The French fleet arrives in Cape Town to defend the colony against British invasion. Nine Dutch commercial ships carrying riches from India and one en route to Ceylon (the Held Woltemaade) are ordered out of Table Bay Harbour to take refuge at Hout Bay and Saldanha Bay. However, a British ship intercepts the Held Woltemaade, and the British, deciding Cape Town was too well protected to attack, seize the other Dutch ships, destroy one, and sail away. The period of French rule over Cape Town begins. Property values rise 100%. It will be a time of great prosperity for the colonial residents made possible by the virtual slave labour of the Khoi people.

The impressive development of Ibadan, the capital of the Yoruba people, is described to the world as “the London of Negroland” by a British official arriving on a peace mission. Alvan Millson, British Assistant Colonial Secretary at Lagos and Special Commissioner to the interior, observes, “Ibadan counts over 200,000 souls, while within the walls of the city itself at least 120,000 people are gathered. Its sea of brown roofs covers an area of nearly 16 square miles, and the ditches and walls of hardened clay, which surround it, are more than 18 miles in circumference.”

‍

The heat of the Kalahari Desert in the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Botswana) is too much for horses and oxen for the delivery of mail, so South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope Post Office, which handles mail service in the area, changes to camels. Today, the “Mier Camel Post” begins making the 200-km trip from Cape Colony, South Africa to Ritefontein in the Kalahari using two camels – one carrying mail and the other ridden by the delivery man. (pic: a post card from the route)

‍

Peace in Basotholand (Lesotho) is the main reason for a tripling of the population in less than 30 years, from 125,000 in 1875 to 349,000 this year, according to British colonial authorities. The number of Basotho has risen 10% in just the past three years. (pic: Sotho warrior with futuristic-looking shield and breastplate, both made of cowhide)

‍

The price collapse for West Africa’s palm kernel oil, a major export, from £115 per ton in February to £55 per ton this month, causes a depression in the agriculture sector and huge losses for shipping firms.

The "1 Squadron Stuka Party" air battle confirms the skill of the pilots of South Africa’s 1 Squadron during World War II. Encountering a fleet of German aircraft over Libya, the squadron in 45 minutes destroys 14 Ju 87s German dive bombers, damages two and shoots down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, while losing only one of its own aircraft.

Somali Sheikh Bashir leads a revolt against a police post and prison in British Somaliland. British, Indian and South African troops pursue his followers with difficulty, but on 7 July they will be located in Bur Dhab Mountains. Bashir will be killed, but he will become a martyr in the Somali independence movement. Britain will withdraw from the country’s interior, admitting that Bashir proved it is too difficult to defend.

Morocco’s Royal Air Moroc becomes Africa’s first airline to fly the new Boeing 757, and immediately sets a distance record for the aircraft: 9,103 km from Seattle, Washington, USA to Casablanca, Morocco - burning 37,563 litres (10,000 gallons) of fuel.

The Democratic Republic of Congo bans cars with right-side steering wheels, causing chaos in half the country. Kinshasa and the country’s west have cars with left-side steering to conform with the country’s roads, which are driven on the right. However, cars in the east of the giant nation are imported from neighbouring countries and Asia and with their right-side steering are now illegal.

One of the most versatile vessels of the Namibian Navy, the NS Elephant, enters service as a multi-purpose warship. Built in China, she is put to use patrolling Namibia’s territorial waters, and will make her first trans-Atlantic voyage in 2022 when she sails to Brazil, the country that assisted Namibia to build its navy.

‍

After days of national demonstrations seeking his ouster, Egypt President Mohamed Morsi (pic) is removed from office by a military coup d’état led by General Abdul Fatah el-Sisi. Sisi appoints the head of the Constitutional Court to temporarily occupy the presidency, an office that will be held by Sisi himself in 2014.

Camel's milk "fresh, hygienic, delicious" is now available from electronic vending machines in Kenya. Cost: 100 Kenyan shillings (US$1) per pint. Kenya is a major world producer of camel’s milk.