The people of early South Africa were primarily hunters and gatherers. They would mostly eat foods like crayfish, coconuts, squash and tortoises. Modern agriculture did not arrive until the Bantu people of Northern Africa introduced it to them. They actually taught the South Africans to grow foods including sweet potatoes, squash and corn. Almost 200 years after the Portuguese arrived in South Africa, it was the Dutch who established the first European settlement on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Dutch people introduced foods such as watermelons, cucumbers, pineapples, potatoes and pumpkins. The French began to establish vineyards, Germans brought pastries and baked goods, and the British introduced meat pies. Other foods from China, India and Indonesia also had an influence on the South African cuisine.
The people of early South Africa were primarily hunters and gatherers. They would mostly eat foods like crayfish, coconuts, squash and tortoises. Modern agriculture did not arrive until the Bantu people of Northern Africa introduced it to them. They actually taught the South Africans to grow foods including sweet potatoes, squash and corn. Almost 200 years after the Portuguese arrived in South Africa, it was the Dutch who established the first European settlement on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Dutch people introduced foods such as watermelons, cucumbers, pineapples, potatoes and pumpkins. The French began to establish vineyards, Germans brought pastries and baked goods, and the British introduced meat pies. Other foods from China, India and Indonesia also had an influence on the South African cuisine.