 The Cape Colony had been under Dutch control from 1652.In 1795 it was occupied by the British following the Battle of Muizenberg but, under the final terms of peace in 1802 among Great Britain, France and the Netherlands (then known as the Batavian Republic), the colony was restored to the Batavian Republic.Born in Zaltbommel on 20 April 1749, de Mist was the son of a clergyman, Arnoldus de Mist, and his wife Geertruida Verstrinck.