Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape in 1652, sent by the Dutch East India Company to erect a refreshment station for the passing ships on their trade route to the East (see History). Shortly after arrival, he started exploring the surrounding area.
He soon ventured over the mountain and discovered a bay with a lovely beach behind Table Mountain. Initially the area was of little interest to the company, being unsuitable for shipping with its dangerous breakers, yet attractive to farmers. By 1700 the area behind Table Mountain was known as Roodekrantz (Red bank) due to the reddish colour of the soil. The area was given to John Lodewyk Wernich, the Mayor of Bismarck, who built a farmhouse and called it Ravensteyn. After his death, his widow, Anna Koekemoer, married Fredrik Ernst von Kamptz, who built a track along the coast from his house to Cape Town. The farmhouse was later used by various British governors, among them Lord Charles Somerset, as a holiday house.
The French defend Camps Bay
When the American War of Independence broke out in 1777, the French and the Dutch sided with America to fight against England. Since the Cape was considered an important trade and supply station, both France and England sent their troops to Cape Town. The troops arrived in 1781, although the French won the race and landed 11 days before the British.
Before long, war erupted between England and the Netherlands, and for the next three years France assisted her allies, the Dutch, in the struggle to protect the Cape. As suggested by the French, a line of fortifications was built from the coast to Devil's Peak and to the battery on Kloof Nek. Trenches were dug and a battery was built to command the beach, under Dutch command, and von Kamptz's track to Camps Bay was demolished in the process.
The Bay of Von Kamptz
After the war, von Kamptz returned home to find his farm wrecked and his track destroyed. He lodged an official complaint, but the governor refused to rebuild the track, instead offering to buy the farm. On 31 January 1786, the government paid compensation to von Kamptz and the farm changed hands. Within a few months, two small batteries had been built.
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Camps Bay History 
