When did slavery start in the Cape?

The slave trade started in Cape Town in 1652 after the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck. Slaves from South East Asia were brought to work on the farms after Van Riebeeck set up the supply station of the Dutch East India Company.

Was there slavery in Cape Town?

Slavery was a mainstay of the labor force of the Cape Colony between its foundation by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1652 and abolition in 1834, by which date the Cape was under British rule.

Who were the first slaves in the Cape?

The first slave, Abraham van Batavia, arrived in 1653 (“van Batavia” meaning “from Batavia”, the name of Jakarta during the Dutch colonial period), and shortly afterward, a slaving voyage was undertaken from the Cape to Mauritius and Madagascar.

When did slavery end in the Cape?

In 1843, after slavery was officially abolished in the Cape Colony by the British Empire, Ruben’s ancestors were freed, and Zyzer November and his wife, Ruben’s great-great grandmother, who had been brought over from Indonesia to be enslaved by Capetonian slave merchants, obtained land in Pniel, a rural town outside …

Where did the first slaves in the Cape come from?

The very first two shiploads of slaves to arrive at the Cape aboard the Hasselt and the Amersfoort, both came from the West Coast of Africa, namely Guinea and Angola. But these slave shipments were in fact, with the exception of a few individuals, the only West African slaves to be brought to the Cape during VOC rule.

Which countries did the Cape slaves come from?

Slaves were transported to the Cape from a wide range of areas in the Indian Ocean world, including South and Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and Mozambique. Some were owned by the VOC and labored on the Company farms, outposts, and docks.

Where did the slaves come from in the Cape?

The vast majority of Cape slaves came from Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia.

What slaves were brought to Cape?

There were two types of slaves at the colony – those that belonged to the Dutch East India Company (VOC), referred to as ‘Company Slaves’, and those that were bought by the Freeburghers, Dutch burghers who lived at the Cape, and owned and worked farms, but were not actually Company employees.

When and why was slavery ended in the Cape?

Fearing loss of trade with East, Britain occupied the Cape for the second time permanently in 1806. In 1807 the British government passed the Abolition of Slave Act abolishing slave trade in the British Empire.

How were slaves brought to the Cape?

The slaves that came to the Cape were brought here in three ways: firstly through voyages sponsored by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which sent slave ships from the Cape, primarily to Madagascar and outlets on the south-eastern coast of Africa; secondly through VOC ‘return’ fleets sailing from Ceylon, present day …

What happened to the slaves at the Cape?

The first shipload of slaves are brought to the Cape, from Angola on-board the ship, the Amersfoort. Slaves helped built the Castle – Fort Good Hope. Foundations are laid for the Company Slave Lodge. Free burghers petition for slave trade to be opened to free enterprise. Slaves at the Cape outnumber free people for the first time.

Who started the slave trade at the Cape?

Eventually in 1658 the Heeren XVII capitulated and sent Van Riebeeck two boats, marking the beginning of a VOC directed slave trade at the Cape. The VOC slaving voyages were the primary source of Company slaves at the Cape, and also an important source of slaves for the Freeburhgers.

Did the Heeren XVII begin the slave trade at the Cape?

But, as fate would have, these two vessels, sent by the Heeren XVII specifically to begin the slave trade at the Cape, would not in fact bring the first shipment of slaves to the Cape. It was instead the merchantship the Amersfoort, which was never intended to carry slaves, which brought to the Cape her first fateful shipment of slaves.

What do Cape Town’s newspapers tell us about slavery?

Privately run newspapers date from the 1820s at the Cape and you’ll find adver- tisements of slaves for sale and rewards for runaways. The newspapers also carry debates about slavery among the slave-owners themselves.