History lesson for Mandela Day! The years before the golden age. In 1714 Constantia was divided up and sold. The property was split into Bergvliet and Klein Constantia, which went to the auctioneer, Pieter de Meijer, and the remainder, later called Groot Constantia, went to Captain Oloff Bergh. Bergh has worked for the Company and has been sentenced for theft and neglect of duties. With this background, it is understandable that he did nothing to improve his newly-acquired farm. He is better known for his marriage to Anna de Koningh, an extremely beautiful women who was the daughter of Batavian slaves. After Berghs death, Anna owned the farm for the next ten years. After she sold the farm, it changed hands several times, coming into the possession of Jan Serrurier who was once the owner of Alphen. He owned Constantia for 11 months but did not make a success of it, owing to hail damage which resulted in a poor crop. However, the fortunes of Constantia were about to change. In fact, the fortunes of the wine industry throughout the Cape were to see 50 years of unprecedented success and prosperity.