Cecil Rhodes bought this land in the 1890s resulting in him owning nearly the entire eastern flank of the Table Mountain range. Colonists such as Cecil John Rhodes often strove to change the Cape landscape to make it more resemble that of Europe. This was done through the clearing of indigenous fynbos and afro-temperate forest, together with the introduction of European species such as deer and starlings, and the wholesale replanting of much of the Cape Peninsula with European trees such as Oaks, Birches and Pines.