims').<ref>{{cite web | title=The Preservation of Cape Malay Culture in Cape Town — plak.co.za | date=27 March 2025 | url=https://plak.co.za/the-preservation-of-cape-malay-culture-in-cape-town/ }}</ref> Because of their influence, other Muslims in the Cape (especially Indian slaves, East African slaves and the latter immigrants and indentured labourers from the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, India, Indonesia and Zanzibar who settled when the Cape Colony was under British rule, during the 1800s and the early 1900s) were eventually absorbed into the Cape Malay community, therefore the Cape Malays were also creolised.<ref name="naqshbandi.org.za"/> To a smaller extent, even Khoi Khoi people, Coloured/mixed-race people and White people who converted to Islam and followed Malay traditions were also assimilated into the Cape Malay community.<ref>https://taalmuseum.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cape-Malay-a-South-African-Muslim-identity-borne-out-of-colonialism-aug-2021.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Da Costa | first1=Yusuf | title=Assimilatory processes amongst the Cape Muslims in South Africa during the 19th century | journal=South African Journal of Sociology | date=1992 | volume=23 | pages=5–11 | doi=10.1080/02580144.1992.10520103 | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02580144.1992.10520103?needAccess=true | url-access=subscription }}</ref> Due to many similarities between the Cape Coloureds and the Cape Malays, the two communities became intertwined, especially in Cape Town, which is the heart of the Cape Malay community in South Africa.<ref name="The Cape Malay"/> With the expansion of the Cape Territory, the spreading of Islam and other factors, many Cape Malays migrated to different parts of the Cape region; with some going as far as Port Elizabeth to the East while others went as far as Kimberly to the North.<ref name="uun-halimah.blogspot.com">{{cite web | title=Conflict of Identities: The Case of South Africa's Cape Malays | url=https://uun-halimah.blogspot.com/2008/11/conflict-of-identities-case-of-south.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Port Elizabeth of Yore: The Malays Create a Niche | date=17 March 2017 | url=https://thecasualobserver.co.za/port-elizabeth-yore-malay-population-port-elizabeth/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=History of Muslims in South Africa: 1652 - 1699 by Ebrahim Mahomed Mahida {{pipe}} South African History Online | url=https://sahistory.org.za/archive/history-muslims-south-africa-1652-1699-ebrahim-mahomed-mahida }}</ref><ref>https://www.spu.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/03MalayCamp/AfricanaLibrary/03Newspaper_Documents/n.d.-Historical-view-of-the-Malay-Camp-p1-6.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=September 2025}}</ref> Some Cape Malays even went beyond the Cape region and migrated into the interior of South Africa, especially after the discovery of gold in Johannesburg in 1886.<ref name="uun-halimah.blogspot.com"/><ref>{{cite web | title=Research Portal | url=https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/esploro/outputs/graduate/The-Malay-community-of-Gauteng-syncretism/9913888607691 }}</ref> However, during [[Apartheid]], the Cape Malays were classified as a sub-group of 'Coloureds' due to similar ancestry with the Cape Coloureds and because South Africa's population was grouped into four races under the [[Population Registration Act, 1950]]: [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black]], [[White South Africans|White]], Coloured and [[Indian South Africans|Indian]].<ref name="journals.co.za">{{cite journal | hdl = 10520/AJA10231757_695 | title = The Quest for 'Malay' identity in Apartheid South Africa | first = Goolam | last = Vahed | journal = Alternation | volume = 11 | year = 2004 | url = https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA10231757_695 }}</ref> Therefore, many Cape Malays were forced to live in Coloured communities under the [[Group Areas Act]] during Apartheid.<ref name="uun-halimah.blogspot.com"/>

Before the Malays, the first Asian slaves who were brought to the Cape were the Indians, followed by Sri Lankans and the Bangladeshis (also known as 'Bengali'). Due to its spices and other goods, India was a vital trading partner for the Netherlands, hence the Dutch East India Company. Within the same era that the Cape was colonised, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were colonised by the Dutch.<ref>{{cite web | title=Indian Slaves in South Africa: Notes for monograph, 26 June 1995 {{pipe}} South African History Online | url=https://sahistory.org.za/archive/indian-slaves-south-africa-notes-monograph-26-june-1995#:~:text=Indians%20were%20taken%20into%20slavery%20in%20South%20Africa,Indians%20were%20taken%20into%20slavery%20in%20the%20Cape }}</ref> From the beginning of slavery until the Cape fell under British rule, many Indians, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis were brought to the Cape as slaves. These South Asian slaves were mostly farmworkers, carpenters, craftsmen, domestic workers and cooks. One of the earliest and most prominent Indian slaves in the Cape was [[Angela Van Bengale]] (who hailed from the region of [[Bengal]]), who had a marriage and relationships with different white men and conceived 10 mixed-race children. At one stage, Indians were the largest group of Asian slaves until the numbers dropped during the 18th century due to the restricted importation of Asian slaves.<ref>{{cite web | title=Indian Slaves in South Africa: Notes for monograph, 26 June 1995 {{pipe}} South African History Online | url=https://sahistory.org.za/archive/indian-slaves-south-africa-notes-monograph-26-june-1995#:~:text=Indians%20were%20taken%20into%20slavery%20in%20South%20Africa,Indians%20were%20taken%20into%20slavery%20in%20the%20Cape }}</ref> Due to the miscegenation that occurred on a large scale, the majority of Indian slaves, Sri Lankan slaves and Bangladeshi slaves in the Cape were interracially mixed into the Cape Coloured community while the minority of these South Asian slaves (who were Muslims) were assimilated into the Cape Malay community.<ref>https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-1541</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Indian Slaves in South Africa: Notes for monograph, 26 June 1995 {{pipe}} South African History Online | url=https://sahistory.org.za/archive/indian-slaves-south-africa-notes-monograph-26-june-1995#:~:text=Indians%20were%20taken%20into%20slavery%20in%20South%20Africa,Indians%20were%20taken%20into%20slavery%20in%20the%20Cape }}</ref> These Indians also influenced Cape Malay cuisine (with dishes such as Butter chicken, Roti, Samosas, Chicken Ahni, Biryani, Fish curry, Chicken curry, other curries and the use of many spices), which, in turn, influenced the traditional dishes of the Cape Coloured community especially in the current Western Cape.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cape Malay Cuisine | url=https://southafrica.com/culture/food-recipes/cape-malay-cuisine/#:~:text=Cape%20Malay%20cuisine%20is%20one%20of%20South%20Africa%E2%80%99s,brought%20by%20Dutch%20colonizers%20in%20the%2017th%E2%80%9318th%20centuries }}</ref>

The predominant African slaves in the Cape were the Southern African Bantu (who mostly came from Mozambique and Angola) and the Malagasy people from Madagascar.<ref>{{cite web | title=Slave Routes to the Cape – Slavery in South Africa | url=https://slavery.iziko.org.za/slaveroutestothecape/#:~:text=Slaves%20were%20brought%20from%20Madagascar%2C%20Mozambique%20and%20the,1658%20on%20board%20the%20Dutch%20ship%2C%20the%20Amersfoort }}</ref> African slaves were also imported from Central Africa, West Africa, East Africa and Mauritius.<ref>{{cite web | title=2: African & Asian Enslaved Peoples - Camissa Museum | url=https://camissamuseum.co.za/index.php/7-tributaries/2-african-asian-enslaved-peoples }}</ref> The very first slave ship to arrive in the Cape was the Amersfoort, which carried slaves from Angola.<ref name="slavery.iziko.org.za">{{cite web | title=Slave Routes to Cape Town – Slavery in South Africa | url=https://slavery.iziko.org.za/slave_routes_to_cape_town/ }}</ref> The second large group of slaves also came from West Africa.<ref name="slavery.iziko.org.za"/> In fact, African slaves formed the majority of the slave population in the Dutch Cape Colony.<ref>{{cite web | title=2: African & Asian Enslaved Peoples - Camissa Museum | url=https://www.camissamuseum.co.za/index.php/7-tributaries/2-african-asian-enslaved-peoples }}</ref><ref name="CAMISSA HERITAGE - Origin and Histo"/> The slaves from Mozambique and its surroundings were locally known as 'Masbiekers', which was a Cape Dutch term that referred to Mozambicans.<ref name="CAMISSA HERITAGE - Origin and Histo"/> To a certain extent, even slaves from East Africa were also known as 'Masbiekers' because most of them sailed passed the [[Island of Mozambique]] before they arrived in the Cape. The [[Masbiekers Valley]] in [[Swellendam]] (also known as '[[Masbiekers Kloof]]') was named as a refuge for the freed Masbieker slaves who had nowhere to go after slavery was abolished.<ref>{{cite web | title=History of Masbiekers Valley | date=20 January 2019 | url=https://masbiekersvalleyprojectorg.wordpress.com/2019/01/20/history-of-masbiekers-valley/ }}</ref> The Bantu slaves (from different parts of Southern Africa, Central Africa and East Africa) also introduced the [[Ngoma drum]], which became an instrument used during the [[Kaapse Klopse]].<ref>{{cite web | title=The Cultural Significance of South African Ghoema Music: History, Instruments, and Social Role | date=26 August 2024 | url=https://www.momentslog.com/culture/the-cultural-significance-of-south-african-ghoema-music-history-instruments-and-social-role }}</ref><ref name="Lydia Williams Masbiekers - Camis">{{cite web | title=Lydia Williams (Masbiekers) - Camissa Museum | url=https://camissamuseum.co.za/index.php/7-tributaries/2-african-asian-enslaved-peoples/lydia-williams-masbiekers }}</ref> The word 'Ngoma' refers to a drum in most Bantu languages while it also refers to a song in some Bantu languages. Due to the Dutch influence and the massive creolisation, the word 'Ngoma' was creolised into 'Gomma' and it evolved into the term '[[Ghoema]]'.<ref name="Lydia Williams Masbiekers - Camis"/> Due to the large-scale miscegenation, the majority of African slaves in the Cape were interracially mixed into the Cape Coloured community.<ref name="CAMISSA HERITAGE - Origin and Histo"/> African slaves who were Muslims (especially from East Africa, West Africa and Madagascar) were also assimilated into the Cape Malay community.<ref name="naqshbandi.org.za"/>

During the 17th century (in this case, from 1652 to 1700), the Dutch Cape Colony consisted only of present-day [[Cape Town]] with its surrounding areas (such as [[Paarl]], [[Stellenbosch]], [[Franschhoek]] etc.).<ref>{{cite journal | jstor=23232400 | title=The Making of Two Frontier Communities: Cape Colony in the Eighteenth Century | last1=Guelke | first1=Leonard | journal=Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques | date=1985 | volume=12 | issue=3 | pages=419–448 }}</ref> From the 18th century until the formation of the [[Union of South Africa]] in 1910, the territory of the Cape expanded gradually to the north and east.<ref name="sahistory.org.za">{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/cape-northern-frontier | title=The Cape Northern Frontier {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> The expansion of the Dutch Cape Colony was mainly caused by the dry and infertile nature of its immediate interior, therefore farmers needed fertile land because farms could only be settled where there were springs to provide permanent water.<ref name="sahistory.org.za"/> However, the expansion was also influenced by emigration of the [[Trekboers]], who left the Dutch Cape Colony and migrated into the [[Karoo]] during the 18th century and due to British rule during the 19th century.<ref>https://open.uct.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/6237124e-c438-4a5f-9990-3c611efae274/content {{Bare URL inline|date=July 2025}}</ref> By the 1750s, the territory of the Dutch Cape Colony had reached present-day [[Swellendam]] and by the end of the Dutch rule (after British annexation in 1814), the territory of the Cape had already reached certain parts of present-day [[Eastern Cape]] and the [[Northern Cape]], leading to the arrival of Afrikaners/Boers with their multiracial slaves in different parts of the Cape.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/political-changes-1750-1820 | title=Political changes from 1750 to 1820 {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> When the Cape fell under British rule during the 19th century, it continued to expand until it reached the border with other colonies and with the [[Boer republics]]. With the gradual expansion of the Cape, the migration of the trekboer, the migration of Afrikaners/Boers with their multiracial slaves and the additional arrival of various European nationalities (such as the British, Irish etc.), there were more interracial unions throughout the [[Cape Colony|Cape]]: this time between the white and the [[Khoisan]]s in present-day [[Northern Cape]], and between the white and the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] in present-day [[Eastern Cape]], with more mixed race children being conceived, who also became part of the Cape Coloureds.<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Southern-Africa/European-and-African-interaction-in-the-19th-century | title=Southern Africa - European and African interaction in the 19th century {{pipe}} Britannica }}</ref>

Miscegenation in the eastern part of the Cape (which is now the '[[Eastern Cape]]') dates to the late 1600s which began as a result of the shipwrecks.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://camissapeople.wordpress.com/7-steps-of-cape-identity/ | title=Cape Identity | date=19 May 2013 }}</ref> The [[Wild Coast Region, Eastern Cape|Wild Coast Region]] of the Eastern Cape (which stretches from the provincial border with Natal to [[East London, South Africa|East London]] and [[Port Alfred]]) is named after its wilderness and the stormy seas that caused thousands of shipwrecks, especially during the 1700s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wildcoast.co.za/ships-wrecked | title=Ships wrecked {{pipe}} Wild Coast }}</ref> Survivors of the shipwrecks (most of whom were Europeans while some were Asians) settled on the Wild Coast. Having no means to reach their intended destination, most survivors remained permanently in the Eastern Cape and mixed with the Xhosa.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://scrolla.africa/bessie-the-white-queen-of-the-mpondo-of-the-eastern-cape/ | title=Bessie, the white queen of the Mpondo of the Eastern Cape | date=18 August 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://aiart.africa/index.php/component/content/article/abelungu-a-xhosa-clan-that-raised-a-shipwrecked-white-child-into-a-xhosa-leader?catid=9&Itemid=259 | title=Abelungu - A Xhosa clan that raised a shipwrecked white child into a Xhosa leader }}</ref> Within the same period, many escaped slaves from the Dutch Cape Colony (also known as 'Maroons') fled to the East where they sought refuge and then they were soon followed by the [[Trekboers]] who were on their way to the [[Karoo]], while some of them also settled in the Eastern Cape where they mixed with the Xhosa and the Khoi Khoi. The most notorious Trekboer to do so was [[Coenraad de Buys|Coenraad De Buys]], who fathered many mixed race children with his many African wives (who were Khoi Khoi and Xhosa) and one of them was Chief Ngqika's mother, Yese, wife of Mlawu kaRarabe.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://debuys.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-was-coenraad-de-buys.html | title=De Buys Genealogy: Who was Coenraad de Buys? | date=3 February 2011 }}</ref> During the last years of Dutch rule, the territory of the Dutch Cape Colony had reached the Western portion of the Eastern Cape, especially in the [[Graaff-Reinet]] region which led to the arrival of Boers/Afrikaners with their multiracial slaves.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/political-changes-1750-1820 | title=Political changes from 1750 to 1820 {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/graaff-reinet | title=Graaff-Reinet {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Miscegenation in the Eastern Cape continued during the 1800s until the early 1900s with the arrival of British, Irish and German settlers, many of whom had mixed with different ethnicities and eventually multiracial people in the Eastern Cape also became part of the Cape Coloured.<ref name="britannica.com"/>

In the Northern region of the Cape (which is now the '[[Northern Cape]]'), miscegenation began in the 1700s, shortly after the arrival of the [[Trekboers]] that left the Dutch Cape Colony (fleeing from autocratic rule) and many settled in the [[Karoo]] while some settled in [[Namaqualand]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://southafrica.co.za/trekboers-richtersveld.html | title=Trekboers of the Richtersveld }}</ref> Some Trekboers even went as far as the [[Orange River]] and beyond to the Southern part of the [[Kalahari]] and in all these areas, they met the [[Khoisan]]s (the [[San people|San]] and the [[Khoekhoe|Khoi Khoi]]).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.weskusontheline.co.za/2024/10/04/the-forgotten-highway-ancestral-journeys/ | title=The Forgotten Highway – Ancestral Journeys – First with the News | date=4 October 2024 }}</ref> To survive in this hot and dry region, the Trekboers adopted the nomadic lifestyle of the Khoisans and some even mixed with the Khoisans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trekboers: Chapter 1 of 'The Great Trek' |url=https://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/ransford/chap1.htm |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=www.ourcivilisation.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=South Africa - Emergence of a Settler Society |url=https://countrystudies.us/south-africa/6.htm |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=countrystudies.us}}</ref> During the last years of Dutch rule, the territory of the Dutch Cape Colony had reached the Southern portion of the Northern Cape, leading to the arrival of Boers/Afrikaners with their multiracial slaves.<ref name="sahistory.org.za"/> In the early 1800s, the [[Griqua people]] left the Dutch Cape Colony and half of them migrated to the North of the Karoo where they established a Griqua state called '[[Griqualand West]]'.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/griqualand-west | title=Griqualand West {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Then the [[Basters]], [[Oorlam people|Oorlams]] and some Cape Coloureds migrated to the North as well and some of them even went as far as present-day [[Namibia]].<ref name="camissamuseum.co.za">{{cite web | url=https://camissamuseum.co.za/index.php/7-tributaries/5-maroons-orlam-drosters | title=5: Maroons, Orlam & Drosters - Camissa Museum }}</ref> In the latter half of the 1800s, large sums of diamond, Uranium, Copper and Iron ore were discovered in the Northern Cape which attracted many Europeans, many of whom mixed with the San, Khoi khoi, Tswana in the North-East and the Xhosa in the South-East and then multiracial people in the Northern Cape also became part of the Cape Coloured.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/republic-griqualand-west-or-diggers-republic | title=Republic of Griqualand West or the Digger's Republic {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://pure.uj.ac.za/en/publications/history-of-the-okiep-copper-district-namaqualand-northern-cape-pr | title=History of the Okiep copper district, Namaqualand, Northern Cape Province, South Africa | journal=Mineralogical Record | date=July 2004 | volume=35 | issue=4 | pages=289–317 | last1=Cairncross | first1=Bruce }}</ref><ref name="camissamuseum.co.za"/>

After British annexation in 1814, slavery was abolished in the Cape in 1834, which lead to the [[Great Trek]] when the [[Boers]] left the Cape as [[Voortrekkers]] and migrated into the interior of South Africa to form the [[Boer republics]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/slavery-abolished-cape#:~:text=On%201%20December%201834%2C%20slavery%20came%20to%20an,of%20Commons%20and%20by%20the%20House%20of%20Lords | title=Slavery is abolished at the Cape {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> Most of the freed slaves (who became Cape Coloureds) remained behind. Many freed slaves moved to an area in Cape Town that became known as [[District Six]]. Throughout the 1800s (especially after the abolishment of slavery in 1834) and the early 1900s, the Cape received an influx of refugees, immigrants and indentured labourers from:
Britain, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, St Helena, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Middle East, West Africa, North Africa and East Africa(majority of all these groups were absorbed into the Cape Coloured community).<ref name="academia.edu">{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/38523613 | title=CAMISSA HERITAGE - Origin and History of South African Cape Coloured People | last1=Skies | first1=Infinite | date=10 March 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lithuanian footsteps in South Africa |url=https://vilnews.com/2011-01-south-africa |access-date=2025-08-22}}</ref><ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357167610_History_of_the_German_Settlers_in_the_Eastern_Cape {{Bare URL inline|date=July 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Felix_Florez.jpg|thumb|Felix Florez, a Filipino man in kalk Bay in 1863]]

In the 1800s, the Philippines, at the time a Spanish colony, experienced a harsh rebellion against Spanish colonial rule, so many Filipinos fled to different parts of the world. In the late 1830s, the first Filipinos to arrive in the Cape settled in [[Kalk Bay|Kalk Bay, Cape Town]] where they fished for a living and then Kalk Bay became their new home.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/notice/history-filipino-community-recognized-kalk-bay | title=History of Filipino community recognized in Kalk Bay! {{pipe}} the Heritage Portal }}</ref> When word reached the Philippines, many more Filipinos flocked to Kalk Bay, and they were soon scattered throughout Cape Town and other parts of the region that is now the [[Western Cape]], where most of them were eventually absorbed into the Cape Coloured community.<ref>https://www.kbha.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Bulletin-Number-1.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=July 2025}}</ref> As a result, many Cape Coloureds can trace some of their roots to the Philippines due to the Filipinos of Kalk Bay.<ref name="academia.edu"/> Many Filipinos who settled in the Cape were also [[Filipino Mestizos|mixed]] with some Spanish ancestry as a result of the Spaniards who mixed with the indigenous people of the Philippines while some were simply [[Spanish Filipinos]] of Spanish descent, therefore, some Cape Coloureds can also trace some of their roots to Spain due to the Filipinos of Kalk Bay.<ref name="academia.edu"/> Within the Cape Coloured community, surnames from the Filipinos of Kalk Bay (which are mostly Spanish surnames that the Filipinos got from the Spaniards) are Gomez, Pascal, Torrez, De La Cruz, Fernandez, Florez(also spelt as 'Floris'), Manuel, and Garcia.<ref name="academia.edu"/>

In 1888, Oromo slave children from Ethiopia (who were headed for Arabia) were rescued and freed by British troops.<ref name="theconversation.com">{{cite web | last1=Morton | first1=Fred | editor-first1=Thabo | editor-last1=Leshilo | url=https://theconversation.com/the-story-of-oromo-slaves-bound-for-arabia-who-were-brought-to-south-africa-116607 | title=The story of Oromo slaves bound for Arabia who were brought to South Africa | date=9 May 2019 | doi=10.64628/AAJ.ts9kw33ck }}</ref> In 1890, the British troops brought these freed Oromo slaves to [[Lovedale Mission]] in present-day Eastern Cape where many of them became part of the Cape Coloured.<ref name="theconversation.com"/> The late [[Neville Alexander|Dr Neville Alexander's]] grandmother, Bisho Jarsa, was a freed Oromo slave from Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/dr-neville-edward-alexander | title=Dr. Neville Edward Alexander {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref>

By the turn of the 20th century, District six became more established and cosmopolitan. Although its population was predominantly Cape Coloured, District Six (just like many places in the Cape) was diverse with different ethnicities, races and nationalities living there (this includes Blacks, Whites, Jews, Cape Malays and Asian immigrants such as the Indians, Chinese, Japanese etc.)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://martinplaut.com/2021/02/14/why-cape-towns-district-six-devastated-so-many-years-ago-is-still-vital/ | title=Why Cape Town's District Six – devastated so many years ago – is still vital | date=14 February 2021 }}</ref> Many of these groups were absorbed into the Cape coloured community.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bokaap.org/district-six-exploring-the-rich-history-of-cape-towns-iconic-neighbourhood/ | title=District Six: Exploring the Rich History of Cape Town's Iconic Neighbourhood | date=12 April 2023 }}</ref> The whole Cape Colony (including the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape) also attracted many European immigrants of various nationalities (including Scandinavians, Portuguese, Greeks, Italians etc.), many of whom married into the Cape Coloured community while some mixed with other ethnic groups, whose children were absorbed into the Cape Coloured community, further diversifying the ancestry of Cape Coloureds.<ref name="study.com"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://italyincapetown.co.za/italians-in-south-africa-1800/ | title=Italians in South Africa 1800 - Italy in Cape Town | date=12 November 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chrysopoulos |first=Philip |date=2023-06-08 |title=The Turbulent Story of Greeks in South Africa |url=https://greekreporter.com/2023/06/08/the-turbulent-story-of-greeks-in-south-africa/ |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=GreekReporter.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

During the 20th century (under British rule from 1910 to 1948 and Apartheid regime from 1948 to 1994), many [[Khoisan]]s living in the [[Cape Province]] were assimilated into the Cape Coloured community, especially in the North of the Cape (now the '[[Northern Cape]]').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Khoisan Identity {{!}} South African History Online |url=https://sahistory.org.za/article/khoisan-identity |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=sahistory.org.za |language=en}}</ref> As a result, many Cape Coloureds, especially from the Northern Cape, share close ties with the San and the Khoi Khoi, especially those living in the Namaqualand region, around the Orange river and the Kalahari region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NCESC |url=https://www.ncesc.com/ |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=Discovering Employment Paths and Travel Experiences |language=en-US}}</ref> 
 
As a result, the Cape Coloureds have the most diverse ancestry in the world with a blend of many different ancestries.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s00439-010-0836-1 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44618878 |title=Genome-wide analysis of the structure of the South African Coloured Population in the Western Cape |date=2010 |last1=De Wit |first1=Erika |last2=Delport |first2=Wayne |last3=Rugamika |first3=Chimusa E. |last4=Meintjes |first4=Ayton |last5=Möller |first5=Marlo |last6=Van Helden |first6=Paul D. |last7=Seoighe |first7=Cathal |last8=Hoal |first8=Eileen G. |journal=Human Genetics |volume=128 |issue=2 |pages=145–153 |pmid=20490549 }}</ref> However, not every Cape Coloured has the same ancestry. At least one genetic study indicates that most Cape Coloureds have ancestries from the following ethnic groups:<ref>{{cite journal|title=Genome-wide analysis of the structure of the South African Coloured Population in the Western Cape|journal=Human Genetics|date=August 2010|pmid=20490549|doi=10.1007/s00439-010-0836-1|volume=128|issue=2|pages=145–53|last1 = de Wit|first1 = E|last2 = Delport|first2 = W|last3 = Rugamika|first3 = CE|last4 = Meintjes|first4 = A|last5 = Möller|first5 = M|last6 = van Helden|first6 = PD|last7 = Seoighe|first7 = C|last8 = Hoal|first8 = EG|s2cid=24696284|doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pfennig |first1=Aaron |last2=Petersen |first2=Lindsay N |last3=Kachambwa |first3=Paidamoyo |last4=Lachance |first4=Joseph |date=2023-04-06 |editor-last=Eyre-Walker |editor-first=Adam |title=Evolutionary Genetics and Admixture in African Populations |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |language=en |volume=15 |issue=4 |article-number=evad054 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evad054 |issn=1759-6653 |pmc=10118306 |pmid=36987563}}</ref>
* African ([[Khoisan]]): ~ 25,3%
* Europeans: 39,3%
* African ([[Bantu peoples|Bantu]]): ~ 15,5%
* Peoples from [[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]]: 19,9%<ref name="ReferenceC">{{Cite journal |last1=Petersen |first1=Desiree C. |last2=Libiger |first2=Ondrej |last3=Tindall |first3=Elizabeth A. |last4=Hardie |first4=Rae-Anne |last5=Hannick |first5=Linda I. |last6=Glashoff |first6=Richard H. |last7=Mukerji |first7=Mitali |last8=Indian Genome Variation Consortium |last9=Fernandez |first9=Pedro |last10=Haacke |first10=Wilfrid |last11=Schork |first11=Nicholas J. |last12=Hayes |first12=Vanessa M. |date=2013-03-14 |editor-last=Williams |editor-first=Scott M. |title=Complex Patterns of Genomic Admixture within Southern Africa |journal=PLOS Genetics |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |article-number=e1003309 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1003309 |doi-access=free |issn=1553-7404 |pmc=3597481 |pmid=23516368}}</ref><ref name="cell.com">{{cite journal |last1=Quintana-Murci |first1=L |last2=Harmant |first2=C |last3=H |first3=Quach |last4=Balanovsky |first4=O |last5=Zaporozhchenko |first5=V |last6=Bormans |first6=C |last7=van Helden |first7=PD |display-authors=etal |year=2010 |title=Strong maternal Khoisan contribution to the South African coloured population: a case of gender-biased admixture |url= |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=86 |issue=4 |pages=611–620 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2010.02.014 |pmc=2850426 |pmid=20346436}}</ref><ref name="onlinelibrary.wiley.com">{{cite journal |last1=Schlebusch |first1=CM |last2=Naidoo |first2=T |last3=Soodyall |first3=H |year=2009 |title=SNaPshot minisequencing to resolve mitochondrial macro-haplogroups found in Africa |journal=Electrophoresis |volume=30 |issue=21 |pages=3657–3664 |doi=10.1002/elps.200900197 |pmid=19810027 |s2cid=19515426}}</ref><ref name="Fynn1991">{{Cite thesis|title=The "Coloured" Community of Durban: A Study of Changing Perceptions of Identity|last=Fynn|first= Lorraine Margaret|date=1991|publisher=University of Natal|location=Durban|url=https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10413/6802/Fynn_Lorraine_Margaret_1991.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|type=Master of Social Science}}</ref><ref name="Palmer2015">{{Cite thesis|title=Through a Coloured Lens: Post-Apartheid Identity amongst Coloureds in KZN|last=Palmer|first= Fileve T.|date=2015|hdl=2022/19854|type=PhD|publisher=Indiana University|location=Bloomington, Ind}}</ref>
It is important to note here that genetic reference cluster term "Khoisan" itself refers to a colonially admixed population cluster, hence the concatenation, and is not a straightforward reference to ancient African pastoralist and hunter ancestry, which is often demarcated by the L0 haplogroup ancestry common in the general South African native population which is also integral part of other aboriginal genetic reference cluster terms like "South-East African Bantu".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barbieri |first1=Chiara |last2=Vicente |first2=Mário |last3=Rocha |first3=Jorge |last4=Mpoloka |first4=Sununguko W. |last5=Stoneking |first5=Mark |last6=Pakendorf |first6=Brigitte |date=2013-02-07 |title=Ancient Substructure in Early mtDNA Lineages of Southern Africa |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=92 |issue=2 |pages=285–292 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.12.010 |issn=0002-9297 |pmc=3567273 |pmid=23332919}}</ref>
 
In the 21st century, Coloured people constitute a plurality of the population in the provinces of [[Western Cape]] (48.8%), and a large minority in the [[Northern Cape]] (40.3%), both areas of centuries of mixing among the populations. In the [[Eastern Cape]], they make up (8.3%) of the population.
Line 119 ⟶ 93:

====Griqua====
{{Main|Griqua people}}
[[Image:Adam_kok_III.jpg|thumbnail|left|[[Adam Kok III]], leader of the Coloured Griqua People]]

During the 17th and 18th century in the Dutch Cape Colony, interracial unions that were primarily between the [[West European]] (especially the Dutch) and the [[Khoi Khoi]] created a group of mixed-race individuals that became known as the [[Griqua people|Griqua]].<ref name="academia_19907156">{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/19907156 |title=The Making of Griqua, Inc.: Indigenous Struggles for Land and Autonomy in South Africa |website=academia.edu |date=2015 |access-date=2024-12-15}}</ref> The Griqua people could trace their forefathers to two clans, the Koks and Barendse, the first was made up mainly of Khoikhoi and the second of mixed European descent.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Genetic studies made in the 21st century have revealed that the Griquas also have [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]], [[San people|San]], and [[Tswana people|Tswana]] ancestry.<ref name="The Making of Griqua, Inc.: Indigen">{{Cite book |last=Schweitzer |first=Erwin |url=https://www.academia.edu/19907156 |title=The Making of Griqua, Inc.: Indigenous Struggles for Land and Autonomy in South Africa |date=2015-12-30}}</ref> What separates the Griquas from the Cape Coloureds is that the Griquas do not have Asian ancestry within their bloodline and unlike the Cape Coloureds who adopted the Western and Asian lifestyle, the Griquas clung more to the African lifestyle, most particularly that of the Khoi Khoi.<ref name="pletthistory.org">{{cite web | url=https://pletthistory.org/the-story-of-the-griqua-re-visited/ | title=The Story of the Griqua Re-visited {{pipe}} the van Plettenberg Historical Society }}</ref>

The actual name 'Griqua' was derived from the Chariaguriqua people whose princess became the wife of the first Griqua leader, [[Adam Kok]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/griqua | title=Griqua {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref> As a result of discrimination and the smallpox disease that occurred in the Cape Colony, Adam Kok (a Griqua leader who was also a liberated slave) led the Griquas in migrating to other regions in South Africa and formed two Griqua states: [[Griqualand West]] and [[Griqualand East]].<ref name="pletthistory.org"/> Griqualand West was located in present-day [[Northern Cape]] while Griqualand East was located between present-day [[KwaZulu-Natal]] and the [[Eastern Cape]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Unfortunately, with the expansion of the Cape Colony, which was under British rule this time, the two Griqua states ceased to exist and were annexed into the Cape colony.<ref name="academia_19907156"/>

During the Apartheid regime (1948-1994), Griquas were classified as Coloureds due to their mixed-race ancestry and they were forced to live in Coloured communities in South Africa under the [[Group Areas Act]].<ref name="The Making of Griqua, Inc.: Indigen"/> Due to the racial policies and the racial hierarchy of South Africa's demographics during Apartheid, many Griquas accepted the classification of "Coloured" for fear that their Griqua roots might place them at a lower level than other groups.<ref name="The Making of Griqua, Inc.: Indigen"/> As a result, it is difficult to estimate and determine the actual size of the Griqua population, therefore, it remains unknown.<ref name="The Making of Griqua, Inc.: Indigen"/>

Although Griquas are scattered across the country (due to historic migrations), the majority of Coloureds that come from the [[Griekwastad]] area in the [[Northern Cape]], the [[Kokstad]] area in [[KwaZulu-Natal]] and the [[Kranshoek]] area in the [[Western Cape]] are either directly Griqua or they are the descendants of Griquas.<ref name="The Making of Griqua, Inc.: Indigen"/>

====Colony of Natal/Natal province====

[[File:Coloured-Community-of-Nongoma-KwaZulu-Natal-Christmas-Day-early-1900s.png|thumb|Coloured community of Nongoma, Natal on Christmas Day in the early 1900s]]

Another phase of interracial marriages/miscegenation in South Africa happened in the [[Colony of Natal]] (present-day [[KwaZulu-Natal]]) during the 19th century and early 20th century.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1177/2158244016673873 | title=Racialism and Representation in the Rainbow Nation | date=2016 | last1=Palmer | first1=Fileve T. | journal=SAGE Open | volume=6 | issue=4 | article-number=2158244016673873 | doi-access=free }}</ref> This time, it was mainly between the [[British people|British]] and the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] with an addition of British intermixing with [[Indian South Africans|Indians]] and the arrival of immigrants from [[St Helena]], and [[Mauritius]] that married locally.<ref name="aaregistry.org"/> To a certain extent, miscegenation in Natal also involved the Irish, German, Norwegian and the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]].<ref name="aaregistry.org"/>

Blood group phenotype and gene frequency studies showed that the Natal Coloured population contains a mixture of approximately 40% Black, 30% White and 30% Indian (Asian) genes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moores |first1=Phyllis |last2=Vaaja |first2=Ulla |last3=Smart |first3=Elizabeth |date=1991 |title=D__ andDc_ Gene Complexes in the Coloureds and Blacks of Natal and the Eastern Cape and Blood Group Phenotype and Gene Frequency Studies in the Natal Coloured Population |url=https://karger.com/HHE/article/doi/10.1159/000154016 |journal=Human Heredity |language=en |volume=41 |issue=5 |pages=295–304 |doi=10.1159/000154016 |pmid=1778605 |issn=1423-0062|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

After the Boer republic [[Natalia Republic|Natalia]] was annexed by the British rulers, it became the [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] in 1845. When the British started settling in Natal from the mid-19th century, they established sugarcane plantations especially in the coastal regions ([[Durban]], [[KwaDukuza|Stanger]] etc.) and these plantations required intensive labour as well.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sugarvillage.co.za/news/A-Brief-History-of-Durbans-Sugar-Cane | title=A Brief History of Durban's Sugar Cane }}</ref> Struggling to find labour from the local [[Zulu people|Zulu]], the British decided to import thousands of labourers from India to work on the sugarcane plantations of Natal.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/indian-indentured-labour-natal-1860-1911 | title=Indian Indentured Labour in Natal 1860-1911 {{pipe}} South African History Online }}</ref>

Just like the Dutch settlers in the Cape, most of the British settlers in Natal were men, therefore, many of them married Zulu women while some married Indian women and mixed-race children were also conceived and eventually, multiracial people in Natal became 'Natal Coloureds'.<ref name="Palmer-2015">{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/70281903 | title=Through a Coloured lens: Post-Apartheid identity formation amongst Coloureds in KZN | date=January 2015 | last1=Palmer | first1=Fileve | page=71 }}</ref> Sometimes the White administrators who had fathered children from Zulu women would put their mixed-race children in the care of Coloured families in the area.<ref name="Palmer-2015"/> Other times it was the African woman that conceived a mixed-race child from 'Umlungu' (a white person) that initiated giving up the child.<ref name="Palmer-2015"/> In this way, interracial unions and marriages became common and a separate community grew. The descendants of all these interracial unions remain in [[Nongoma]], [[Eshowe]], [[Mandeni]], [[Mangete]], [[Nqabeni]], [[Umuziwabantu]], and [[iziNqolwene]].<ref name="Palmer-2015"/>

[[File:John Dunn.webp|thumb|John Robert Dunn, the white Zulu chief with 48 Zulu wives and 118 mixed race children]]

Some of the British men with interracial marriages in Natal practised polygamy, having multiple Zulu wives while others had multiple Zulu concubines.<ref name="academia.edu"/> The perfect example of this is [[John Robert Dunn]], a white trader with Scottish parents who became a Zulu chief with 48 Zulu wives and 118 mixed race children; and most of his mixed-race descendants (who became 'Coloureds' in Natal) still live in present-day [[KwaZulu-Natal]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Glen |title=John Robert Dunn |url=https://acearchive.org/john-robert-dunn |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241218101932/https://acearchive.org/john-robert-dunn |archive-date=2024-12-18 |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=acearchive.org |language=en}}</ref> Another British man who practised polygamy was [[Henry Francis Fynn|Henry Fynn]] who had four Zulu wives and multiple mixed-race children.<ref>https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/5e1a0e77-5ac6-46d6-bc02-8b6c29c47f79/content {{Bare URL inline|date=July 2025}}</ref> Although [[Henry Ogle]] (a British trader from [[Yorkshire]]) married an English wife named Janie and had a son named Henry, he also fathered multiple mixed-race children with his Zulu concubines at his kraal near [[Umkomaas]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I114401 | title=Henry Ogle, 1820 Settler b. 1800 Yorkshire, England d. 20 Feb 1860 Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa: British 1820 Settlers to South Africa }}</ref>

====Apartheid====
During the [[History of South Africa in the apartheid era|apartheid era]] in South Africa of the second half of the 20th century, the government used the term "Coloured" to describe one of the four main racial groups it defined by law (the fourth was "Asian", later "Indian"). This was an effort to impose [[white supremacy]] and maintain racial divisions. Individuals were classified as [[White South Africans]] (formally classified as "European"), [[Bantu peoples in South Africa|Black South Africans]] (formally classified as "Native", "Bantu" or simply "African" and constituting the majority of the population), Coloureds (mixed-race) and [[Indian South Africans|Indians]] (formally classified as "Asian").<ref name="Posel2001"/> The census in South Africa during 1911 played a significant role in defining racial identities in the country. One of the most noteworthy aspects of this census was the instructions given to enumerators on how to classify individuals into different racial categories. The category of "coloured persons" was used to refer to all people of mixed race, and this category included various ethnic groups such as [[Hottentot (racial term)|Hottentots]], [[Bushmen]], [[Cape Malays]], [[Griquas]], [[Khoemana|Korannas]], [[Creole peoples|Creoles]], [[Negroes]], and [[Cape Coloureds]].

Although the apartheid government recognised several subgroups within the Coloured classification, such as the Cape Malays and Cape Coloureds, the wider Coloured population was generally treated as a single category despite their diverse ancestries and cultures. During this period, many Griqua also began identifying as Coloureds, as the classification provided relatively more privileges than being regarded as indigenous. While Coloureds did not experience the same degree of oppression as Black South Africans, they were still subjected to systemic discrimination and legal segregation from whites. For instance, Coloureds were exempted from carrying the ''[[Pass laws|dompas]]'', an identity document used to restrict the movement of Black people, whereas the Griqua, considered an indigenous African group despite their slightly mixed heritage, were still required to carry it.<ref name="Posel2001"/>

===Zimbabwe===
Zimbabwean Coloureds are descended from [[Shona people|Shona]] or [[Ndebele people (Zimbabwe)|Ndebele]], British and [[Afrikaner]] settlers, as well as Arab and Asian people.

==History==

===Pre-apartheid era===
Coloured people played an important role in the struggle against apartheid and its predecessor policies. The [[African Political Organisation]], established in 1902, had an exclusively Coloured membership; its leader [[Abdullah Abdurahman]] rallied Coloured political efforts for many years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/abdurahman-a.htm|title=Dr Abdullah Abdurahman 1872 - 1940|publisher=South African History Online|access-date=2009-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121035811/http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/abdurahman-a.htm|archive-date=2007-11-21}}</ref> Many Coloured people later joined the [[African National Congress]] and the [[United Democratic Front (South Africa)|United Democratic Front]]. Whether in these organisations or others, many Coloured people were active in the fight against apartheid.

The political rights of Coloured people varied by location and over time. In the 19th century they theoretically had similar rights to Whites in the [[Cape Colony]] (though income and property qualifications affected them disproportionately). In the [[Transvaal Republic]] or the [[Orange Free State]], they had few rights. Coloured members were elected to Cape Town's municipal authority (including, for many years, Abdurahman). The establishment of the [[Union of South Africa]] gave Coloured people the franchise, although by 1930 they were restricted to electing White representatives. They conducted frequent voting boycotts in protest. Such boycotts may have contributed to the victory of the [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] in 1948. It carried out an apartheid programme that stripped Coloured people of their remaining voting powers.

The term "[[Kaffir (racial term)|kaffir]]" is a racial slur used to refer to Black African people in South Africa. While it is still used against black people, it is not as prevalent as it is against coloured people.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Burdened by race: Coloured identities in southern Africa |date=2013 |publisher=UCT Press |isbn=978-1-920516-60-4 |editor-last=Adhikari |editor-first=Mohamed |location=Cape Town}}</ref><ref>Mathabane, M. (1986). Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa. Simon & Schuster. (Chapter 2)</ref>

===Apartheid era===
[[File:ApartheidPopulationGroups.jpg|thumb|Explanation of South African identity numbers in an identity document during apartheid in terms of official White, Coloured and Indian population subgroups]]
Coloured people were subject to forced relocation. For instance, the government relocated Coloured from the urban Cape Town areas of [[District Six]], which was later bulldozed. Other areas they were forced to leave included [[Constantia, Cape Town|Constantia]], [[Claremont, Cape Town|Claremont]], [[Simon's Town]]. Inhabitants were moved to racially designated sections of the metropolitan area on the [[Cape Flats]]. Additionally, under apartheid, Coloured people received education inferior to that of Whites. It was, however, better than that provided to Black South Africans.

[[J. G. Strijdom]], known as "the Lion of the North", continued the impetus to restrict Coloured rights, in order to entrench the new-won [[Nasionale Party|National Party]] majority. Coloured participation on juries was removed in 1954, and efforts to [[Coloured vote constitutional crisis|abolish their participation on]] the common voters' roll in the [[Cape Province]] escalated drastically; it was [[South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1956|accomplished in 1956]] by a supermajority amendment to the [[Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951|1951 Separate Representation of Voters Act]], passed by Malan but held back by the judiciary as unconstitutional under the [[South Africa Act, 1909|South Africa Act]], the Union's effective constitution. In order to bypass this safeguard, enforced since 1909 to ensure [[Cape Qualified Franchise|Coloured political rights in the then-British Cape Colony]], Strijdom's government passed legislation to expand the number of Senate seats from 48 to 89. All of the additional 41 members hailed from the National Party, increasing its representation in the Senate to 77 in total. The Appellate Division Quorum Bill increased the number of judges necessary for constitutional decisions in the Appeal Court from five to eleven. Strijdom, knowing that he had his two-thirds majority, held a joint sitting of parliament in May 1956. The entrenchment clause regarding the Coloured vote, known as the South Africa Act, were thus eliminated and the Separate Representation of Voters Act passed, now successfully.

Coloureds were placed on a separate voters' roll from the 1958 election to the House of Assembly and forward. They could elect four Whites to represent them in the [[House of Assembly of South Africa|House of Assembly]]. Two Whites would be elected to the [[Cape Provincial Council]] and the [[Governor General of the Union of South Africa|governor general]] could appoint one [[Senate of South Africa|senator]]. Both blacks and Whites opposed this measure, particularly from the [[United Party (South Africa)|United Party]]&nbsp;and more liberal opposition. The [[Torch Commando]] was prominent, while the [[Black Sash]] (White women, uniformly dressed, standing on street corners with placards) also made themselves heard. In this way, the question of the Coloured vote became one of the first measures of the regime's unscrupulous nature and flagrant willingness to manipulate its inherited [[Westminster system]]. It would remain in power until 1994.

Many Coloureds refused to register for the new voters' roll and the number of Coloured voters dropped dramatically. In the next election, only 50.2% of them voted. They had no interest in voting for White representatives — an activity which many of them saw as pointless, and only persisted for ten years.

Under the [[Population Registration Act]], as amended, Coloureds were formally classified into various subgroups, including [[Cape Coloureds]], [[Cape Malays]] and "other coloured". A portion of the small [[Chinese South African]] community was also classified as a coloured subgroup.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120423220247/http://heritage.thetimes.co.za/memorials/wc/RaceClassificationBoard/article.aspx?id=591128 An appalling "science"]</ref><ref>
{{Cite book |last=Leach |first=Graham |url=http://archive.org/details/southafricanoeas0000leac |title=South Africa: no easy path to peace |date=1986 |publisher=London; Boston : Routledge & Kegan Paul |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7102-0848-4 |page=70}}</ref>

In 1958, the government established the Department of Coloured Affairs, followed in 1959 by the Union for Coloured Affairs. The latter had 27 members and served as an advisory link between the government and the Coloured people.

The 1964 [[Coloured Persons Representative Council]] turned out to be a constitutional hitch{{clarify|date=January 2012}} which never really proceeded. In 1969, the Coloureds elected forty onto the council to supplement the twenty nominated by the government, taking the total number to sixty.

Following the [[South African constitutional reform referendum, 1983|1983 referendum]], in which 66.3% of White voters supported the change, the [[South African Constitution of 1983|Constitution]] was reformed to allow the Coloured and [[Indian South Africans|Indian]] minorities limited participation in separate and subordinate Houses in a [[tricameral]] [[Parliament of South Africa|Parliament]]. This was part of a change in which the Coloured minority was to be allowed limited rights and self-governance in "Coloured areas", but continuing the policy of denationalising the Black majority and making them involuntary citizens of independent homelands. The internal rationale was that South African whites, more numerous at the time than Coloureds and Indians combined, could bolster its popular support and divide the democratic opposition while maintaining a working majority. The effort largely failed, with the 1980s seeing increased disintegration of civil society and numerous states of emergency, with violence increasing from all racial groups. The separate arrangements were removed by the negotiations which took place from 1990 to [[South Africa general election, 1994|hold the first universal election]].

===Post-apartheid era===
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
During the 1994 all-race elections, Coloured people voted heavily for the white [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]], which in its first contest with a non-white majority won 20% of the vote and a majority in the new [[Western Cape]] province – much due to Cape Coloured support. The National Party recast itself as the [[New National Party (South Africa)|New National Party]] after De Klerk's departure in 1996, partly to attract non-White voters, and grew closer to the ANC. This political alliance, often perplexing to outsiders, has sometimes been explained in terms of the culture and language shared by White and Coloured New National Party members, who both spoke Afrikaans. In addition, both groups opposed affirmative action programmes that might give preference to Black South Africans, and some Coloured people feared giving up older privileges, such as access to municipal jobs, if [[African National Congress]] gained leadership in the government. After the absorption of the NNP into the ANC in 2005, Coloured voters have generally drawn to the [[Democratic Alliance (South Africa)|Democratic Alliance]], with some opting for minor parties such as [[Freedom Front Plus|Vryheidsfront]] and [[Patricia de Lille]]'s [[Independent Democrats]], with lukewarm support for the ANC.

Since the late 20th century, Coloured [[identity politics]] have grown in influence. The Western Cape has been a site of the rise of opposition parties, such as the [[Democratic Alliance (South Africa)|Democratic Alliance]] (DA). The Western Cape is considered as an area in which this party might gain ground against the dominant African National Congress. The [[Democratic Alliance (South Africa)|Democratic Alliance]] drew in some former New National Party voters and won considerable Coloured support. The New National Party collapsed in the 2004 elections. Coloured support aided the Democratic Alliance's victory in the 2006 Cape Town municipal elections.

Patricia de Lille, who became the mayor of Cape Town in 2011 on the platform of the now-defunct [[Independent Democrats]], does not use the label Coloured but many observers would consider her as Coloured by visible appearance. The Independent Democrats party sought the Coloured vote and gained significant ground in the municipal and local elections in 2006, particularly in districts in the Western Cape with high proportions of Coloured residents. The firebrand [[Peter Marais]] (formerly a provincial leader of the New National Party) has sought to portray his [[New Labour Party (South Africa)|New Labour Party]] as the political voice for Coloured people.

Coloured people supported and were members of the African National Congress before, during and after the apartheid era: notable politicians include [[Ebrahim Rasool]] (previously Western Cape premier), [[Beatrice Marshoff]], John Schuurman, [[Allan Hendrickse]] and [[Trevor Manuel]], longtime Minister of Finance. The Democratic Alliance won control over the Western Cape during the 2009 National and Provincial Elections and subsequently brokered an alliance with the Independent Democrats.

The ANC has had some success in winning Coloured votes, particularly among labour-affiliated and middle-class Coloured voters. Some Coloureds express distrust of the ANC with the comment, saying that the Coloured were considered "not white enough under apartheid and not black enough under the ANC."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hsf.org.za/resource-centre/focus/issues-31-40/issue-37-first-quarter-2005/a-hollowing-out-of-our-democracy|title=A hollowing-out of our democracy?|last=Welsh|first=David|publisher=Helen Suzman Foundation|year=2005|access-date=2009-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725184207/http://www.hsf.org.za/resource-centre/focus/issues-31-40/issue-37-first-quarter-2005/a-hollowing-out-of-our-democracy|archive-date=2011-07-25}}</ref>
In the 2004 election, voter apathy was high in historically Coloured areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.idasa.org.za/index.asp?page=output_details.asp%3FRID%3D60%26Pub%3DY%26OTID%3D5|title=Election Synopsis - How the West was Won (and Lost) - May 2004|first=Jonathan|last=Faull|publisher=Institute for Democracy in Africa|date=June 21, 2004|access-date=2009-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618021945/http://www.idasa.org.za/index.asp?page=output_details.asp%3FRID%3D60&Pub=Y&OTID=5|archive-date=June 18, 2008}}</ref> The ANC faces the dilemma of having to balance the increasingly nationalistic economic aspirations of its core black African support base, with its ambition to regain control of the Western Cape, which would require support from Coloureds.<ref name="bbc2011RaceElections">{{Cite news |date=April 20, 2011 |title=BBC News - How race still colours South African elections |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13144324 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120130536/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13144324 |archive-date=November 20, 2014 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

==Coloureds in other southern African countries==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
[[Image:South Africa racial map, 1979.gif|thumb|350px|Racial-demographic map of South Africa published by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] in 1979, with data from the 1970 South African census]]
The term [[Coloured People in Namibia|Coloured]] is also used in Namibia, to describe persons of [[mixed race]], specifically part Khoisan, and part European. The ''[[Baster]]s'' of Namibia constitute a separate ethnic group that are sometimes considered a sub-group of the Coloured population of that country. Under South African rule, the policies and laws of apartheid were extended to what was then called [[South West Africa]]. In Namibia, [[Coloured People in Namibia|Coloureds]] were treated by the government in a way comparable to that of South African Coloureds.

In Zimbabwe and to a lesser extent Zambia, the term Coloured or ''[[Goffal]]'' was used to refer to people of mixed race. Most are descended from mixed African and British, or African and Indian, progenitors. Some Coloured families descended from Cape Coloured migrants from South Africa who had children with local women. Under [[Rhodesia]]'s predominantly white government, Coloureds had more privileges than black Africans, including full voting rights, but still faced social discrimination. The term Coloured is also used in [[Eswatini]].

==Culture==
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2023}}

===Lifestyle===
As far as family life, housing, eating habits, clothing and so on are concerned, the Christian Coloureds generally maintain a Western lifestyle. Marriages are strictly monogamous, although extramarital and premarital sexual relationships can occur and are perceived differently from family to family. Among the working and agrarian classes, permanent relationships are often officially ratified only after a while if at all.

The average family size of six does not differ from those of other Western families and, as with the latter, is generally related to socio-economic status. Extended families are common. Coloured children are often expected to refer to any extended relatives as their "auntie" or "uncle" as a formality.

While many affluent families live in large, modern, and sometimes luxurious homes, many urban coloured people rely on state-owned economic and sub-economic housing.

===Cultural aspects===
There are many singing and choir associations as well as orchestras in the Coloured community. The Eoan Group Theatre Company performs opera and ballet in Cape Town. The [[Kaapse Klopse]] carnival, held annually on 2 January in Cape Town, and the Cape Malay choir and orchestral performances are an important part of the city's holiday season. Kaapse Klopse consists of several competing groups that have been singing and dancing through Cape Town's streets on New Year's Day earlier this year. Nowadays the drumlines in cheerful, brightly Coloured costumes perform in a stadium. Christmas festivities take place in a sacred atmosphere but are no less vivid, mainly including choirs and orchestras that sing and play Christmas songs in the streets. In the field of performing arts and literature, several Coloureds performed with the CAPAB (Cape Performing Arts Board) ballet and opera company, and the community yielded three major Afrikaans poets the well-known poets, Adam Small, [[Sydney Vernon Petersen|S.V. Petersen]], and [[P.J. Philander]]. In 1968, the Culture and Recreation Council was established to promote the cultural activities of the Coloured Community.

===Education===
Until 1841 missionary societies provided all the school facilities for Coloured children.

All South African children are expected to attend school from the age of seven to sixteen years, at the minimum.

===Economic activities===
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
Initially, Coloureds were mainly semi-skilled and unskilled labourers who, as builders, masons, carpenters and painters, made an important contribution to the early construction industry in the Cape. Many were also fishermen and farm workers, and the latter had an important share in the development of the wine, fruit and grain farms in the Western Cape.

The Malays were, and still are, skilled furniture makers, dressmakers and coopers. In recent years, more and more Coloureds have been working in the manufacturing and construction industry. There are still many Coloured fishermen, and most Coloureds in the countryside are farm workers and even farmers. The largest percentage of economically active Coloureds is found in the manufacturing industry. About 35% of the economically active Coloured women are employed in clothing, textile, food and other factories.

Another important field of work is the service sector, while an ever-increasing number of Coloureds operate in administrative, clerical and sales positions. All the more professional and managerial posts are. In order to stimulate the economic development of Coloureds, the Coloured Development Corporation was established in 1962. The corporation provided capital to businessmen, offered training courses and undertook the establishment of shopping centres, factories and the like.

==Distribution==
A majority of those who identify as Coloured live in the Western Cape, where they make up almost half of the province's population. In the 2022 South African census the distribution of the group per province was as follows:<ref name="Census2022"/>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Province
!Population
!% of Coloureds
!% of province
|-
|[[Eastern Cape]]
|align=right|{{nts|547741}}
|align=right|10.84
|align=right|7.58
|-
|[[Free State (South African province)|Free State]]
|align=right|{{nts|78141}}
|align=right|1.55
|align=right|2.64
|-
|[[Gauteng]]
|align=right|{{nts|443857}}
|align=right|8.79
|align=right|2.94
|-
|[[KwaZulu-Natal]]
|align=right|{{nts|183019}}
|align=right|3.62
|align=right|1.47
|-
|[[Limpopo]]
|align=right|{{nts|18409}}
|align=right|0.36
|align=right|0.28
|-
|[[Mpumalanga]]
|align=right|{{nts|32100}}
|align=right|0.64
|align=right|0.62
|-
|[[North West (South African province)|North West]]
|align=right|{{nts|60720}}
|align=right|1.20
|align=right|1.60
|-
|[[Northern Cape]]
|align=right|{{nts|563605}}
|align=right|11.16
|align=right|41.58
|-
|[[Western Cape]]
|align=right|{{nts|3124757}}
|align=right|61.85
|align=right|42.07
|-
|Total
|align=right|{{nts|5052349}}
|align=right|100.0
|align=right|8.15
|}

==Language==
The majority of Coloureds in South Africa speak [[Afrikaans]] as their home language, while a smaller minority of the Coloureds speak English as their home language.<ref name="southafrica-info.com">{{cite web | url=https://southafrica-info.com/infographics/languages-black-coloured-indian-white-south-africans-speak/ | title=What languages do black, coloured, Indian and white South Africans speak? | date=9 June 2019 }}</ref> Most English-speaking Coloureds live in [[KwaZulu-Natal]] (especially in its biggest city, [[Durban]]) mainly because of their partial British heritage that is mainly mixed with Zulu and because of the extreme [[anglicisation]] of Natal.<ref name="aaregistry.org"/> English-speaking Coloureds are also found in a few other areas in South Africa. Almost all Coloureds from Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi speak English as their home language as well because their heritage and history is similar with the Coloureds of Natal as these countries were also British colonies.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/38654653 | title=Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, 1953-1963 | last1=Chikumbu | first1=Anotida | last2=Zibani | first2=Romeo | date=28 March 2019 }}</ref>

While the history behind the English-speaking Coloureds is straightforward, the history behind the Afrikaans-speaking Coloureds is more complicated because Afrikaans has a more detailed, complex, and controversial history.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/40384124 | title=A Brief History of the Afrikaans Language | last1=Solloway | first1=Hannah S. }}</ref> During the 17th and 18th century in the Dutch Cape colony, Dutch was obviously the official language that had to be spoken by everyone living there.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://aswica.co.za/how-south-africa-s-official-language-changed-from/ | title=How South Africa's Official Language Changed from 1600 to 2009 - Explained! December 2024 - Aswica.Co.Za | date=29 August 2023 }}</ref> Despite discrimination and slavery, the population of the Cape was extremely diverse with so many different ethnic groups and nationalities that spoke their own languages such as the Dutch settlers, French Huguenots, Germans, Khoi Khoi, Bantu, and Indonesians.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/language-in-south-africa/afrikaans-considering-origins/D3738714720F48E55096C620FB870CF2 | doi=10.1017/CBO9780511486692.005 | chapter=Afrikaans: Considering origins | title=Language in South Africa | date=2002 | last1=Roberge | first1=Paul T. | pages=79–103 | isbn=978-0-521-79105-2 }}</ref>

With this diversity in the Cape, most people could not speak Dutch fluently, therefore, they spoke broken Dutch. Eventually, broken Dutch was blended with other languages ([[Malay language|Malay]], Portuguese, [[Khoekhoegowab]] etc.) and new dialects were formed.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://theculturetrip.com/africa/south-africa/articles/the-global-origins-of-afrikaans | title=The Global Origins of Afrikaans | date=27 March 2020 }}</ref> As a way to break the language barrier between the different groups of people living in the Cape, Creolised Dutch evolved through different dialects throughout many years until a new language was eventually born: Afrikaans.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.afrikaans.us/afrikaans/culture/oor-afrikaans/the-roots-of-afrikaans/ | title=Afrikaans.us: The Roots of Afrikaans }}</ref> It is because of this mixture that Afrikaans borrowed many words from different languages despite being the daughter language of Dutch.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://humanities.nwu.ac.za/languages/afrikaans-and-dutch | title=Afrikaans and Dutch {{pipe}} humanities.nwu.ac.za }}</ref> This is why Afrikaans is common in the Western region of South Africa and the reason why most Coloureds speak Afrikaans as their home language.<ref name="census.statssa.gov.za">https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=July 2025}}</ref> And it is why there are more Afrikaans-speaking Coloureds than the Afrikaans-speaking whites.<ref name="census.statssa.gov.za"/> This is also the reason why the type of Afrikaans that's spoken in Cape Town and the rest of the [[Western Cape]] by the Cape Coloureds, Cape Malays and Blacks is a bit different than the Afrikaans that is spoken by the [[Afrikaners]] in other parts of SA as it is spoken in a dialect called [[Kaaps]] with more influence from [[Malay language|Malay]], Portuguese, [[Khoekhoegowab|Khoekhoe]] and other languages.<ref name="capetownmagazine.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.capetownmagazine.com/kaaps | title=What's the Deal with Kaaps? {{pipe}} Cape Dutch, Cape Coloured Afrikaans Languages }}</ref> Kaaps is viewed as the older dialect of Afrikaans because it was spoken by the slaves of the Cape from the 17th century.<ref name="capetownmagazine.com"/>

[[File:Colin speaks Afrikaans.webm|thumb|Colin speaking Afrikaans]]

However, not every Afrikaans-speaking coloured has a Dutch/Afrikaner ancestor within their bloodline, nor do they have ancestry from the slaves in the Cape Colony.<ref>{{cite journal | jstor=211217 | title=The "Coloured" Community in the Union of South Africa | last1=Buchanan | first1=Keith | last2=Hurwitz | first2=N. | journal=Geographical Review | date=1950 | volume=40 | issue=3 | pages=397–414 | doi=10.2307/211217 | bibcode=1950GeoRv..40..397B}}</ref> Some Coloureds (especially those whose forefathers were interracially mixed during the late 19th century and 20th century) have totally different ancestries (other European nationalities mixed with other African tribes) but because they moved to predominantly Afrikaans-speaking communities or they were born and bred in predominantly Afrikaans-speaking communities, they ended up speaking Afrikaans as their home language as well.<ref name="Jonathan Ball Publishers">{{cite book | url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=mLzYEAAAQBAJ&pg=GBS.PT55.w.0.2.13_7&hl=en | isbn=978-1-77619-150-5 | title=Coloured: How Classification Became Culture | date=September 2023 | publisher=Jonathan Ball Publishers }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.3406/cea.1960.3680 |doi-access=free | title=Miscegenation in South Africa | date=1960 | last1=Van Den Berghe | first1=Pierre L. | journal=Cahiers d'Études Africaines | volume=1 | issue=4 | pages=68–84 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.academia.edu/124102299 | title= Miscegenation Madness| journal= Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race| date=January 2024 | last1=Jackson | first1=Sebastian | volume= 21| issue= 2| pages= 223–249|doi=10.1017/S1742058X24000080| doi-access=free}}</ref> Afrikaans-speaking coloureds are also found in Namibia, especially in the southern region of the country.<ref name="Jonathan Ball Publishers"/>
Although it is rare, there are also Coloureds who can speak South African [[Languages of South Africa|Bantu languages]], such as [[Zulu language|Zulu]], and [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] and the Khoi Khoi and San languages of southern Africa, such as [[Khoekhoe]] and [[Khoemana]].<ref name="southafrica-info.com"/> The Coloureds that can speak Khoisan languages mostly live in the [[Northern Cape]].<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.academia.edu/119803964 | title=KhoeSan Identity and Language in South Africa: Articulations of Reclamation | journal= Critical Arts| date=11 July 2022 | last1=Barnabas | first1=Shanade | volume=33 | issue=4–5 | pages=89–103 |doi=10.1080/02560046.2019.1702071 }}</ref>
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Language 
! Number in 2011
! %
|-
|[[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] || align=right| {{nts|3442164}} || align=right | 74.58%
|-
|English || align=right| {{nts|945847}} || align=right | 20.49%
|-
|[[Setswana]] || align=right| {{nts|40351}} || align=right | 0.87%
|-
|[[isiXhosa]] || align=right| {{nts|25340}} || align=right | 0.55%
|-
|[[isiZulu]] || align=right| {{nts|23797}} || align=right | 0.52%
|-
|[[Sesotho]] || align=right| {{nts|23230}} || align=right | 0.50%
|-
|[[Sign language]] || align=right| {{nts|11891}} || align=right | 0.26%
|-
|[[Southern Ndebele language|isiNdebele]] || align=right| {{nts|8225}} || align=right | 0.18%
|-
|[[Sepedi]] || align=right| {{nts|5642}} || align=right | 0.12%
|-
|[[siSwati]] || align=right| {{nts|4056}} || align=right | 0.09%
|-
|[[Tshivenda]] || align=right| {{nts|2847}} || align=right | 0.06%
|-
|[[Xitsonga]] || align=right| {{nts|2268}} || 0.05%
|-
|Sign language|| align=right| {{nts|5702}} || align=right | 0.12%
|-
|Not applicable || align=right| {{nts|74043}} || align=right | 1.60%
|-
!'''Total''' || align=right| {{nts|4616401}} || align=right | '''100.0%'''
|}

== Religion ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|+ Religious affiliation of Coloured South Africans (2001 census)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2001/primary_tables/RSAPrimary.pdf |title=Table: Census 2001 by province, gender, religion recode (derived) and population group |work=Census 2001 |publisher=Statistics South Africa}}</ref>
!align=left |Religion || Number || Percentage (%)
|-
|align=left | – Christianity|| 3,466,598|| 86.8%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Pentecostal]]/[[Charismatic Movement|Charismatic]]/Apostolic churches || 1,082,103|| 27.1%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – Dutch Reformed churches ||475,654|| 11.9%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Anglican Church of Southern Africa|Anglican Church]]|| 358,806|| 9.0%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Roman Catholicism in South Africa|Catholic Church]]|| 352,259|| 8.8%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Methodist Church of Southern Africa|Methodist Church]] || 163,209|| 4.1%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Congregationalism|Congregational churches]] || 158,635 || 4.0%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Lutheran church]]es || 118,580 || 3.0%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – other [[Zionist churches]] || 80,012|| 2.0%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Baptist church]]es || 44,122 || 1.1%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa|Apostolic Faith Mission]] || 27,728 || 0.7%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Christianity in Ethiopia|Ethiopian-type churches]]|| 27,264|| 0.7%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Zion Christian Church]] || 26,405 || 0.7%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Presbyterian church]]es || 11,032 || 0.3%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – Other [[Reformed church]]es || 8,407 || 0.2%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Nazareth Baptist Church|iBandla lamaNazaretha]] || 5,581 || 0.1%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – [[Eastern Christianity|Orthodox churches]] || 1,182|| 0.0%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – Other [[African-initiated church|African independent churches]]|| 38,719|| 1.0%
|-
|  style="text-align:left; text-indent:30px;"| – Other Christian churches|| 486,900|| 12.2%
|-
|align=left|[[Islam]]||296,021||7.4%
|-
|align=left|[[Hinduism]]||5,328||0.1%
|-
|align=left|[[Judaism]]||1,286||0.0%
|-
|align=left|[[African traditional religions]]|| 801 ||0.0%
|-
|align=left|Other or undetermined|| 18,318 ||0.5%
|-
|align=left|[[Irreligion|No religion]]|| 153,254 || 3.8%
|-
|align=left|Refused to answer|| 52,902 ||1.3%
|-
|align=left|Total||3,994,508||100%
|}

==Cuisine==
{{see also|South African cuisine}}
Numerous South African cuisines can be traced back to Coloured people. [[Bobotie]], [[Thyrsites|snoek]]-based dishes, [[koe'sister]]s, [[Tomato bredie|bredies]], Malay [[roti]] and [[Gatsby (sandwich)|gatsbies]] are staple diets of Coloureds and other South Africans as well.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lagardien |first1=Zainab |title=Traditional Cape Malay Cooking |date=2008 |publisher=Struik Publishers |isbn=978-1-77007-671-6 |language=en}}</ref>

== Notable People==
===Politicians===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> 
* [[Midi Achmat]], South African writer and [[LGBT rights activist]]
* [[Zackie Achmat]], South African HIV/AIDS activist and filmmaker
* [[Neville Alexander]], Political activist, educationalist and lecturer
* [[Allan Boesak]], Political activist and cleric
* [[Lynne Brown]], Political activist and politician
* [[Patricia de Lille]], former [[Pan Africanist Congress of Azania|PAC]], then [[Independent Democrats]] leader, then [[Democratic Alliance (South Africa)|Democratic Alliance]] mayor of [[Cape Town]], now leader of Good Party
* [[Tony Ehrenreich]], South African [[trades union]]ist
* [[Zainunnisa Gool]], South African political activist and representative on the [[Cape Town City Council]]
* [[Ashley Kriel]], anti-Apartheid activist
* [[Alex La Guma]], South African novelist and leader of the South African Coloured People's Organisation
* [[Trevor Manuel]], former Finance Minister, currently Head of the [[National Planning Commission of South Africa]]
* [[Peter Marais]], former Unicity Mayor of Cape Town and Former Premier of the Western Cape
* [[Gerald Morkel]], former mayor of [[Cape Town]]
* [[Dan Plato]], Western Cape Community Safety Minister
* [[Dulcie September]], political activist
* [[Adam Small (writer)|Adam Small]], political activist, poet and writer
* [[Percy Sonn]], former president of the [[International Cricket Council]]
* [[Simon van der Stel]], last commander and first Governor of the [[Dutch Cape Colony]]
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->

===Artists and writers===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> 
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

* [[Peter Abrahams]], writer
* [[Tyrone Appollis]], academic
* [[Willie Bester]]
* [[Dennis Brutus]], journalist, poet, activist
* [[Peter Clarke (artist)|Peter Clarke]]
* [[Phillippa Yaa de Villiers]], writer and performance artist
* [[Garth Erasmus]], artist
* [[Diana Ferrus]], poet, writer and performance artist
* [[Bessie Head]], writer
* [[Oliver Hermanus]], writer, director
* [[Rozena Maart]], writer
* [[Mustafa Maluka]]
* Dr. [[Don Mattera]]
* [[James Matthews (writer)|James Matthews]], writer
* [[Selwyn Milborrow]], poet, writer, journalist
* [[Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh]]
* [[Arthur Nortje]], poet
* [[Robin Rhode]]
* [[Richard Moore Rive]], writer
* [[Tracey Rose]]
* [[Adam Small (writer)|Adam Small]], writer
* [[Zoë Wicomb]], writer
* [[Athol Williams]], poet, writer, scholar, [[social philosopher]]
{{Div col end}}
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->

===Actors and actresses===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> 
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Quanita Adams]], actress
* [[Natalie Becker]], actress
* [[Lesley-Ann Brandt]], actress
* [[Meryl Cassie]], actress
* [[Vincent Ebrahim]], actor
* [[Vinette Ebrahim]], actress
* [[Kim Engelbrecht]], actress
* [[Jarrid Geduld]], actor
* [[Shannon Kook]], actor
* [[Kandyse McClure]], actress
* [[Shamilla Miller]], actress
* [[Blossom Tainton-Lindquist]]
{{Div col end}}

===Beauty queens===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> 
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Tansey Coetzee]], Miss South Africa 2007
* [[Tamaryn Green]], Miss South Africa 2018
* [[Amy Kleinhans]], former Miss South Africa 1992 and first non-white Miss South Africa
* [[Liesl Laurie]], Miss South Africa 2015
* [[Jo-Ann Strauss]], Miss South Africa 2000, media personality and business woman
{{Div col end}}

===Musicians===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> 
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[AKA (rapper)|AKA]], hip-hop recording artist
* [[Megan Alatini]], South African-born singer, and actress
* [[Fallon Bowman]], South African-born guitarist, singer, and actor
* [[Jonathan Butler]], [[jazz]] musician
* [[Blondie Chaplin]], singer and guitarist for the Beach Boys
* [[Paxton Fielies]], singer
* [[Jean Grae]], hip-hop artist
* [[Paul Hanmer]], pianist and composer
* [[Abdullah Ibrahim]], jazz pianist
* [[Robbie Jansen]], musician
* [[Trevor Jones (composer)|Trevor Jones]], South African-born film composer
* [[Taliep Petersen]], musician and director
* [[YoungstaCPT]], rapper
* [[Tyla Seethal]], South African-born singer and songwriter
{{Div col end}}

===Others===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> 
* [[Marc Lottering]], comedian
* [[Jenny Powell]], television presenter
* [[Trevor Noah]], comedian, writer

===Athletics===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Shaun Abrahams]], 800m runner
* [[Cornel Fredericks]], track-and-field sprinter
* [[Paul Gorries]], Sprinter
* [[Leigh Julius]], 2004–08 Olympian
* [[Geraldine Pillay]], 2004 Olympian, Commonwealth medallist
* [[Wayde van Niekerk]], track-and-field sprinter, Olympic and World Champion, and World Record Holder
{{Div col end}}

===Cricket===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Paul Adams (cricketer)|Paul Adams]]
* [[Vincent Barnes]]
* [[Loots Bosman]]
* [[Henry Davids]]
* [[Basil D'Oliveira]]
* [[Damian D'Oliveira]]
* [[JP Duminy]]
* [[Herschelle Gibbs]]
* [[Beuran Hendricks]]
* [[Reeza Hendricks]]
* [[Omar Henry (cricketer)|Omar Henry]]
* [[Garnett Kruger]]
* [[Charl Langeveldt]]
* [[Wayne Parnell]]
* [[Alviro Petersen]]
* [[Robin Peterson]]
* [[Keegan Petersen]]
* [[Vernon Philander]]
* [[Dane Piedt]]
* [[Ashwell Prince]]
* [[Roger Telemachus]]
* [[Clyde Fortuin]]
{{Div col end}}

===Field hockey===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦--->
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
* [[Clyde Abrahams]]
* [[Liesel Dorothy]]
* [[Ignatius Malgraff]]
{{Div col end}}

===Football===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> 
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Keegan Allan]]
* [[Kurt Abrahams]]
* [[Cole Alexander]]
* [[Oswin Appollis]]
* [[Andre Arendse]]
* [[Tyren Arendse]]
* [[Wayne Arendse]]
* [[Bradley August]]
* [[Brendan Augustine]]
* [[Emile Baron]]
* [[Shaun Bartlett]]
* [[Tyrique Bartlett]]
* [[David Booysen (soccer)|David Booysen]]
* [[Mario Booysen]]
* [[Ethan Brooks (soccer)|Ethan Brooks]]
* [[Delron Buckley]]
* [[Brent Carelse]]
* [[Daylon Claasen]]
* [[Rivaldo Coetzee]]
* [[Keanu Cupido]]
* [[Clayton Daniels]]
* [[Lance Davids]]
* [[Rushine De Reuck]]
* [[Keagan Dolly]]
* [[Kermit Erasmus]]
* [[Jody February]]
* [[Taariq Fielies]]
* [[Quinton Fortune]]
* [[Lyle Foster]]
* [[Bevan Fransman]]
* [[Stanton Fredericks]]
* [[Reeve Frosler]]
* [[Ruzaigh Gamildien]]
* [[Morgan Gould]]
* [[Victor Gomes]], referee
* [[Travis Graham]]
* [[Ashraf Hendricks]]
* [[Rowan Human]]
* [[Rudi Isaacs]]
* [[Willem Jackson]]
* [[Moeneeb Josephs]]
* [[David Kannemeyer]]
* [[Ricardo Katza]]
* [[Daine Klate]]
* [[Lyle Lakay]]
* [[Lee Langeveldt]]
* [[Clinton Larsen]]
* [[Luke Le Roux]]
* [[Stanton Lewis (soccer, born 1987)|Stanton Lewis]]
* [[Benni McCarthy]], [[South Africa national soccer team|South Africa national team]]'s all-time top scorer with 31 goals
* [[Fabian McCarthy (South African soccer)|Fabian McCarthy]]
* [[Leroy Maluka]]
* [[Grant Margeman]]
* [[Bryce Moon]]
* [[Nasief Morris]]
* [[Tashreeq Morris]]
* [[James Musa]]
* [[Andile Ncobo]], referee
* [[Morne Nel]]
* [[András Németh (footballer)|Andras Nemeth]]
* [[Reagan Noble]]
* [[Brad Norman]]
* [[Riyaad Norodien]]
* [[Bernard Parker]]
* [[Genino Palace]]
* [[Peter Petersen (soccer)|Peter Petersen]]
* [[Brandon Peterson (soccer)|Brandon Peterson]]
* [[Steven Pienaar]]
* [[Reyaad Pieterse]]
* [[Wayne Roberts (soccer)|Wayne Roberts]]
* [[Frank Schoeman]]
* [[Ebrahim Seedat]]
* [[Brandon Silent]]
* [[Elrio van Heerden]]
* [[Dino Visser]]
* [[Shu-Aib Walters]]
* [[Mark Williams (South African soccer)|Mark Williams]], scored both goals to win the [[1996 African Cup of Nations]] final
* [[Ronwen Williams]]
* [[Robyn Johannes]]
{{Div col end}}
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->

===Rugby===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦--->
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
* [[Gio Aplon]]
* [[Nizaam Carr]]
* [[Kurt Coleman (rugby union)|Kurt Coleman]], Western Province and Stormers player
* [[Bolla Conradie]]
* [[Juan de Jongh]]
* [[Peter de Villiers]]
* [[Justin Geduld]], Springbok 7's
* [[Bryan Habana]]
* [[Cornal Hendricks]]
* [[Adrian Jacobs]]
* [[Conrad Jantjes]]
* [[Elton Jantjies]]
* [[Herschel Jantjies]]
* [[Ricky Januarie]]
* [[Ashley Johnson (rugby union)|Ashley Johnson]]
* [[Cheslin Kolbe]], Western Province and Stormers player
* [[Dillyn Leyds]], Western Province and Stormers player
* [[Lionel Mapoe]]
* [[Breyton Paulse]]
* [[Earl Rose (rugby union player)|Earl Rose]]
* [[Tian Schoeman]]
* [[Errol Tobias]]
* [[Jaco van Tonder]]
* [[Ashwin Willemse]]
* [[Chester Williams]]
{{Div col end}}

=== Others ===
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦---> 
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
* [[Christopher Gabriel]] – basketball player
* [[Raven Klaasen]] – tennis player
* [[Devon Petersen]] – darts player
* [[Kenny Solomon]] – South Africa's first chess grandmaster

==See also==
{{Portal|South Africa
}}
{{colbegin}}
*[[Anglo-Indian]]
*[[Anglo-Burmese people|Anglo-Burmese]]
*[[Arab-Berber]]
*[[Burgher people|Burghers]]
*[[Colored]]
*[[Culture of South Africa]]
*[[Free people of color]]
*[[Half-caste]]
*[[Indo people]]
*[[Khoisan revivalism]]
*[[Sandra Laing]]
*[[Melungeon]]
*[[Mestizo]] ([[Mestiço]])
*[[Métis]]
*[[Miscegenation]]
*[[Mulatto]]
*[[One-drop rule]]
*[[Pardo]]
*[[Passing (racial identity)]]
*[[Pencil test (South Africa)|Pencil test]]
*[[Person of color]]
*[[Dutch East India Company|VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie)]]
{{colend}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* ''Gekonsolideerde Algemene Bibliografie: Die Kleurlinge Van Suid-Afrika'', South Africa Department of Coloured Affairs, Inligtingsafdeling, 1960, 79 p.
* [[Mohamed Adhikari]], ''Not White Enough, Not Black Enough: Racial Identity in the South African Coloured Community'', Ohio University Press, 2005, 252 p. {{ISBN|978-0-89680-244-5}}
* Vernie A. February, ''Mind Your Colour: The "coloured" Stereotype in South African Literature'', Routledge, 1981, 248 p. {{ISBN|978-0-7103-0002-7}}
* R. E. Van der Ross, ''100 Questions about Coloured South Africans'', 1993, 36 p. {{ISBN|978-0-620-17804-4}}
* Philippe Gervais-Lambony, ''La nouvelle Afrique du Sud, problèmes politiques et sociaux'', [[la Documentation française]], 1998
* François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar, ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Sud'', 2006, Seuil

===Novels===
* [[Pamela Jooste]], ''Dance with a Poor Man's Daughter'', Doubleday, 1998, {{ISBN|978-0-385-40911-7}}
* [[Zoë Wicomb]], ''David's Story'', New York, Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 2001
* Henry Martin Scholtz, ''A Place Called Vatmaar'', 2000, {{ISBN|978-0-7957-0104-7}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Coloured people}}
{{Ethnic groups in South Africa}}{{Multiethnicity}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Namibia]]
[[Category:Coloured African people| ]]
[[Category:Multiracial affairs in Africa]]
[[Category:European diaspora in Africa]]
[[Category:Creole peoples]]
[[Category:Person of color]]
[[Category:History of the Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]