Thread by @DeliaRobertson

In some parts of the world January is anti-slavery and human trafficking prevention month. I am going to run a month long thread to honour slaves of the first decades of the colonial settlement at the Cape. #antislaverymonth

I am a descendant or relative of slavers, slave owners and slaves. #antislaverymonth

The primary way to identify slaves and learn more about them is to track their owners and the slavers in the colonial record of the period. This includes things like the ‘company journal’ usually written by or on behalf of first the commander and later governor. #antislaverymonth

It also includes church records — baptisms, marriages, memberships etc.; as well as resolutions of the council of policy, estate records, slave transactions, criminal records, and so on. #antislaverymonth

The number of written records that have survived and can be attributed to a slave in the first 5 or 6 decades of the colonial settlement is probably less than a handful. In fact, I know of only two. #antislaverymonth

I grew up knowing that although ‘white’, I most likely was mixed race. From my earliest memories around 4 or 5 I remember my father regaling people at rural community gatherings that we could be descended from a man who had married a black woman. #antislaverymonth

My father to tell the story because of the shock it caused. Our family was known as the ‘Katolieke kommuniste’ which we found greatly amusing. #antislaverymonth

When he died, I got some of his old papers, and among them were partial family trees, and stories written about my grandparents and great-grandparents. #antislaverymonth

I decided to do further research into what was in the papers and also to find out if there was any truth to the story of the marriage of a white male ancestor to a black female ancestor. #antislaverymonth

And that led me to the discovery that I had slavers, slave owners and slaves in my ancestry. Some who were slaves, once emancipated, became slaver-owners themselves. #antislaverymonth

And so I gathered a lot of records, and that in turn led me to launching my online project, the First Fifty Years, to collate as many records of the first decades of the colonial settlement at the Cape as I can. It can be accessed here: e-family.co.za/ffy/ #antislaverymonth

I have a lot of information on some individuals, while others were simply whispers in the record, with one or two entries. I will tweet about a mix.

In the census of the slave lodge (now known as Iziko Slave Lodge) on 1 January 1693 the following slave women were among those enumerated: Anna van de Caep van Wantrina; her mother Wantrina van Madagascar; and, Elisabeth van de Caep van Calmeronde

Anna: e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9715.h…
Watrina: e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9698.h…
Elisabeth: e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9676.h…

Anna Groothenning van Bengale was baptized on 1 January 1713, and apparently immediately emancipated because on 5 February 1713 she marries Christian Bok with whom she already had several children. She is my 7xgreat-grandmother. e-family.co.za/ffy/g3/p3183.h…

We only know some of the biological fathers of the children of enslaved women, but the mothers are usually named in the record. And mothers would include their lineage ie Anna van Wantrina. #antislaverymonth

Enslaved human beings at the Cape were not permitted to officially marry, although de facto relationships were sometimes recorded in passing. #antislaverymonth

Slaves at the Cape were all brought from elsewhere, west Africa, Madagascar, east Africa, and many parts of Asia — mostly the regions/countries bordering the Bay of Bengal, as well as Malaysia and Indonesia. #antislaverymonth

There were two major shipments of slaves from west Africa. One group of 174 souls arrived on 28 March 1658 on the Amersfoort which sailed from Vlie (in medieval times the estuary of the river IJssel). This was a particularly harrowing event. #antislaverymonth

The Amersfoort encountered a Portuguese slaver, probably somewhere somewhere off the Angolan coast. After a 24-chase, the Portuguese vessel with 500 slaves on board was captured. Most were very young. #antislaverymonth

250 slaves were transferred mid-ocean to the Amersfoort. The Portuguese vessel, with the rest of the slaves and the crew was abandoned. Their fate is not known. #antislaverymonth

When the Amersfoort docked at the Cape, just 174 of the 250 slaves had survived. Most were young, described by Jan van Riebeeck as 'boys and girls'. Their health was precarious. '… many were dying daily', Van Riebeeck wrote. #antislaverymonth

Van Riebeeck's superiors instructed him to send the 'best' of slaves to Batavia (now Jakarta); 92 were ultimately sent. Of the remaining 82, 24 were sold to private owners. The rest were retained by the 'company' — the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie/VOC. #antislaverymonth

In the first year after their arrival 32 Angolan slaves died. Seven abscond and are never found. By 1663 only 5 men and 12 women of the company-owned members this group are still alive. We don't know how many of the 24 privately owned slaves survived. #antislaverymonth

Of the surviving Angolan slaves we are able to subsequently find the following in the record, some many times, some very few: Anthoniij van Angola, Catarina van Angola, Cecilia van Angola, Cecilia van Angola, Christijn van Angola, Claes Kelder van Angola, … #antislaverymonth

… Maaij Claesje van Angola, Domingo van Angola, Dorothe van Angola, Elisabeth van Angola, Francyn van Angola, Isabel van Angola, Jackie Joy van Angola, Jan Meeu, Manuel van Angola, Manuel van Angola, Marij van Angola, … #antislaverymonth

… Mathijs van Angola, Ouwe Jan van Angola, Simon van Angola, Thomas Keuken van Angola, Marij Pekenijn van Angola and Isabella van Angola. #antislaverymonth

Here is what we know about them:
Anthoniij van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8919.h…
Catarina van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9458.h…
Cecilia van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g6/p6560.h…
Cecilia van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g7/p7959.h…
Christijn van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13920…
#antislaverymonth

Claes Kelder van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13859…
Maaij Claesje van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8113.h…
Domingo van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13923…
Dorothe van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8126.h…
Elisabeth van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8917.h…

#antislaverymonth

Francyn van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13910…
Isabel van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13912…
Jackie Joy van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g6/p6824.h…
Jan Meeu e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13739…
Manuel van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8918.h…
#antislaverymonth

Marij van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8050.h…
Mathijs van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13907…
Ouwe Jan van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13908…
Simon van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13745…

#antislaverymonth

Thomas Keuken van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13913…
Marij Pekenijn van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13916…
Isabella van Angola e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13938…

#antislaverymonth

Slaves were named, by the individual who enslaved them, or the scribe who recorded a slave transaction, or the official who entered them on record. Names were sometimes random, sometimes mocking, sometimes derogatory and almost always included a provenance. #antislaverymonth

Very, very few people who were captured into slavery retained their own name, or received a name in their own language. We see some of these exceptions among the slaves from Madagascar and the Middle East. #antislaverymonth

Even the names of these few were likely mangled by the scribes who were unfamiliar with, and no respect for their language or customs.
#antislaverymonth

European naming conventions in use in the period were different to what they are today. In what is today the Netherlands provenance, whether patronymic or toponymic, was customary.
#antislaverymonth

Because the VOC was run by the people we today know as Dutch, this became customary in the territories they colonised. In the case of slaves, the toponymic provenance such as "van Angola", "van de Caep", etc. became the custom. #antislaverymonth

The roots of this came from the phrase "geboortich van …" - in other words "born in …" and that was eventually contracted to "van" or "from". #antislaverymonth

The meaning also became less precise, it did not necessarily mean where the slave was born, rather where they were enslaved or even where they last came from. So they could have been born there, but also elsewhere.
#antislaverymonth

The one exception is that in general slaves born at the Cape were almost always known as "van de/van der/van die Caep/Caap/Kaap". The usage evolved over time.
#antislaverymonth

So by robbing them of their own names and often even their original place of birth, slaves were robbed of their identity and roots. In addition the names given often cast them in insulting terms.
#antislaverymonth

Although the slaves captured off the Portuguese slaver were identified as 'van Angola', they may not all have been from there. The Portuguese traded slaves across much of the west coast of Africa from Angola to what is now Grand Popo in Benin. #antislaverymonth

Slaves arriving along this stretch of coast could have come from anywhere in a huge arc stretching from Angola to Benin and may have come from as far afield as Sudan.
#antislaverymonth

DNA evidence from a very few descendants of west African slaves show origins from Angola, Mali, central Africa, west Africa, and Uganda, etc.
#antislaverymonth

There were only two major groups of slaves from west Africa brought to the Cape. Those who came on the Amersfoort in March 1658 and those who came on the Hasselt, arriving on 6 May 1658. #antislaverymonth

The Hasselt had been at the Cape and on 10 September 1657 was sent specifically up the west coast to trade for slaves. Deterred from purchasing slaves at the bay of Luanda de St. Paulo by the presence of four other ships anchored there, they sailed on. #antislaverymonth

They went first to Cape Lopez on the Gabonese coast and then proceeded to Andra, a slave-trading centre on the coast of upper Guinea. The vessel returns to the Cape with 226 or 228 [different figures recorded contemporaneously] of the 271 originally embarked. #antislaverymonth

Forty three or 45 died enroute and some women were already pregnant according to a later account. Eighty of the best 'Guinea' slaves were sent on to Batavia, and at the Cape a few abscond and many succumb to illness — by 5 March 1659 only 41 remain. #antislaverymonth

The slaves were purchased at what is now Grand Popo in Benin and would have come from as far afield as Sudan. The following slaves would most likely have been among those who survived at the Cape: Abraham van Guinea, Adouke van Guinea, Anna van Guinea #antislaverymonth

Claas van Guinea, Deuxsous van Guinea, Evert van Guinea, Koddo van Guinea, Louis van Guinea, Maria van Guinea, Oude Hans van Guinea, Pieter van Guinea, Regina van Rapenberg van Guinea and Gegeima van Guinea

Abraham van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g15/p15371…
Adouke van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13900…
Anna van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g6/p6530.h…
Claas van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g15/p15751…
#antislaverymonth

Deuxsous van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13905…
Evert van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g7/p7996.h…
Koddo van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g7/p7961.h…
Louis van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g15/p15556…
#antislaverymonth

Maria van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9186.h…
Oude Hans van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13740…
Pieter van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g15/p15363…
Regina van Rapenberg van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g6/p6259.h…
Gegeima van Guinea e-family.co.za/ffy/g13/p13741…
#antislaverymonth

After the arrival of the slaves on the Amersfoort and Hasselt in 1658, slaves from west Africa only came in ones and twos, brought by VOC officials enroute to the Cape, or sailing on to Madagascar or the East. #antislaverymonth

So life, in the form of technological disasters, interfered with my plan to devote January to slaves in my research in the first decades of colonial settlement at the Cape. So I am going to continue posting as and when I have time. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Dina van Couchin / Coijlang (modern day Kochi in Kerala) (e-family.co.za/ffy/g6/p6965.h…) was baptized on 1 February 1688 together with her four children. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

They were: Casper Janse (e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8528.h…);
Antonij Jansz: van Ceylon (e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8947.h…);
Hendrik (e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8949.h…); and
Maria Luy (e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8950.h…) #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Her partner Jan Luy / Luij / Leeu(w) van Ceylon (e-family.co.za/ffy/g6/p6964.h…) was their father. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

These baptisms were apparently in preparation for the forthcoming church marriage (28 March 1688) of Dina and Jan, who must have been baptised previously. Baptism was a prerequisite for marriage. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Dina arrived at the Cape in the days before she was sold by Jan Jacobsz Sloopen (e-family.co.za/ffy/g7/p7332.h…) the skipper of the Sparendam, a vessel in the return fleet, on 7 May 1676 to an unnamed purchaser for Rds. 40. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Jan Luij van Ceylon arrived on 15 March 1662 sailing on the Marseveen with 14 other slaves. He and Dina were emancipated before 1685 when they were enumerated living in the Stellenbosch area with their daughter and two sons. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Most VOC owned slaves were housed in the Slave Lodge (Iziko Slave Lodge | iziko.org.za/museums/slave-…), but some lived where they worked. For example those assigned to the master tree-feller (baas houtkapper) lived in the forest with him.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

It became the policy at the Cape to baptise company-owned children born to slave mothers, although there had been one attempt by a senior official to prevent this. Some adults also chose baptism.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Baptism conferred the right to emancipation upon majority (22 for women, 25 for men), although this was not applied evenly and entailed the enslaved person compensating the company for taking care of them up until emancipation. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Slaves were not paid and were not permitted to own property, so it required a great deal of hard work and ingenuity to build up enough to pay for their own emancipation and sometimes that of their children. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

There are examples of a slave buying another slave and transferring that person to the VOC as compensation. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

There are also instances of several generations in a family remaining enslaved and recorded as being resident in the Slave Lodge.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Many private slave owners denied adult slaves baptism and did not permit mothers to baptise their infants to prevent them from becoming eligible for emancipation.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

VOC officials mostly kept excellent records although there are gaps. Some records have not been preserved and protected.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

The church (Nederduitsche Gereformeerde Kerk/NGK) recorded marriages, baptisms and memberships for its various congregations: Cape Town, and then Stellenbosch and Drakenstein (Paarl), etc. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

To start with baptisms of enslaved adults and children were recorded among those of the settlers, but from 1696 separate registers were kept.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

On 1 February 1693, four enslaved infants were baptised, viz.: Den 1 Februarij sijn verscheiden slavinne kinderen gedoopt van de Ede. Comp' ten overstaen van den E: Andrijs de Man, ende den Capt. Willem Padt
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Halfslag is a label indicating their father was a white settler. They were:
Een kint van Catrina van de Caep (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9990.h…) genaemt Abraham (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9994.h…) halfslagh
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape and,

een kint van Isabella van de Caep (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9539.h…) genaemt Grisella (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9995.h…) halfslagh; with,

een kint van [Maria van (inserted below)] Madagasker (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9992.h…) genaemt Geertrujt (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9996.h…) halfslagh; and

een kint van Salitmara van Madegasker (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9993.h…) genaemt Arjana (e-family.co.za/ffy/g9/p9992.h…) halfslagh

It was not only VOC-owned vessels that called at the Cape. East Indiamen under the flags of England, France, Denmark and other European polities plied an extensive trade with the East. #slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Many of their ships, outward and inward bound, called at the Cape. As with VOC crews and officials, after 1652 those aboard other homeward bound East Indiamen would acquire slaves in the East and sell them to settlers at the Cape.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Thus on 3 February 1688 Christiaan Jörg (e-family.co.za/ffy/g14/p14380…), the first mate on the Danish East Indiaman Antoinette, sold …
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

… Aron van der Kust Coromandel (e-family.co.za/ffy/g14/p14389…), Bastiaan van der Kust Coromandel (e-family.co.za/ffy/g14/p14385…) …
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Titus van der Kust Coromandel (e-family.co.za/ffy/g14/p14383…) and Maria van der Kust Coromandel (e-family.co.za/ffy/g14/p14382…)
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Der Kust Coromandel (var.) also know as Coromandel and Coromandel Kust is the south eastern coast of India stretching south from the delta of the Krishna River.
#slavey #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

They were sold to Cornelis Linnes (e-family.co.za/ffy/g6/p6984.h…), for Rds. 40, Rds. 40, Rds. 40 and Rds. 46 respectively. Linnes was a member of the Council of Policy, and bought many slaves, including …
#slavery #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

… my 8x great-grandmother Diana van Madagascar (e-family.co.za/ffy/g5/p5140.h…). I am descended from Diana’s daughter, Susanna Biebou (var.) (e-family.co.za/ffy/g5/p5134.h…)
#slavery #historyofslavery #SlavesAtTheCape

Susanna Biebou (e-family.co.za/ffy/g5/p5134.h…) was baptized on 23 February 1687 as the daughter of the official Diedelof Biebou — naming the father was extraordinary compared to other contemporary baptisms for slave children - including those owned by Cornelis Linnes. #SlaveryAtTheCape

The life of slaves and former slaves was complex and never straightforward. Sometimes after gaining their freedom, formerly enslaved people themselves purchased slaves. One such person was Willem Stolts - read more about him here: e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8956.h…

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