François Valentyn
François Valentyn (Valentijn) stayed over at the Cape of Good Hope in 1685, 1695, 1705, and 1714, for a total period of more than 6 months. Shortly before he died, he wrote Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën (1724–26) ("Old and New East-India"), a massive work of five parts published in eight volumes and containing over one thousand engraved illustrations and some of the most accurate maps of the Indies of the time.
A portion of the 5th and last part of his Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën was dedicated to his observations of the Cape of Good Hope over a 29-year period.
Description of the Cape of Good Hope
Description of the Cape of Good Hope
with the matters concerning it
with the matters concerning it
2 volumes, reprint (with Dutch on one page and English on the other)
Van Riebeeck Society, Cape Town, 1971
Van Riebeeck Society, Cape Town, 1971
My copies of these volumes are shown below
Frontispiece and title-page from the VRS reprint edition
Frontispiece and title-page from the VRS reprint edition
A map from the VRS reprint edition
A map from the VRS reprint edition
An illustration from the original 1726 edition, which I found on the Internet
An illustration from the original 1726 edition, which I found on the Internet