|
Paarl (; Afrikaans: (:ˈpɑːrəl); derived from ''Parel'', meaning ''Pearl'' in Dutch) is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third oldest town and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch) and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington. It is situated about northeast of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province and is renowned for its haunting scenic beauty and deep viticulture and fruit growing heritage. Paarl is the seat of the Drakenstein Local Municipality; although not part of the Cape Town metropolitan area, it falls within its economic catchment. Paarl is unusual in South Africa in that the name of the place is pronounced differently in English and Afrikaans. An unusual feature of the name of the town is that Afrikaners customarily attach the definite article to it: people say ''in die Paarl'' ("in the Paarl"), rather than ''in Paarl''. Paarl gained international attention when, on 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Correctional Centre (now known as Drakenstein Correctional Centre) in Paarl ending 27 years of imprisonment and beginning the march to South Africa's post-apartheid era and multi-racial elections.〔(BBC on this Day 11 Feb 1990: Freedom of Nelson Mandela )〕 Mandela spent three years in prison here living in a private house within the walls. Today, a bronze statue of Mandela stands outside the prison. Paarl hosted a match from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. The headquarters of Ceres Fruit Juices are located in the city, although its namesake, Ceres valley and source of much of the fruit, is around one hour's drive to the northeast. The district is particularly well known for its Pearl Mountain or "Paarl Rock". This huge granite rock is formed by three rounded outcrops that make up Paarl Mountain and has been compared in majesty to Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) in Australia. (However, they are not geologically similar. Paarl Rock consists of intrusive igneous rock, while Uluru is a sedimentary remnant). == History == The area that is now known as Paarl was first inhabited by the Khoikhoi and San people. The Peninsular Khoikhoi people and the Cochoqua people lived in this area divided by the Berg River Valley. The Cochaqua were cattle herding people and among the richest of the Khoi tribes. They had between 16,000-18,000 members and originally called Paarl Mountain, Tortoise Mountain.〔http://www.paarlonline.com/history.html〕 The Dutch East India Company under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck established meat trading relationships with the Khoikhoi people on the Table Bay coastline. In 1657, in search of new trading relationships inland, Abraham Gabemma saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm and named it "de Diamondt en de Peerlberg” (Diamond and Pearl Mountain) from which Paarl is derived.〔〔''The concise illustrated South African Encyclopaedia.'' P. Schirmer, 1980. Central News Agency, Johannesburg. First edition, about 211pp〕 Gabemma (often also spelled Gabbema) was the Fiscal (public treasurer) for the settlement on the shores of Table Bay. The "diamonds" disappeared from the name and it became known simply as Pearl Rock or Pearl Mountain. In 1687, Governor Simon van der Stel gave title to the first colonial farms in the area to "free burghers". The following year, the French Huguenots arrived in the Western Cape and began to settle on farms in the area.〔 The fertile soil and the Mediterranean-like climate of this region provided perfect conditions for farming. The settlers planted orchards, vegetable gardens and above all, vineyards.〔(A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, Vol XVI. ) John Pinkerton, 1814. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme.〕 Thus began Paarl's long and continuing history as a major wine and fruit producing area of South Africa. The arrival of the European settlers brought on conflict with the Khoikhoi people, as land and water resources began to be contested and the Khoi traditions of communal land use came in conflict with the settler's concept of private property. The Khoi peoples were defeated in local war and were further decimated by European diseases. The population scattered inland toward the Orange River or became laborers on settler farms.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paarl」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|