Cape of Good Hope Station

Cape of Good Hope Station
The cruiser HMS Gibraltar, flagship of the Cape of Good Hope Station in the early 1900s
Active	1795–1939
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Garrison/HQ	Table Bay, Simonstown, South Africa

The Cape of Good Hope Station was an operational command of the Royal Navy and one of the geographical divisions into which the British Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope. the station operated from 1795 to 1939.

From 1750 to 1779 the Cape of Good Hope became strategically important due to the increasing competition between France and Great Britain for control of the seas. In 1780 Holland joined the American Revolutionary War in alliance with France and Spain against Great Britain; the British Government were aware of the consequences should the Cape of Good Hope fall and the impact it would have on its trade links with India and put a plan into place to capture the Cape and circumvent its use by the enemy. The first attempt was subject to prolonged delays and the fact that the French were able to reinforce their defences enabled them to successfully defend it from the British attack. From 1781 to 1791 various attempts were made to capture the station: all failed and it remained under the control of France and the French were successful in attacking and disrupting the trade cargo of the East India Company's ships that were travelling between Asian subcontinent and Europe. In 1792 hostilities temporarily ceased and by 1793 the Directors of the East India Company expressed their concern about the cape being retained by the French. The British government and the Admiralty decided to act and successfully retook it in 1795: the first Naval base was established at Table Bay.

In 1802 the British government agreed to restore the Cape to the Dutch control but this was not finalized until 1803 and lasted until 1806 when a new British Administration under William Pitt cancelled the agreement between both countries and re-took the cape once more in 1807 which effectively from this point on remained under British control. In 1811 the Royal Navy decided it wanted to move from its current base to a new base at Simon's Town bay; however the initial facilities took approximately three years to complete and were not ready until 1814. From 1815 to 1849 the base was mainly used for re-fitting and repair work on vessels and acted as a port of call for nautical surveyors who were mapping the region. During the 1850s and 1860s improvements were made to the dockyard facilities with some being re-built in order to accommodate larger ships. On 17 January 1865, it was combined with the East Indies Station to form the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope Station; however, the station was recreated as a separate station on 29 July 1867. From 1870, it absorbed the former West Africa Squadron. By the start of the Second Boer War in 1899 a long period of relative peace had existed; the station became the main base for British Forces disembarking and embarking during the war and for supplies and equipment being shipped from Britain for the duration of the conflict.