Durban has the largest and busiest shipping terminal in South Africa. The port facilities include berths for cargo ships and cruise liners. It also serves as a naval base for the South African Navy. The area was first sighted by Europeans when Vasco da Gama sailed along the coast in 1497. The city was named in honor of Benjamin Alfred D’Urban, a British general and former governor of the Cape Colony; 1834 to 1838.
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Cape Town was founded by Jan van Riebeeck, a navigator working for the United East India Company, Vereenigde Oost-indische Compagnie. In 1652 he sailed into Table Bay and established a way station to provision Dutch ships with fresh supplies. The Cape colony strengthened the Dutch trade route stretching from Europe to East Africa, India, and the Far East. The Dutch ceded Cape Town to the British in 1814.
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Johannisburg was established in 1866 when gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand, a 56 kilometer scarp. Early reports and findings of gold did not generate much interest until Jan Gerrit Bantjes discovered large amounts of gold at Langlaagte. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush quickly became the biggest rush in history and resulted in the unearthing of the largest deposit of gold ever found.
