The History of Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth has many names: ‘Algoa Bay’, ‘The Friendly City’, ‘The Windy City’, and, officially, ‘Nelson Mandela Bay’. It also has a long and colourful history, which includes the influences of many famous people.

A warm and unassuming city, Port Elizabeth boasts a rich heritage which has been formed by people from a multitude of different cultural groups. The first known inhabitants of Port Elizabeth were the nomadic people of the San. The Khoi, and later the forefathers of the Xhosa people, were the next groups to call the Eastern Cape their home. According to history books, Bartolomeu Dias was the first known European to enter what is now Algoa Bay and Cape Recife, after which it was Vasco da Gama’s turn to rediscover Algoa Bay. Da Gama also gave Cape Recife its name (‘Cabo do Arricife’, or ‘Cape of the Reef’).

‘Cape Recife’ is not the only part of Port Elizabeth with a historical name: In 1576, Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo named Port Elizabeth’s bay ‘Baia de Lagoa’ because of the lagoon at the mouth of the Baakens River – the river that flows through Port Elizabeth. This has been adapted to the current name, ‘Algoa Bay’.

Port Elizabeth’s history proves it to have been one of the most important cities in South Africa: initially because of its economic activities and the trade of mohair, wool and ostrich products. In its early days, The Friendly City was defined by its cultural diversity, with a mixed population of cultures, races and languages. According to the information gathered by the Nelson Mandela Bay government, the community lived together happily and based social interaction on class and social status, as opposed to cultural, linguistic or racial differences. It was only in 1960 that groups split according to ethnicity due to the infamous apartheid law, “The Group Areas Act”.

With this history, it is then no wonder that Port Elizabeth was such an important place of resistance to apartheid. Local historical figures include famous South African political activist and father of ex-president Thabo Mbeki, as well as political activist Oliver Thambo, and internationally renowned political playwright Athol Fugard.

In the current democracy, Port Elizabeth seems to have returned – to a large extent at least – to its original heritage: that of a place that can once again be called ‘The Friendly City’.

Related External Links

• Nelson Mandela Bay

  More information from the Nelson Mandela Bay government.