In 1703, two Dutch galleons reach Cape Town.

CAPE SAGA, 1703 is a Dutch story told from the Provençal perspective of the pioneers of the Franschhoek vineyards.

Die Nannon brings settlers and three French refugees fleeing Marseille: Jean-Baptiste, an agnostic winemaker on the run after an affair with the mayor’s wife; Marguerite, his Catholic lover who sheltered him; and Mimi, a cabaret dancer with a Cape Flats smile.

Die Klara II carries the governor’s furniture for Vergelegen—along with a “piano” for his wife. The instrument arrives damaged beyond repair.

When Adriaan van der Stel breaks his deal with his cousin, shipowner Josep van der Mollen—“Transport my goods, and I will grant you supplies”—he sets off a chain of events that will shake the VOC to the core and reshape the the Cape settlement.

The narrator is a schoolteacher whose ancestor served as captain of the garrison.

CAPE SAGA, 1703 revisits a 2006 school outing to Vergelegen and blurs the line between official narrative and family heritage.