1740 Michiel Daniel Lourich
Slaves were often caught up in the domestic disputes of their owners. Michiel Lourich1 was clearly a violent man who both beat his wife and ordered his slave January to whip his female slave Diana, causing the latter’s death. The reasons for his abuse of Diana are not clear, but they may have been linked to his dispute with his wife, whom he had thrown out of the house2. Fabricius, the Company soldier who was lodging at Lourich’s house,3 was clearly shocked by his behaviour, towards both his wife and Diana, and left the household.
The fiscal did not recommend a sentence, but the court decided that Lourich should be banished from the Cape ‘as soon as possible’ and sent back to the Netherlands at his own cost ‘as a useless subject’.4
Included here are two testimonies, those of the lodger soldier Jan Fabricius, and that of one of Lourich’s slaves, Januarij, both of whom witnessed the events, as well as a report on the autopsy.5
Footnotes
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Michiel Daniel Lourich was born in Germany and arrived at the Cape as soldier in 1727, served as loan knechtknechtLiterally ‘male servant,’ but because most European knechten at the Cape were used as slave overseers, this original meaning gradually eroded and the word ended up meaning primarily (as in modern Afrikaans), ‘farm foreman.’ during 1730-31, and became a free burgher in 1734. In 1736 he obtained the pachtpachtLiterally ‘lease.’ The VOC at the Cape had a system whereby the right to retail certain profitable goods (mostly alcohol and meat) was sold regularly. A pacht was therefore in effect a monopoly. to sell malt beer for a year (Hoge 1946: 248-49 and Leibbrandt 1906: 670). In this case it appears that by 1740 he was running some sort of public house, with his slave having to wait upon people who were drinking there. The place was also a lodging house, hence Fabricius’s presence. Running lodging houses was one of the main occupations of Cape burghers in the eighteenth century (Worden et al. 1998: 57). ↩
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She was Anna Catharina Biesel, born at the Cape, the daughter of Christiaan Andries Biesel and Aletta de Nijs. She married Lourich on 14 October 1736 and their only child, Johannes Georg, was the four-month-old baby who features in this case. (Heese & Lombard 1986-2004, vol. 1: 278). Mentzel, the contemporary writer on the Cape who stayed here between 1733 and 1741, was a friend of Lourich and had this revealing, though euphemistic, passage on their marriage: ‘He [Lourich] was married but he could not get on with his wife. They were both excellent people but their dispositions would not harmonise.’ He glossed over the reason for Lourich’s departure from the Cape, which is revealed in this case, and merely continued: ‘So they separated, and the man obtained the Governor’s permission to leave the Cape and return to his native place’ (Mentzel 1919: 138). It was as an indirect result of this case that Mentzel accidentally left the Cape: In January 1741 he went on board Hartenlust in order to deliver some letters to the banished Lourich who was returning to Europe on this ship. Mentzel spent the night on board but only awoke when the ship was already sailing away from the Cape (ships usually waited for a favourable wind and, when it did arrive, left immediately) (Mentzel 1919: 136-45). ↩
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Fabricius was not stationed at the Cape (he does not appear in the Cape muster rolls for 1739 or 1740) and it is therefore likely that he was on one of the ships that was then in Cape Town harbour (possibly the Hartenlust which had arrived two days earlier, Bruijn et al. 1979, vol. III: 354) and that he was lodging with Lourich. ↩
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The fiscal (unusually) did not recommend a sentence in the eijscheijschLiterally ‘claim’ or ‘demand.’ This is strictly speaking the eijsch ende conclusie without the final part about sentencing, but the term is often used as a shorthand for the whole document., although he commented that while a slaveowner was entitled to punish his slaves for ‘eenige fouten’ (any faults), he should not put them in chains, nor torture them without permission of the authorities, CJ 345, f. 579v. Although Lourich pleaded that ‘soo hij iets in deese gedaan heeft dat strafbaar is, dat hem sulx mag gepardoneert werden’ (if he had done anything in this matter that was punishable, that it should be forgiven), he was found guilty by the court of maltreating a slave and was sentenced on 1 December 1740 ‘omme … als een onnut subject van hier naar het vaderland verzonden te werden, met condemnatie in de costen’ (to be sent from here to the fatherland as a useless subject, with sentencing to the [court] costs), CJ 22, ff. 81-2. ↩
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The documentation also includes Lourich’s interrogation, CJ 345, ff. 587-93. ↩
CJ 345 Criminele Process Stukken, 1740, ff. 581-83.
Today, 11 October 1740, there appears before me, Daniel Godfried Carnspek, secretary of the honourable Council of Justice of the Castle of Good Hope, in the presence of the witnesses named below, the soldier Jan Christoffel Fabricius, of competent age, who, on the requisition of the honourable independent fiscal, Meester Daniel van den Henghel, declares it to be the whole truth:
That at seven o’clock in the morning of Saturday, the 8th of this current month October, the deponent saw sitting in the kitchen of the burgher Michiel Daniel Lorich [sic], with whom he was lodging at this time, the wife of said Lorich, for which reason, he asked her: “Juffrouw, why are you sitting here so early?”, to which she answered: “Lorich had locked the door of the room”. The deponent then went into his bedroom where he dressed himself, during which time the said burgher Lorich came from his room, whereupon the said wife of Lorich asked her husband, when they were both in the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms.,1 if she might go out, to which the same answered her: “No, you will stay at home”, which is when she stood up from the chair on which she had sat down just a moment before, saying: “I am going out”. Upon this, the aforementioned Lorich gave his wife a kick with his foot on her behind, saying suddenly: “Get out of the house with your bastard child, you cow!”, whereafter this woman indeed left the house with her child on the arm.
That the deponent also went out, returning home in the evening at about six o’clock and found them sitting with abovementioned Lorich in the room, the boatswain of the ship’s yard [at the Cape], Laurens Staff,2 who – as the deponent could hear – was doing his utmost to persuade Lorich, who was uttering several swearing words, to take back again into his house his aforementioned wife. Hearing this, the deponent went to the stoep where he walked up and down, and shortly hereafter the said boatswain, Laurens Staff, also came through the door and, after saying goodbye, went away. Whereupon the said Lorich came to the deponent, asking him if he would like to drink a glass of wine with him, to which the deponent answered yes; and together went into the room where each drank a glass of wine. That the deponent, with the aforementioned Lorich, first sat talking in the said room and then walked up and down in the house until after ten o’clock, during which time the said Lorich was continually swearing and cursing his wife; after which the deponent said to Lorich that, since it was already after ten, he would go to bed, whereupon the said Lorich left him and the deponent lay himself down to rest in the large room on the righthand side. However, having slept for only a short while, a certain meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ belonging to Lorich, without him knowing her name, came into the room to the deponent and fell onto his body, crying: “Oh, baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., help! Oh, baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., help!”, upon which, shortly thereafter, a certain slave jongenjongenLiterally ‘boy.’ In Dutch it was common to use this word also to refer to male servants, irrespective of age. At the Cape, however, this usage was extended to slaves and then became exclusive, so that jongen (also in the deflected form jong) came to mean ‘male slave’, such that Afrikaans lost the use of the word to mean ‘boy’ and instead uses seun (from Dutch zoon) for both ‘boy’ and ‘son.’ In this primary meaning, the word has become obsolete in modern Afrikaans, except for the archaic terms tuinjong (‘garden boy’) and plaasjong (‘farm boy’), in the sense of male workers of colour. named Januarij also came into the room and took the aforementioned meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ from it. A short while thereafter, though, this woman slave came into the said room for the second time, crying: “Oh, baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., help! Baas, help!”, at which the deponent got up and went to the kitchen, where he saw that aforementioned Lorich standing with the said Januarij, to whom he was saying: “Januarij, go on, hit!”, and as the same wanted to hit the meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’, the deponent grabbed the sjamboksjambokThis word entered seventeenth-century Dutch via Malay (tjambok) or Javanese (sambok) from Persian (châbuk). It is a whip cut from thick animal skin, usually hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and was already known in the Dutch East Indies as an instrument for punishing slaves. At the Cape it was also used to beat draught animals with. from the hand of this jongenjongenLiterally ‘boy.’ In Dutch it was common to use this word also to refer to male servants, irrespective of age. At the Cape, however, this usage was extended to slaves and then became exclusive, so that jongen (also in the deflected form jong) came to mean ‘male slave’, such that Afrikaans lost the use of the word to mean ‘boy’ and instead uses seun (from Dutch zoon) for both ‘boy’ and ‘son.’ In this primary meaning, the word has become obsolete in modern Afrikaans, except for the archaic terms tuinjong (‘garden boy’) and plaasjong (‘farm boy’), in the sense of male workers of colour. and threw it into the large room, saying at once to Lorich: “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, what sort of life is this in this house, what would the neighbours think?”, to which the said Lorich answered: “That is none of your business, she is my slave, the thievish whore has earned it”, after which the deponent again went into his room, where he dressed himself, left the house and went to the house of the burgher Jochem Jurriens, at which point it had been about 12 o’clock at night.
There being nothing else to declare, the deponent asserts to be convinced of the accuracy of his statement as in the text, being willing to subsequently confirm all of the above with solemn oaths, if so required.
Thus recorded at the office of the secretary of justice at the Castle of Good Hope in the presence of the clerks, Adriaan van Schoor and Otto Camphuijsen, as witnesses, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the deponent and me, the secretary.
Verification
There appears before us, the undersigned delegates from the honourable Council of Justice of this government, the soldier Jan Christoffel Fabricius, who, after this, his given deposition, had been read out word by word, clearly and plainly, declares to fully persist by it, therefore not desiring that anything more be added to or taken from it, and consequently said, in the presence of the burgher Michiel Daniel Lourich, as confirmation of the truth, these solemn words: “Truly so, help me, Almighty God”.
Thus verified and confirmed at the Cape of Good Hope on 18 November 1740, before the honourables Am. Decker and Jacob de Hennion, members from the honourable Council of Justice, aforementioned, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the deponent and me, the first sworn clerk.
Which I declare, [signed] P.J. Slotsboo, first sworn clerk.
CJ 345 Criminele Process Stukken, 1740, ff. 584-86v.
Today, 11 October 1740, there appears before me, Daniel Godfried Carnspek, secretary of the honourable Council of Justice of this government, in the presence of the witnesses named below, Januarij van Mallabaar, slave of the burgher Michiel Daniel Lourick, of competent age, who, on the requisition of the honourable independent fiscal, Meester Daniel van den Henghel, declares it to be true:
That at about nine o’clock in the morning of Saturday the 8th of this current month October, the deponent went out to collect some firewood, as he had been ordered; seeing at that time that his mistress was also leaving the house with her child on the arm, going with the same [child] to the boatswain Lourens Staff. The deponent returned to the house in the afternoon at about 12 o’clock with the firewood he had collected, without finding his mistress then at home, and at about one o’clock, after having eaten, he, on the order of his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., went out for the second time to collect firewood, with which he returned home at about six o’clock that evening.
That his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. then instructed the deponent to go and fetch some water and to rinse out some bottles into which a casket of beer was to be tapped, which he also did, without, though, rinsing the said bottles, after which his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. ordered him to remain in the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms. and to attend to [i.e. serve] people when they came in. At this time his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. was with the soldier Jan Christoffel Fabricius in the large room on the right-hand side, who then called the deponent into the room to light a pipe of tobacco and to pour a glass of wine for him and the said Fabricius. After the deponent had done this, he was again ordered by his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. to attend in the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms., after which he was called two or three times more by his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., each time to light a pipe of tobacco and pour a glass of wine, and moreover ordered to remain in the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms..
That when the said Fabricius had already gone to the large room to sleep, the deponent’s baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. left the aforesaid room and went into the kitchen where he searched for the meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ Diana. Yet, not finding the same there, he searched in the back of the yard and everywhere for her, until he at last found the said meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ in (by your leave) the privy, from where the deponent’s baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. dragged the said slave Diana by the hair and then brought her into the kitchen, giving the deponent a sjamboksjambokThis word entered seventeenth-century Dutch via Malay (tjambok) or Javanese (sambok) from Persian (châbuk). It is a whip cut from thick animal skin, usually hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and was already known in the Dutch East Indies as an instrument for punishing slaves. At the Cape it was also used to beat draught animals with. in the hand and instructed him to beat the said meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ Diana with it, which he did in the presence of his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., who continually shouted: “Go on, hit, or I’ll hit you”.
That when the deponent had been beating the said Diana with the sjamboksjambokThis word entered seventeenth-century Dutch via Malay (tjambok) or Javanese (sambok) from Persian (châbuk). It is a whip cut from thick animal skin, usually hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and was already known in the Dutch East Indies as an instrument for punishing slaves. At the Cape it was also used to beat draught animals with. for about the length of time it takes to smoke a pipe of tobacco, and was still busy beating her, she suddenly ran very quickly from the kitchen into the large room where the said Fabricius was lying asleep and called for help, saying to the same, as the deponent – who, with his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., had followed the said meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ Diana on the heels – heard: “Help, baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans.; help, baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans.”, to which Fabricius said: “Meijd, get off my body”. His baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. ordered the deponent to take the said Diana to the kitchen again and to continue beating her, which he also did, and which lasted for about half of a quarter of an hour, when the same meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ Diana yet again ran to the large room and requested help from Fabricius, who then came into the kitchen where the said Diana already found herself again, grabbed the sjamboksjambokThis word entered seventeenth-century Dutch via Malay (tjambok) or Javanese (sambok) from Persian (châbuk). It is a whip cut from thick animal skin, usually hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and was already known in the Dutch East Indies as an instrument for punishing slaves. At the Cape it was also used to beat draught animals with. from the deponent’s hand and said to his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans.: “What sort of life is it in this house, what would the neighbours think of it?”, to which the deponent’s baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. answered: “These are matters which don’t concern you”, and then ordered the deponent to find the sjamboksjambokThis word entered seventeenth-century Dutch via Malay (tjambok) or Javanese (sambok) from Persian (châbuk). It is a whip cut from thick animal skin, usually hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and was already known in the Dutch East Indies as an instrument for punishing slaves. At the Cape it was also used to beat draught animals with. again, which he did, and handed it to his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., which is when Fabricius said to Laurich [sic]: “I don’t wish to stay any longer in a house such as this” and went out of the house, it then being 12 o’clock at night then.
That thereupon his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. went out to the back yard, found a rope there and returned with the same to the kitchen, while the deponent, remained standing by the door in the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms., from where he saw that his said baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. pulled the clothes from the body of the aforementioned meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ Diana and, when the same was totally naked, tied her hands and feet together with the rope and then beat her with the sjamboksjambokThis word entered seventeenth-century Dutch via Malay (tjambok) or Javanese (sambok) from Persian (châbuk). It is a whip cut from thick animal skin, usually hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and was already known in the Dutch East Indies as an instrument for punishing slaves. At the Cape it was also used to beat draught animals with. on her naked body, which lasted almost a whole hour. The deponent saw that his said baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., as soon as he had stopped beating, untied her, but, while she was still lying on the ground, gave her a kick or two with his foot on which was a slipper, saying: “Damn you, whore”, to which Diana said: “Baas, I am already half dead”, to which his said baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. answered again: “I shall answer for what may come of it”; thereafter going to bed, while the deponent likewise went to sleep in the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms..
That at about six o’clock on Sunday morning the deponent’s baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. called him into his room and ordered him to take the bedding of the said Diana up to the attic and to tell her that she too should go up to the attic, which he also did. The said meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ Diana then climbed the stairs to the top without saying a word, and at about nine o’clock the deponent heard the brother of his mistress, named Christiaan, say to his baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans., who was then still lying on the bed in his room: “Brother, the meijdmeijdLiterally ‘girl.’ This word developed among the same lines as jongen, the word coming to mean ‘female slave.’ However, its trajectory diverged from that of jongen in that it eventually was used more widely to refer to indigenous women, so that meid still survives in modern Afrikaans as a pejorative term for women of colour. As with jongen, the word was no longer available to refer to European girls, but instead of the difference between girl and daughter disappearing, the diminutive form, meijsje (Afrikaans, meisie), came to be used for ‘girl.’ Diana is already dead”, whereupon the deponent’s baasbaasIn seventeenth-century Dutch this was used both in the sense of ‘head’ (e.g. ‘head carpenter’) and ‘master’. In South Africa the second meaning developed further, and thus baas came to be a synonym for meester (‘master’). It was the form that slaves (and Khoikhoi) would use to address male Europeans. got up, dressed himself and then went out of the house.
There being nothing else to declare, the deponent asserts to be convinced of the accuracy of his statement as in the text, while offering to subsequently confirm this, his deposition, at any time, if so required.
Thus recorded at the office of the secretary of justice at the Castle of Good Hope, in the presence of the clerks Hendrik Emanuel Blanckenberg and Otto Camphuijsen, as witnesses, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the deponent and me, the secretary.
Verification
There appears before us, the undersigned delegates from the honourable Council of Justice of this government, the slave Januarij van Mallabaar, who, after this, his given deposition, had been read out word by word, clearly and plainly, declares to fully persist by it, therefore not desiring that anything be added to or taken from it, declaring, in the presence of his said owner, all of the above to contain the whole truth.
Thus verified at the Cape of Good Hope on 18 November 1740 before the honourables A. Decker and Jacob de Hennion, members from the aforementioned honourable Council of Justice, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the deponent and me, the first clerk.
Which I declare, [signed] P.J. Slotsboo, first sworn clerk.
CJ 345 Criminele Process Stukken, 1740, ff. 594r-v.
On the requisition of the honourable independent fiscal, Meester Daniel van den Henghel, we, the first and second chief surgeons of the honourable Company’s hospital, declare to have opened the head and inspected, in the presence of the delegates from the honourable Council of Justice of this government, the honourables Philip Rudolph de Savoij and Jacobus d’Hennion, a woman slave named Diana van Bengalen, belonging to the burgher Daniel Lorich, and to have found:
A wound above the left eye, another small one on top of the head, not going further than partly through the muscles and being caused by an external sharp instrument, and also wounds on numerous places over the whole body, with bruises on the skin, to outward appearances caused by sjamboksjambokThis word entered seventeenth-century Dutch via Malay (tjambok) or Javanese (sambok) from Persian (châbuk). It is a whip cut from thick animal skin, usually hippopotamus or rhinoceros, and was already known in the Dutch East Indies as an instrument for punishing slaves. At the Cape it was also used to beat draught animals with. lashes, but which are not mortal wounds; also being unable to determine if death was caused by them, or rather by suddenly drinking [something] cold on a heated and wholly agitated body,3 or because of the cold, since the corpse was found totally naked on the first inspection.
As sign of the truth we have undersigned this with our customary signatures.
Cape of Good Hope, 10 October 1740,
[signed] Js. van Schoor, B. de St. Jean.
Footnotes
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The voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms. was the first room entered from the street or stoep, where visitors were received and where Januarij slept. Fabricius slept in the large room to the right, probably leading off the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms., and Lourich slept in another room, either to the left of the voorhuijsvoorhuijsLiterally the ‘front house’, this referred to the first area entered from the main door or stoep (porch). In most houses this was a room, although in the later design of some Cape houses it referred to a narrower passage (like a hall or vestibule) flanked by one or more front rooms. or behind the large room. We are grateful to Antonia Malan for this information. ↩
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Laurens Staff of Gottenborg had arrived at the Cape in 1729 and married the sister of Lourich’s wife on the same day as their own marriage in 1736 (Heese & Lombard 1986-2004, vol. 1: 278). He was later sent sent to Robben Island ‘in consequence of his insanity’ (Leibbrandt 1905: 383) and appears on the Company pay registers until 1781 (VOC 12792, ff. 77, 333-34, 368-69, 371 and 373). ↩
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Contemporaries believed that beatings inflamed the body and that drinking water afterwards could cause collapse and death (Sparrman 1977, vol. II: 256-57; Schoeman 2004: 206). See 1729 Jan Botma for another instance of this. ↩
Huijden, den 11e October 1740, compareerde voor mij, Daniel Godfried Carnspek, secretaris van den edelagtbare Raad van Justitie des Casteels de Goede Hoop, ter presentie van de naargenoemde getuijgen, de soldaat Jan Christoffel Fabricius van competenten ouderdom, denwelken, ter requisitie van den heer Independent Fiscaal, meester Daniel van den Henghel, verclaarde de waaragtige waarheijt te behelsen:
Dat op Saturdag, den 8e deeser loopende maand October, des morgens te seeven uuren, hij comparant in de combuijs van den burger Michiel Daniel Lorich, bij wien denselven ten dien tijd was logeerende, de huijsvrouw van gemelde Lorich heeft sien sitten, waarom hij comparant aan haar vroeg: Juffrouw, hoe komt het dat gij soo vroeg hier sit?, daar zij op antwoorde: Lorich heeft de deur van de caamer toegeslooten, gaande den comparant alsdoen in desselfs slaapcaamer alwaar sig aankleede, in welken tusschentijd den gedagten burger Lorich uijt zijn caamer quam, vraegende hierop de gemelde vrouw van Lorich aan haar man toen bijde in ’t voorhuijs sijnde, off zij mogte uijtgaan, daar denselven haar ten antwoord op gaff: Neen, gij sult thuijs blijven, als wanneer zij van een stoel, daar zij eeven bevoorens op was gaan sitten, opstond, onder het seggen: Ik gaa uijt, waarop boovengemelde Lorich desselfs meergemelde vrouw een schop met de voet teegens haar agterste gaff, meteens seggende: Schrob je, beest, met jouw hoerkind de deur uijt; en ging die vrouw met haar kind op den arm vervolgens ook uijt het huijs weg.
Dat hij comparant hierop meede uijtgegaan sijnde, des avonds de clokke omtrent te ses uuren, te huijs is gekoomen en vond alsdoen bij voornoemde Lorich in de caamer sitten, den bootsman van de werff, Laurens Staff, denwelken, soo als hij comparant koste hooren, sijn best deede hem Lorich, die verschijde vloekwoorden uijtte, te beweegen om sijn voorwaarts genoemde huijsvrouw weederom bij sig in huijs te neemen, ’tgeen den comparant hoorende, is hij voor de deur op de stoep heen en weeder gaan wandelen, koomende kort hierna, gemelde bootsman Laurens Staff insgelijx buijten de deur en, afschijd genoomen hebbende, ging hij van daar weg, waarop gemelde Lorich naar den comparant toe quam, hem vraagende off een glaesje wijn met hem wilde drinken, daar hij comparant van Ja op ten antwoord gaff, hebben zij met malkanderen in de caamer gegaan sijnde, ijder een glas wijn gedronken, inmiddels dat hij comparant dan eens in de gemelde caamer met voormelde Lorich sat te praaten en dan weeder in ’t huijs gins en herwaarts kuijrde, tot de clocke over thien, in welken tijd meergenoemde Lorich al geduurig op zijn gemelde huijsvrouw schold en vloekte, naar’t welke hij comparant teegens eeven gemelde Lorich seijden, dat hij wijl ’t al over thien was, sig tot slaapen soude begeeven, waarop gemelde Lorich ook van hem wegging, en hij comparant sig in de groote caamer ter regter hand heeft needer gelegt om te rusten, dog, nog maar een kort poosje geslaapen hebbende, quam seekere mijd, gemelde Lorich toebehoorende, sonder derselver naam te weeten, bij hem comparant in de caamer op desselfs lichaam vallen, roepende: O baas, help, o baas, help; waarop meede kort daaraan seekere slaave jonge, Januarij genaamt, in de caamer quam, denwelken voormelde mijd weeder daar uijt haalde, welke slavin egter kort daarop voor de tweede rijs in de gemelde caamer is gekoomen, onder het geroep van: O baas, help, baas, help; naar ’twelke den comparant opstond, en naar de combuijs ging, alwaar hij sag dat voormelde Lorich stond met voorszeijde Januarij, teegens denwelken hij seijde: Januarij, raakt wat, en soo als denselven genoemde mijd slaan wilden, heeft hij comparant de sjambok uijt dies jongens hand gerukt, en in de groote caamer gegooijt, seggende met eens teegens gemelde Lorich: Gij behoorde uw wat te schaamen, wat is dit voor een leeven hier in huijs, wat sullen de buuren daarvan denken?, daar gemelde Lorich op ten antwoord gaff: Dat raakt jouw niet, het is mijne slavin, de diefse hoer heeft het wel verdient, waarna den comparant weeder in sijn caamer ging, alwaar sig aangetrokken hebbende, uijt het huijs vertrok en begaff sig ten huijse van den burger Jochem Jurriens, sijnde het alsdoen des nagts omtrent de clocke twaalf uuren.
Anders niet verclaarende, geeft den comparant voor reedenen van weetenschap als in den text, berijd sijnde alle het boovenstaande, des gerequireert werdende, met solmneelen eede nader te sullen gestand doen.
Dat aldus passeerde ter justitieelen secretarije des Casteels de Goede Hoop, ten overstaan der clercquen Adriaan van Schoor en Otto Camphuijsen, als getuijgen, die de minute deeses, beneeevens den comparant ende den secretaris, meede behoorlijk hebben onderteekent.
Recollement
Compareerde voor ons, ondergetekende gecommitteerdens uijt den edelagtbare Raad van Justitie deeses gouvernements, den soldaat Jan Christoffel Fabricius, dewelke deese, sijne gegeevene depositie, van woorde tot woorde claar en duijdelijk voorgeleesen zijnde, verklaarde daarbij volkoomen te persisteeren, oversulx niet begeerende datter iets meer bijgevoegt ofte van gedaan werden sal, en sprak derhalven tot bekragtiging der waarheijd, in presentie van den burger Michiel Daniel Lourich, de solemneele woorden: Soo waarlijk, help mij, God almagtigh.
Aldus gerecolleert ende beëedigt aan Cabo de Goede Hoop, den 18 November 1740 voor d’ edele Am. Decker en Jacob de Hennion, leeden uijt den edelagtbare Raad van Justitie, voornoemd, die de minute deeses, beneevens den comparant ende mij, eerste geswoore clercq, meede behoorlijk hebben ondertekent.
’Twelk ik getuijge, [get.] P.J. Slotsboo, eerste geswoore clercq.
CJ 345 Criminele Process Stukken, 1740, ff. 584-86v.
Huijden, den 11e October 1740, compareerde voor mij, Daniel Godfried Carnspek, secretaris van den edelagtbare Raad van Justitie deeses gouvernements, in ’t bijweesen van de naargenoemde getuijgen, Januarij van Mallabaar, slaaff van den burger Michiel Daniel Lourick [sic], van competenten ouderdom, dewelke ter requisitie van den heer Independent Fiscaal, meester Daniel van den Henghel, verklaarde hoe waar is:
Dat hij comparant op Saturdagh, den 8e deeser loopende maand October, des morgens, omtrent te neegen uuren, is uijtgegaan om, soo als hem belast was, wat brandhout te haalen, siende alsdoen dat zijn comparants lijfvrouw insgelijx met het kind op den arm het huijs uijtging, begeevende sig met het selve naar den bootsman Lourens Staff, met welk, door hem gehaalde brandhout, hij comparant des middaags, de klokke twaalff uuren, weederom te huijs quam, sonder desselfs lijffvrouw alsdoen te huijs te vinden, en begaff sig, naedat gegeeten hadde, ter ordre van sijn baas, de klokke omtrent een uuren, voor de tweede rijs om brandhout te haalen, met hetwelke, des avonds te ses uuren, weederom te huijs is gekoomen.
Dat zijn comparants gemelde baas hem hierop belast heeft wat waater te gaan haalen en bottels te spoelen om een vat bier aff te tappen, hetgeen hij comparant ook verrigt heeft, sonder egter de gemelde bottels gespoelt te hebben, werdende hem vervolgens door sijn comparants baas geordonneert om in het voorhuijs te blijven en op te passen als er volk quam, bevindende sijn comparants baas sig alsdoen in de groote caemer ter regter hand met den zoldaat Jan Christoffel Fabricius, die hem comparant vervolgens riep in de caemer te koomen om een pijp tobacq op te steeken en een glas wijn voor hem en gemelde Fabricius in te schenken, hetwelk verrigt hebbende, belaste hem sijn comparants baas om weederom in het voorhuijs op te passen, werdende daarop nog een rijs off drie door zijn baas geroepen om telkens een pijp tobak op te steeken en een glas wijn in te schenken, en wijders gelast in het voorhuijs te blijven.
Dat zijn comparants baas, wanneer gemelde Fabricius sig reets in de groote caemer tot rusten begeeven hadde, alsdoen uijt de gemelde kaemer is gekoomen, begeevende sig naar de combuijs, alwaar hij naar de meijd Diana sogte, dog deselve aldaar niet vindende, heeft hij agter op de plaats en overal naar haar gesogt, totdat hij de gemelde mijd eijndelijk (salva venia) in het secreet agter op de plaats vond, waaruijt sijn comparants baas gemelde slavin Diana bij het haar uijttrok, en vervolgens naar de combuijs bragte, geevende hem comparant een sjambok in de hand met last om de gemelde meijd Diana daar meede te slaan, hetwelke hij comparant in presentie van desselfs baas deede, die geduurig riep: Raak wat, off ik sal jouw raeken.
Dat hij comparant de gemelde Diana omtrent een pijp tobacq rookens met de genoemde sjambok geslaagen hebbende, en nog beesig sijnde om deselve te slaan, sij inmiddels met een vaart uijt de combuijs naar de groote caemer is geloopen, alwaar gemelde Fabricius te slaapen lag, en om hulp heeft geroepen, seggende tegens denselve, soo als hij comparant, die met desselfs baas de gemelde meijd Diana op de hielen volgde, gehoort heeft: Help, baas, help, baas; waarop gemelde Fabricius sijde: Meijd, schrob jouw van mijn lijff aff; belastende sijn comparants baas aan hem, gemelde Diana weederom in de combuijs te brengen en van voor aff aan te slaan, soo als hij deede, hetwelk omtrent een halff quartier uurs geduurt hadde, is deselve meijd Diana weederom naar de groote caemer geloopen en heeft den gemelde Fabricius om hulpe versogt, denwelken hierop in de combuijs, alwaar gemelde Diana sig reets weer bevond, gekoomen sijnde, hem comparant de sjambok uijt de hand trock, en teegens sijn gemelde baas sijde: Wat is dat voor een leeven hier in huijs, wat sullen de buuren daarvan denken?, waarop sijn comparants baas ten antwoord gaff: Dat sijn saaken die jouw niet raaken, en belaste voorts aan hem comparant om den sjambok weederom op te soeken, soo als hij deede, en de gemelde sjambok aan sijn baas overgaff, waarop gemelde Fabricius teegens gemelde Laurich seijde: Ik wil in een huijs daar het soo toegaat niet langer blijven, en ging voorts de deur uijt, sijnde des nagts de klokke twaalff uuren.
Dat sijn comparants baas hierop naar de agter plaats is gegaan en aldaar een touw opgesogt hebbende, met hetselve sig weederom in de combuijs heeft begeeven, blijvende hij comparant in ’t voorhuijs bij de deur staan, van waar hij sag dat sijn gemelde baas voornoemde meijd Diana de kleederen van het lijff aftrock, en deselve geheel naakt sijnde, met het gemelde touw de handen en voeten aan malkanderen bond, en vervolgens met de sjambok op het bloote lijff sloeg, hetwelk bijkans een geheel uur duurde, siende hij comparant dat sijn gemelde baas voornoemde meijd Diana, soo drae uijtscheijde met slaan, deselve wederom los maakte, dog haar nog op de grond leggende een schop off twee met de voet, waaraan een muijl was, heeft gegeeven, onder het seggen: Schrob jouw hoer, welke Diana daarop seijde: Baas, ik ben al half dood, en sijn gemelde baas weederop ten antwoord gaff: Wat er van komt, sal ik verantwoorden, begeevende sig voorts tot rusten, en ging hij comparant alsdoen insgelijx in ’t voorhuijs slaepen.
Dat sijn comparants baas hem op Sondag morgen, de klokke omtrent ses uuren bij sig in de caamer geroepen en belast heeft, het kooij goed van gemelde Diana booven op de solder te brengen en haar te seggen dat zij ingelijx op de solder soude gaan, hetwelk hij verrigt hebbende, is de gemelde mijd Diana voorts de trap op, sonder een woord te spreeken, naer booven geklommen, hoorende hij comparant, omtrent de klokke neegen uijren, dat desselfs lijfvrouws broeder, Christiaen genaamt, teegens sijn comparants baas, die als doen nog in desselfs caamer op de cooij lag, seijde: Broer, de meijd Diana is al dood, waarop sijn comparants baas is opgestaan en sig aangekleet hebbende, vervolgens het huijs is uijtgegaan.
Anders niet verclaarende, geeft den comparant voor reedenen van weetenschap als in den text, met presentatie van dit, sijn gedeposeerde, ten allen tijden, sulx vereijscht werdende, nader te sullen gestand doen.
Dat aldus passeerde ter justitieele secretarije des Casteels des Goede Hoop, ten overstaan der clercquen Hendrik Emanuel Blanckenberg en Otto Camphuijsen, als getuijgen, die de minute deeses beneevens den comparant ende mij, secretaris, meede behoorlijk hebben onderteekent.
Recollement
Compareerde voor ons, ondergetekende gecommitteerdens uijt den edelagtbare Raad van Justitie deses [sic] gouvernements, den slaaff Januarij van Mallebaar, dewelke deese, zijne gegevene depositie, van woorde tot woorde klaar en duijdelijk voorgelezen zijnde, verclaarde daar bij volkomen te persisteren, oversulx niet begerende dat er iets bijgevoegd ofte van gedaen werden zal, betuijgende, in presentsie van zijn gemelde lijfheer, al het vorenstaende de suijvere waarheid te behelsen.
Aldus gerecolleert aen Cabo de Goede Hoop, den 18e November 1740, voor de edele Am. Dekker en Jacob de Hennion, leeden uijt voorgemelde Raad van Justitie, die de munute [sic] deeses, benevens den comparant en mij, eerste clercq, meede behoorlijk hebben ondertekend.
’Twelk ik getuijge, [get.] P.J. Slotsboo, eerste geswoore clercq.
CJ 345 Criminele Process Stukken, 1740, ff. 594r-v.
Ter requisitie van den edele heer Independent Fiscaal, meester Daniel van den Henghel, verklaaren wij, eerste en tweede opperchirurgijns van ’s edele Compagnies hospitaal, ten overstaan van gecommitteerdens uijt den edelagtbare Raad van Justitie deeses gouvernements, d’ edele Philip Rudolph de Savoij en Jacobus d’ Hennion, het hoofd g’opent en vervolgens gevisiteert: een slaavin, genaamt Diana van Bengaalen, toebehoorende den borger Michiel Daniel Lorich, en bevonden:
Een wonde boven het slinker oog, nogh een klijne boven op het hoofd, gaande niet verder als ten deele door de spieren, is veroorzaakt door een uijtwendig scherp instrument; Nogh op menigvuldige plaatsen van het geheele lighaam, met kneusingen door d’ huijd, naa ’t uijterlijk schijnt door sjambok slagen veroorzaakt; zijnde geen doodelijke wonden, hebben ook niet konnen ervaaren, of daar door de dood veroorzaakt is, dan door het schielijk koud drinken, op het verhit en gantsch ontroert lighaam, of door de koude, alsoo het lijk bij d’ eerste visitatie gantsch naakt gevonden hebben.
In teeken van waarheid, zoo hebben wij deeze met onse gewoonelijke handteekening ondergeteekent.
Cabo de Goede Hoop, den 10e October 1740,
[get.] Js. van Schoor, B. de St. Jean.