Abstract
By 1820, following several changes in government at the Cape of Good Hope, there existed a new social and economic elite made up of English and Dutch families. Some of these originally Dutch families managed to survive the transitional period with their social status intact, while others lost their status. The families that remained socially prominent managed to adapt to the new successive governments at the Cape through various forms of collaboration. This collaboration went hand-in-hand with intermarriage between the firmly established Dutch burgher elite and the occupying forces as early as the first British occupation in 1795. The Cloete family is an excellent example of how the burgher population established themselves at the Cape. They fared exceedingly well in agriculture and eventually found themselves as part of the burgher elite. Yet, despite their early settlement at the Cape and well-established relationships with the Dutch East India Company (VOC), this family was one of the most significant to collaborate with the British. This article aims to shed light on local collaboration with a new political elite through intermarriage and social and economic cooperation.