In the 18th century, the first mounted commandos of the Dutch settlers reached the area where Graaff-Reinet currently lies. They moved east from the Cape Colony. The first farms were established in the 1770s. In the first years there was anarchy and lawlessness in the area. After a new magistrate was sent to the region to maintain law and order, the peaceful development of the settlement could begin. In 1795, after years of oppression by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the inhabitants proclaimed a republic. The residents of Swellendam also did this (see map). Before the leaders of the Cape Colony could retake the new republics, the Cape Colony (together with the two rebellious areas) was itself conquered by Great Britain in 1795 (and Graaff-Reinet until August 1796). After the Netherlands regained the Cape Colony from the British, it was finally taken over by the British in 1806. Many inhabitants of the colony were very dissatisfied with this. For this reason, especially many people from the Graaff-Reinet district participated in the Great Trek.[3]
