The story of the Huguenots who came to the Cape begins with a long history of religious warfare and persecution in France.
Following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 the Dutch East India Company decided to encourage Huguenot refugees to immigrate to the Cape to establish a stronger agricultural base there. Preference was given to settlers who were wine growers or had expert skills. Farmers would be provided with as much land as they could cultivate. Their perilous journeys over mountains and sea to establish new lives and homes at the Cape resonate with similar experiences of refugees around the world.