Timeline of Colonialism in South Africa By lis_11g Period: Jan 1, 1500 to Nov 20, 1994 Timeline of Colonization in South Africa Dec 1, 1500 Portugal Controls Eastern Africa Jan 1, 1652 Dutch Establish a Base in Cape Town, Which Grows into Cape Colony Jan 1, 1795 Cape Colony Expands and the British Sieze the Lands for White Settlement