Battle of Muizenberg The Battle of Muizenberg was a small but significant military engagement which took place near Muizenberg in 1795 ; it led to the capture of the Dutch Cape Colony by Kingdom of Great Britain . Background . In 1795 the Dutch East India Company controlled the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa . They had been in possession of the area since 1652 , over 140 years . The once - mighty company was now failing . Bankrupt , confused , beset by powerful nations competing for the same resources , the VOC had not long to live . The British East India Company had developed its own trade to India and Ceylon , but relied on Cape Town as a refreshment station , just as the Dutch did . India was simply too far for a sailing ship to reach in one voyage from Europe . Wear and tear to the ship , sickness amongst the crew , need for provisions and fresh water meant that a halfway stop was essential . Without access to Cape Town , the British thought they might have to abandon their Asiatic trade . They claimed there were no alternatives . In 1795 the political turmoil in Europe saw the Netherlands attacked by France , the second such attack . Prince William of Orange fled to England , his ally . The citizens of Holland had coalesced into the Patriots ( Republicans who now supported the French ) and the Orangists , royalists who supported Prince William . For the British East India Company the situation was dire . If the Patriots took power then British access to the Cape could be denied as contrary to French interests , and with that would go all access to their Asian trade . Sir Francis Baring , chairman of the East India Company , was quick to see the danger . He petitioned Henry Dundas , the British Secretary of State for War , for assistance . Great Britain sent a fleet of nine warships and one merchant ship to the Cape under Vice - Admiral Elphinstone . They were the : Five were third - rate ships of the line : " Monarch " ( 74 guns ) , " Victorious " ( 74 ) , " Arrogant " ( 74 ) , " America " ( 64 ) and " Stately " ( 64 ) ; two were 16 - gun sloops : " Echo " and " Rattlesnake " . The fleet left England 1 March , and in early June 1795 , anchored in Simon ' s Bay . just east of the Cape . Elphinstone suggested to the Dutch governor that he place the Dutch Cape Colony under British protection - in effect , that he hand the colony over to Britain - which was refused . On 14 June 350 Royal Marines and 450 men of the 78th Highlanders occupied Simon ' s Town before the defenders could burn the town . However , the Dutch still held the surrounding area , with a force of militia at Muizenberg . From there , they could harass the British forces with artillery fire . Accordingly , the British resolved to make an infantry assault on the militia position . In addition to the 800 infantry already landed under the command of Major - General Craig , 1 , 000 sailors were disembarked from the fleet . These were formed into two battalions of five hundred men each , commanded by Commander Temple Hardy , captain of " Echo " , and Commander John William Spranger , captain of " Rattlesnake " . This made a total strength of about 1 , 800 men . Carronades were mounted in the ships ' launches , to serve as close artillery . Engagement . At noon on 7 August 1795 , the " America " , " Stately " , " Echo " and " Rattlesnake " set sail , drawing slowly along the coast towards Muizenberg , with the launches in attendance . They fired on two guard posts , forcing their abandonment ; arriving at the main Dutch camp shortly afterward , they began a highly effective barrage . Losses were light for the British - " America " lost a gun , with two men dead and four wounded , and the " Stately " took one injury - whilst the Dutch were forced to abandon the camp before the infantry , who had been following the ships , could even arrive . The bombardment lasted about 30 minutes , from 2 . 00pm . Approximately 800 balls were fired by the British ships . The Dutch fell back to a nearby ridge , which they were driven from that evening by a force of the 78th , who took one injury . Dutch reinforcements were brought up from Cape Town overnight , and on the 8th a counterattack with artillery support was made in an attempt to recapture the camp ; however , after a brief skirmish in which the battalions of seamen held firm , the attack was repelled . The engagement continued for six weeks , eventually stalemating at Wynberg Ridge . Neither side was strong enough to defeat the other . Both sides were lightly armed , some distance from supplies and lacking in artillery or cavalry . Following skirmishes on 1 and 2 September , a final general attempt to recapture the camp was prepared by the Dutch for the 3rd , but at this point the main British fleet arrived in Simon ' s Bay . A British advance on Cape Town , with the new reinforcements , began on the 14th ; on the 16th , the colony capitulated . Few men died during the campaign on either side . The British dead are well documented , the Dutch less so . Of the 34 British dead only 8 died of wounds received in action ; the balance were deaths due to disease . Long - term effects . The British assumed control of the Cape of Good Hope for the next seven years . The Cape was returned to the restored Dutch government ( known as the Batavian Government ) by the Treaty of Amiens in 1804 . In 1806 the British returned and after again defeating the Dutch at the Battle of Blaauwberg , stayed in control for 100 years . English became the language of the Cape . This was Britain ' s second African colony , after Sierra Leone . Ownership of this territory proved crucial during the First and Second World Wars , when mastery of the Cape had significant strategic importance to the Allied war effort . In addition the Cape became the springboard for British colonial expansion into Africa . Certainly current - day Botswana , Lesotho , Swaziland , Zimbabwe , Zambia and Malawi all owe their current form to the battle . Also , because of ensuing British policies , among other reasons , many of the Dutch - speaking Boers went on what would later be known as the Great Trek