1752 April van der Caab
April van de Caab ran away from his master but was obliged after some time to take up employment on another farm, passing himself off as aBastaard-Hottentot.1 He was recognised by Khoi workers and returned to his master, but on the way back escaped and stabbed one of the Khoi.
The case reveals the problems faced by runaway slaves, and the complexity of their interactions with Khoi and other slaves whom they met when on the run. It is striking that April, as a locally born slave, did not attempt to leave the colony, as did many slaves who had known another life before being brought to the Cape, but rather stayed in the only region with which he was familiar.2
Footnotes
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Bastaard-Hottentot was the name given to the offspring of Khoi and slave parents (Elphick & Shell 1989: 202). Those with slave fathers were not legally enslaved, since slave status descended from the mother, but many formed part of the labour force of the farming districts. In 1775, they were formally indentured until the age of 25. Their growing numbers from the middle of the eighteenth century made the authorities concerned that escaped slaves were able to pass themselves off as Bastaard-Hottentotten, as in this case, and they were made to carry passes, as were slaves and free blacks, when legally away from their place of employment (see 1786 Augustus van de Caab et al., n. 8). This was the basis of the notorious South African pass laws, Worden 1985: 58, 127; Shell 1994: 141, 267; and Penn 1999: 148-49. For other examples of slaves passing themselves off as Bastaard-Hottentotten, see Heese 1994: 106-7. ↩
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The slow rate of creolisation (that is, the predominance of locally born slaves over imported ones) at the Cape meant that the large majority of slaves in the VOC period were outsiders and had known a life before enslavement. This changed, especially after the abolition of the slave trade in 1808, affecting the character of slave resistance: instead of running away to escape from the colony, slaves began to demand improvement of their condition, or outright freedom, within the Cape as the only world that they knew (for this argument in transatlantic slave societies in this period, see Genovese 1979; for the Cape, Ross 1983: 96-116). ↩
CJ 788 Sententiën, 1750-1755, ff. 103-8.
Since April van de Caab, bondsman of the farmer Pieter Therron [sic], 20 years old at a guess, currently their honours’ prisoner, has voluntarily confessed, without any torture or coercion of bonds, of irons, or even the least threat of suchlike, and since it has also come to appear evident to the honourable Council of Justice of this government:
That the prisoner, now almost three months ago, fled from his master and, after wandering about for some time, got to the farm of the farmer Jan Smit, situated at the Honingberg, where the prisoner, as he was unknown to everybody, passed himself off as a Bastaard Hottentot. Yet, some time hereafter, he was recognised by the Hottentot Willem and taken prisoner on the farm of the said Jan Smit by him and his brother Jantje, as well as three other Hottentots, all resident with the farmer Lourens Pretorius, and taken to the farm of the said Pretorius, from where the aforesaid Hottentots Willem and Jantje then, on the order of the aforesaid Pretorius, took away the trussed prisoner the following day in order to return him home again to his master, resident at Roodesant. However, having met the shepherd of the farmer Gerrit van Hoeting, by the name of Fortuijn van Boegies, in the afternoon in the kloof of Roodesant, the aforementioned Willem said: “Let us ask for a piece of bread here, I am hungry”. After requesting this, Willem, as well as the said Jantje and the prisoner, each got a piece of bread and meat from the aforesaid Fortuijn and, after having scraped off the mould from the bread with a knife and after they had finished their meal, the aforementioned Willem filled a pipe with tobacco. While doing so, the prisoner, who was sitting close to the aforesaid shepherd and had asked him in Malay1 for a knife to cut the bread with, and after having received the knife from him, said: “There is a wagon, but it is riding off the road”, which was denied by the said Willem and Jantje, who claimed that the wagon was not off but actually on the road, and about which they argued with him. The prisoner, who was standing up, thereupon pretended to be sitting down again, which is when – after he had cut loose the rope with which he was tied up while they were talking – he unexpectedly, saying: “Hey!”, gave the Hottentot Willem, who was sitting flat on the ground, a stab in his left side under his chest; and then, leaving the knife sticking from the wound, took flight, being pursued by the shepherd Fortuijn after the latter had first taken out the knife from the body of the Hottentot, without being able to catch up with the prisoner. After which the aforesaid Hottentot Willem, after being taken to the farm of the farmer Gerrit van Hoeting with the help of two of his slaves and being bandaged by the farmer August Willem Eens, as well as he could, passed away in the afternoon of the following day.
The prisoner, after having roamed around for some days, was finally apprehended and thus fell into the hands of justice.
All of which is an abominable affair, which cannot be, nor should be, tolerated in a well-established government, but on the contrary ought to be punished as an example and deterrent to other similar scoundrels.
Wherefore it is, that the aforementioned honourable Council of Justice, serving today, having read and considered with care the written crimineelen eijsch ende conclusiecrimineelen eijsch ende conclusieLiterally ‘criminal demand and conclusion.’ The document drawn up by the prosecutor based on the evidence he collected and delivered in court against an accused. The conclusie is the final part of the document in which the prosecutor suggested an appropriate punishment for the crime. drawn up and delivered for and against the prisoner by the landdrost of Stellenbosch and Drakenstein, Sieur Adriaan van Schoor, in his official capacity, as well as having noted the prisoner’s voluntary confession and the other documents added to it, all properly verified in court, and everything further that served the case and could possibly have moved their honours; practising justice in the name and on behalf of the high and mighty Lords States General of the United Netherlands as well as his illustrious highness, the Lord Prince of Orange and Nassau, as hereditary Stadtholder, Captain and Admiral General of the Republic, and having judged the prisoner April van de Caab, is sentencing him with this: to be taken to the place where criminal sentences are usually executed here, there to be handed over to the executioner, and to be punished with the rope on the gallows so that death will follow; further that his dead body be dragged to the outer place of execution and there, yet again, hanged upon the gallows, to remain thus until being consumed by the air and the birds of heaven, with sentencing to the costs and expenditure of justice.2
Thus done and sentenced in the Castle of Good Hope on 8 June 1752, as well as pronounced and executed on the 10th thereupon.
Let the sentence be done, [signed] R. Tulbagh.
[signed] S. Swellengrebel, P. Reede van Oudshoorn, J. Meinertzhagen, R.S. Alleman, Ns. Heijning, Cl. Brand, Corns. Eelders, Js. de Grandpreez, Am. Decker, D. d’Aillij, Jn. Raeck, Hk. vn. dr. Heijden, Jn. Haszingh.
In my presence, [signed] Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretary.
Footnotes
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An interesting indication that a locally born slave knew (some) Malay and could therefore communicate with a slave from the Indonesian archipelago. On the use of Malay as a contact language between slaves, along with Creole Portuguese, see 1775 Moses van de Caab. ↩
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This was the sentence recommended 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., CJ 360, f. 242. At his sentencing, April van de Caab claimed that he had not intended to kill Willem. He was nonetheless found guilty of murder and sentenced as above, CJ 34, ff. 43-5. ↩
Aangesien April van de Caab, lijfeijgen van den landbouwer Pieter Therron [sic], oud naar gissing 20 jaaren, thans ’s heeren gevangen, buijten pijn ofte dwang van banden, van ijsers, dan wel de minste bedrijging van dien, vrijwillig heeft beleeden, ende het den edelagtbaare Raad van Justitie deeses gouvernements ook evidentelijk is koomen te blijken:
Dat den gevangen, nu een maand of drie geleeden, van sijn meester gevlugt en na eenigen tijd rondswervens gekoomen sijnde ter plaatse van den landbouwer Jan Smit, aan de Honingberg geleegen, hij gevangen sig aldaar, dewijl bij niemand bekent was, voor een bastaert Hottentot heeft uijt gegeeven, werdende nogtans weijnig tijds daarna door den Hottentot Willem verkent, en door denselven, neevens sijn broeder Jantje, mitsgaders nog drie andere Hottentotten, alle bij den landbouwer Lourens Pretorius woonagtig, ter plaatse van gemelde Jan Smit gevangen genoomen en na die van gedagte Pretorius gebragt, vanwaar voorseijde Hottentotten Willem en Jantje den gevangen vervolgens des anderen daags, ter ordre van voorseijde Pretorius, gevleugelt hebben weggebragt ten eijnde denselven bij sijn lijfheer, aan het Roodesant woonagtig, weederom te huijs te brengen, dog ’s nademiddaags onder de cloof van ’t Roodesant den schapewagter van den landbouwer Gerrit van Hoeting, Fortuijn van Boegies genaamt, ontmoet hebbende, sijde boovengemelde Willem: Laat ons hier een stuck brood vraagen, jk heb honger, krijgende hij Willem, op de gedaane afvraging, soo wel als geciteerde Jantje en den gevangen, van voorseijde Fortuijn ijder een stuck brood en vleesch, en nadat sij het geschimmelde van het brood met een mes afgeschraapt en gedaan hadden met eeten, stopte meergemelde Willem een pijp tabak, onder ’twelke den gevangen, die digt bij voormelde schapewagter was sittende en denselven in ’t Maleitsch een mes om brood te snijden gevraagt hebbende, nadat van denselven een mes bekoomen hadde, sijde: Daar is een waagen, maar die rijd uijt het pad, hetgeen door gemelde Willem en Jantje, dewelke beweerden dat de waagen niet uijt, maar wel in het pad was, den gevangen wierd teegengesprooken en daarover met hem gestreeden; ende den gevangen, die overeijnd stond, sig vervolgens gelaatende alsof weeder wilde gaan needersitten, heeft hij gevangen alsdoen, nadat het touw, waarmeede gevleugel was, onder ’t praaten aan stucken gesneeden had, den Hottentot Willem, die plat op de grond sat op het onverwagtst met het in de hand hebbend mes, onder ’t seggen van: Hij, een steek in de linkersijde onder de borst toegebragt, en sig so voort, het mes in de wond laatende steeken, op de vlugt begeeven, agtervolgt werdende door gemelde schapewagter Fortuijn nadat denselven het mes uijt het lighaam van dien Hottentot had gehaalt, sonder den gevangen egter te hebben kunnen magtig werden; waarna voormelde Hottentot Willem, door behulp van twee slaaven van den landbouwer Gerrit van Hoeting, teegens den avond ter plaatse van denselven gebragt, en door den landbouwer August Willem Eens, so goed als hij konde, verbonden sijnde ’s anderen daags agtermiddaags is koomen te overlijden.
Sijnde den gevangen naar nog eenige dagen rondgesworven hebben, insgelijx geapprehendeert, en dus in handen der justitie overgeleevert geworden.
Alle hetwelke sijnde een fervoeijlijk gedoente, ’tgeene in een welgestelde regeering geensints kan nog mag gedult, maar daarenteegens, ten spiegel en afschrick van andere diergelijke schurken, exemplaarlijk moet werden gestraft.
Weshalven so is ’t, dat den edelagtbaare Raad van Justitie, voormelde, ten dage diendende, met nadruck geleesen en overwoogen hebbende den schriftelijken crimineelen eijsch ende conclusie door den Landdrost van Stellenbosch en Drakensteijn, sieur Adriaan van Schoor, ex officio, op ende jeegens den gevangen gedaan ende genoomen, mitsgaders geleth op des gevangens vrijwillige confessie en andere stucken daarneevens gevoegt, alle in judicio behoorlijk gerecolleert, voorts op alle het geene ter saake dienende was en haare edelagtbaarens eenigsints konde doen moveeren, regt doende uijt naame ende van weegens de hoogmogende heeren Staaten Generaal der Vereenigde Neederlanden en mitsgaders van sijne doorlugtigste hoogheid den Heere Prince van Orange en Nassau, als Erfstadthouder, Capitain en Admiraal Generaal van de Republicq, den gevangen April van de Caab hebben gecondemneert, gelijk haar edelagtbaarens denselven condemneeren mits deesen, om gebragt te werden ter plaatse alwaar men alhier gewoon is crimineele sententiën te executeeren, en aldaar aan den scherpregter overgeleevert sijnde, met de coorde aan de galg soodanig gestraft te werden, dat er de dood naar volgt, voorts desselfs doode lighaam naar ’t buijten geregt gesleept, en aldaar weeder aan de galg opgehangen sijnde, dus te verblijven totdat door de lugt en de voogelen des heemels sal sijn verteert, met condemnatie in de costen en misen van justitie.
Aldus gedaan en gesententieert in ’t Casteel de Goede Hoop, den 8e Junij 1752, mitsgaders gepronuntieert ende g’executeert den 10e daaraanvolgende.
Fiat Executie, [get.] R. Tulbagh.
[get.] S. Swellengrebel, P. Reede van Oudshoorn, J. Meinertzhagen, R.S. Alleman, Ns. Heijning, Cl. Brand, Corns. Eelders, Js. de Grandpreez, Am. Decker, D. d’Aillij, Jn. Raeck, Hk. vn. dr. Heijden, Jn. Haszingh.
Mij present, [get.] Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretaris.