1754 Rachel van de Caab
This is a complex and intriguing case of attempted poisoning of an owner by her slaves.1 Rachel collaborated with her fellow slave Joseph in obtaining mercury from the Company apothecary, which they placed in the water glass of their owner’s wife, although Rachel claimed not to have understood the implications of this. The plot failed when the mistress noticed something wrong. Both Joseph and Rachel were subsequently tortured by their owner, and eventually confessed. Joseph hanged himself, and Rachel was sentenced to a public whipping and to be placed in chains for the rest of her life.2
However, the court also ordered that Rachel be sold, never again to be owned by Van Reenen or his family. Although it believed that Rachel and Joseph had committed a punishable crime, it also brought Van Reenen to justice for maltreating his slaves, since he did not have the permission of the fiscal to extract confessions from them and he had also concealed the facts about his actions in Rachel’s court case. The fiscal was sure that Van Reenen had driven Joseph to his suicide. He was fined 1,000 guilders, with costs. 3
Footnotes
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See Thomson (2003) on this case. ↩
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Rachel steadfastly denied that she had known she was doing anything wrong, and 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. and given by the court was more lenient than the death sentence usually given to slaves who attempted to harm their owners, but nonetheless included being exposed on the gallows with a rope around her neck, after which she was flogged, branded and riveted in chains for the rest of her life, CJ 363, f. 5 and CJ 36, ff. 2-3. In addition to the testimonies of Rachel and Amarentia van de Caab, included here, that of Jacobus van Reenen is given in CJ 363, ff. 10-16. A sententie is also available in CJ 788, ff. 157-62. ↩
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Van Reenen claimed that the danger to his wife had ‘hem genoegsaam raasende hadde gemaakt’ (made him almost raving with fury). The court was unsympathetic and Van Reenen was found guilty of punishing and tormenting Rachel van de Caab and Joseph van Bengalen without permission; while the court also ordered Rachel to be sold (for Van Reenen’s profit) and never to come into his or his family’s possession, CJ 36, ff. 6-8 and CJ 363, ff. 21-4. ↩
CJ 363 Criminele Process Stukken, Deel 2, 1754, ff. 6-9v.
There appears before us, the undersigned delegates from the honourable Council of Justice of this government, Raachel van de Caab, slave of the burgher Jacobus van Reenen junior, 20 to 21 years old, who on the requisition of the honourable independent fiscal, Pieter Reede van Oudshoorn, confesses it to be true:
That a full month ago now, without knowing the exact day or date, the confessant’s fellow slave, Joseph, who was found yesterday morning to have hanged himself, asked her if she knew where mercury was for sale, with which he said he wanted to clean buttons and mirrors; to which the confessant answered him that she did not know this, to which the said Joseph retorted: “Leave it then!”
That some days afterwards, Joseph for the second time inquired after mercury from the confessant, and also told her to ask a certain 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 Jacob, who works for the apothecary of the honourable Company’s hospital, for some mercury or, if he did not have any, to talk to the slave 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.’, named Emerentia, of the former second chief surgeon, Dirk Wijdenaar, about it. The confessant talked to the aforesaid Jacob about some mercury, without however receiving anything from him, which she first reported to the said Joseph, which is when he told her anew that she should request this from Emerentia; which she also did and later, on the day before last Christmas, she received from this 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.’ a little bottle with some mercury, which bottle the confessant handed over to the aforementioned Joseph, which is when the said Joseph requested her to tell him when her mistress asks for water, which request he also repeated several times.
That thereafter, on the Friday after New Year, being the 4th of this month January, when, at about 9 o’clock in the evening, her mistress was sitting in the moonlight at the door of the house and asked for a glass of water from the confessant; she, the confessant, therefore informed the slave Joseph, who was in the back yard, of this, who then, as soon as the confessant had taken a glass from the cellar, cleaned it in the kitchen and filled it with water, poured some mercury from the aforementioned little bottle that she had given him, and added: “Just give this to the juffrouwjuffrouwStrictly speaking this contraction of jonkvrouw was the form of address for a noble lady (as with jonker, the contraction of jonkheer, ‘lord’), but at the Cape it was more generally used by settlers for women with some social status. Moreover, in the eighteenth century this was also the term slaves used to address their female owners, alongside nonje., who is so false and will then not be able to look after the household”.
That the confessant handed the water to her said mistress who, while drinking it, noticed that there was something in the glass, when she asked the confessant what was in the glass, to which she then answered: “Nothing at all!” and at the same time wanted to take the said glass from her mistress, but that the latter, after having inspected it by the candle, put it aside. On account of this, the confessant went to ask the aforementioned Joseph what he had done, and when the said Joseph answered her: “Nonje will waste away like a skeleton”, she then became so afraid that she did not dare to make this known to her mistress.
That this very same evening her master investigated the matter carefully and asked both her and also the aforementioned Joseph: “What was in the glass with the water?”, and as the confessant, like the aforesaid Joseph, did not want to confess anything, her said owner had Joseph taken to the prison and then, on the following day, had him punished there, without, however, him confessing even then.
That later, on the following Sunday evening her said owner tied the hands and feet of the aforementioned Joseph together through the chair and spanned him into the poolsche bok,1 and let him sit in this way for fully an hour long in the expectation that this slave would come to a confession through it; yet, all in vain, as he only said that the confessant should know about it; which is why she was tied up in a similar fashion by her owner and likewise had to sit like this for fully an hour and a half, without however, out of fear and anxiety, making known anything at all of the above that night.
That on the following Monday the confessant, after she had been put upon the poolsche bok and had been beaten with a cane on her naked body, at last frankly confessed to her owner, the aforementioned Van Rheenen, all of the above which she knew to be true. However, since the aforementioned Friday, which was the 4th of January of this year, the said Van Rheenen daily interrogated Joseph about this, yet could not get anything from him until last Thursday, which is when he expressly told Van Rheenen that he had poured the mercury into the water; though the confessant did not hear anything of his intentions or the reasons which could have moved him to it. And as this confession was done voluntarily by 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. Joseph on his knees, who also at the same time begged for forgiveness, the said Van Rheenen answered him that he wanted to forgive him, but that he would however have to sell him.
The confessant finally declares that she did not know beforehand that she or Joseph had done anything wicked by it, nor that anything wicked had been intended, until after having understood from Joseph that her mistress would waste away because of it, and for this reason she was afraid to admit anything of this earlier.
Thus confessed at the Cape of Good Hope on 12 January 1754 before the honourables R.S. Alleman and H.J. Prehn, members of the honourable Council of Justice, aforementioned, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the confessant and me, the sworn clerk.
Which I declare, [signed] L.F. Haake, sworn clerk.
Verification
There appears before us, the undersigned delegates from the honourable Council of Justice of this government, the slave Raachel van de Caab, who, after this, her confession, was read out word by word, clearly and plainly, declares to fully persist by it, not desiring that anything more should be added to or taken from it, except only that the slave Joseph as well as the confessant had been tied by her owner to a chair, but were not spanning into the poolsche bok, declaring further all of the above to be the whole truth.
Thus verified in the Castle of Good Hope on 17 January 1754 before the honourables R.S. Alleman and P. Artoijs, members of the honourable Council of Justice, aforementioned, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the confessant and me, the secretary.
Which I declare, [signed] Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretary.
CJ 363 Criminele Process Stukken, Deel 2, 1754, ff. 12-13v.
Today, 18 January 1754, there appears before me, Jan Frederick Tiemmendorf, secretary of the honourable Council of Justice of this government, in the presence of the witnesses named below, Amarentia van de Caab, slave of the former chief surgeon, Dirck Wijdenaar, of competent age, who, on the requisition of the honourable independent fiscal, Pieter Reede van Oudshoorn, declares it to be true:
That one day before Christmas, being 24 December of last year, the slave of the burgher Jacob van Rheenen junior, named Raachel, came very early in the morning to the house of the deponent’s owner and asked her for some mercury in order to, as she said, gild buttons with; and that the deponent answered her that she would see if she could procure her some, after which Raachel went away again. However, early in the morning of the following Thursday she again came to ask for the same, and that the deponent then told her that she would see if she could get some and would deliver it to her when she came to her owner’s house to collect meat. On that very same morning she, the deponent, took a little bottle of about a finger long, in which was about half a thimble’s mercury, from the little cabinet of her owner standing in the galderijgalderijNot a ‘gallery,’ but usually a family room behind the public front rooms of a house where families ate together or where domestic chores were performed. In some earlier Cape houses it referred to a passageway or linking area between the front room and the kitchen area. and in which the key was left, and hid the same on her and later, when she went to collect meat from Van Reenen, she handed it over to the slave Fortuijn, who was in front of the door, to deliver the same to the said Raachel, who was inside the house.
There being nothing more to declare, the deponent asserts to be convinced of the accuracy of her statement as in the text, being willing to subsequently confirm the same, if so required.
Thus recorded in the office of the secretary of justice of the Castle, aforementioned, in the presence of the clerks, Daniel Egbert Pfeil and Michiel Daniël Leij, as witnesses, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the deponent and me, the secretary.
Which I declare, [signed] Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretary.
Verification
There appears before us, the undersigned delegates from the honourable Council of Justice of the Castle of Good Hope, the aforementioned slave Amarentia van de Caab, who, after this, her above statement, was 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 declares all of the above to be the whole truth.
Thus verified at the Cape of Good Hope on 26 January 1754 before the honourables R.S. Alleman and H.J. Prehn, members of the honourable Council of Justice, aforementioned, who have properly signed the original of this, together with the deponent and me, the secretary.
Which I declare, [signed] Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretary.
Footnotes
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For the meaning of this, see 1749 Reijnier van Madagasacar, n. 4. ↩
Compareerde voor ons, ondergeteekende gecommitteerdens uijt den edelagtbaare Raad van Justitie deeses gouvernements, Rachel van de Caab, slavin van den burger Jacobus van Rheenen de jonge, oud 20 à 21 jaaren, dewelke, ter requisitie van den heer Independent Fiscaal Pieter Reede van Oudshoorn, confesseerde hoe waar is:
Dat nu een groote maand voorleeden, sonder den netten dag of datum te weeten, der confessante meede slaaf Joseph, die hem gisteren morgen verhangen hebbende is bevonden geworden, aan haar heeft gevraagt of sij niet wist waar dat quik te koop was, waarmede, hij sijde, knoopen en spiegels te willen schoon maaken; op ’twelke de confessante denselven ten antwoord gegeeven hebbende dat dat niet wiste, wierd door gedagte Joseph daarop hervat: Basta maar!1
Dat voormelde Joseph eenige dagen daarna haar confessante voor de tweede maal na quik gevraagd en teffens aangesegt heeft om seekere slave jonge, genaamt Jacob, dewelke bij den apothecar van ’s edele Compagnies hospitaal bescheijden is, om eenig quik te vraagen of, in gevalle die niet hadde, als dan de slavemeijd van den oud tweeden opperchirurgijn Dirk Wijdenaar, Emerentia genaamd, daarover te spreeken; heeft sij confessante voormelde Jacob om eenig quik aangesprooken, sonder egter van gemelde slaaf Jacob iets te hebben ontfangen, van ’twelke sij confessante eerst aan gedagte Joseph verslag hebbende gedaan, heeft meergedagte Joseph haar alsdoen opnieuws gesegt dat sij gerepte Emerentia maar daarom versoeken soude: dies sij hetselve ook gedaan en van die meijd vervolgens, ’s daags voor Kersdag jongstleeden, een vlesje met wat quik bekoomen heeft; welk vlesje de confessante aan voormelde Joseph heeft behandigt, als wanneer gedagte Joseph haar confessante versogten om hem te waarschouwen wanneer haare lijfvrouw water eijschte, welk versoek denselven ook tot diverse maalen herhaald heeft.
Dat hierop, ’s Vrijdags naar ’t Nieuwe Jaar, zijnde geweest den 4 deeser maand Januarij, voormelde haare lijfvrouw, ’s avonds de klocke omtrent neegen uuren, in de maaneschijn voor de huijsdeur sittende, van de confessante een glas water geëijscht hebbende, sij confessante oversulx daarvan aen voormelde, op de agterplaats weesende, slaaf Joseph heeft kennis gegeeven, denwelken daarop, soo ras de confessante uijt de kelder een glas gehaald, hetselve in de combuijs schoon gemaakt en vol water gedaan hadde, uijt het voormelde, hem overgegeven hebbende, vlesje wat quik in dat glas gegooten heeft, met bijvoeging: Geeft dat maar aan de juffrouw, die is soo valsch en sal na de huijshouding soo niet kunnen sien.
Dat de confessante dat water aen gemelde haare lijfvrouw overhandigt hebbende, en door deselve onder ’t drincken bespeurd werdende, dat er iets in ’t glas sijn moeste, heeft deselve aan haar confessante gevraagt wat dat er in het glas was, dan de confessante daarop geantwoord hebbende: Niet met al!, en teffens gedagte glas van haare lijfvrouw weederom wilde wegneemen, maar ’tselve, naar sulx bij de kaars besigtigt te hebben, heeft gaan bergen; weshalven sij confessante voormelde Joseph ging vraagen wat dat hij gedaan hadde, dan, dewijl gedagte Joseph haar daarop het antwoord gaf: Nonje sal verteeren als een geraamte!, is sy confessante alsdoen soo bevreest geworden, dat sulx aan gemelde haare lijfvrouw niet heeft derven bekent maaken.
Dat dien eijgensten avond gemelde haar lijfheer die saak naauwkeurig ondersogt en aan haar confessante, soo wel als aan voormelde Joseph, gevraagt heeft wat dat in ’t glas onder ’t water gedaan had, en vermits de confessante soo min als voorgemelde Joseph niets bekennen wilde, heeft gemelde haar lijfheer gedagte Joseph naar de tronk laaten brengen en daarop, des volgenden daags, aldaar laaten afstraffen, sonder egter ook alsdoen bekent te hebben.
Dat hierop, des volgenden Sondags avond, geciteerde haar lijfheer voormelde Joseph de handen en voeten door de stoel heen tesaamen gebonden, in de poolsche bok gespannen, en dusdanig wel een uur lang op een stoel heeft laaten sitten, in verwagting dat dien slaaf daar door tot bekentenis soude koomen, dog vergeefs, seggende alleenlijk dat sij confessante daarvan weeten moeste; sulx de confessante door gemelde haar lijfheer op gelijke wijse vastgebonden geworden sijnde, insgelijx wel een en een half uur lang soodanig heeft moeten blijven sitten, sonder egter dien avond uijt vreese en benaauwtheijd het minste van ’t voorengemelde bekent te hebben.
Dat op Maandag daaraanvolgende de confessante, naar dat se in de poolsche bok gespannen en met de rottang op ’t bloote lijf geslagen geworden was, eijndelijk aan haar lijfheer, meergemelde Van Rheenen, alle ’t voorengesegden, dat sij nog voor waar bekent, gulhartig gestand gedaan heeft. Dog, seedert laatstgemelde Vrijdag, zijnde geweest den 4e Januarij deeses jaars, gemelde Van Rheenen gedagte Joseph dagelijx daarna gevraagt hebbende, dog niet eerder ’t minste uijt denselven brengen mogen, dan op Donderdag laatstleeden, als wanneer denselven aan gedagte Van Rheenen uijtdruckelijk gesegt heeft dat hij dat quik onder ’t waater had gegooten; dog hadde sij confessante van desselfs intentie of reedenen, die hem daartoe soude bewogen hebben, niets gehoord. En terwijl sulx bekentenis dien jongen Joseph vrijwillig op sijn kniën heeft gedaan, en daarbij om vergiffenis gebeeden, heeft aen hem gemelde Van Rheenen nog geantwoord, dat hij hem het wel vergeeven wilde, maar hem egter verkoopen soude.
Laatstelijk betuijgde de confessante niet eerder te hebben geweeten dat sij, dan wel Joseph, daarmeede iets quaads gedaan, nog iets quaads geïntendeert heeft, dan naar van Joseph verstaen te hebben, dat haare lijfvrouw daarvan soude verteeren, en daarom was sij bang geworden om eerder iets daarvan te bekennen.
Aldus geconfesseerd aan Cabo de Goede Hoop, den 12e Januarij 1754, voor d’ edele R.S. Alleman en H.J. Prehn, leeden uijt welgemelde edelagtbaare Raade, die de minute deeses, beneevens de confessante ende mij, geswore clercq, behoorlijk hebben onderteekent.
’Twelk ik getuijge, [get.] L.F. Haake, geswore clercq.
Recollement
Compareerde voor ons, ondergeteekende gecommitteerdens uijt den edelagtbaare Raad van Justitie deeses gouvernements, de slavinne Ragel van de Caab, dewelke deese, haare confessie, van woorde tot woorde klaar en duijdelijk voorgeleesen weesende, verklaarden daarbij volkomen te persisteeren, niet begeerende dat er iets meer bijgevoegt ofte van gedaan werden sal; als alleenig dat den slaaf Joseph, soo wel als de confessante, door haar lijfheer op een stoel gebonden, maar niet in de poolsche bok gespannen is geworden, betuijgende voorts al het voorenstaende de suijvere waarheijd te sijn.
Aldus gerecolleerd in ’t Casteel de Goede Hoop, den 17e Januarij 1754, voor d’ edele R.S. Alleman en P. Artoijs, leeden uijt voormelde edelagtbaare Raad van Justitie, die de minuten deeses beneevens de confessante ende mij, secretaris, behoorlijk hebben ondertekend.
’Twelk ik getuijge, [get.] Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretaris.
CJ 363 Criminele Process Stukken, Deel 2, 1754, ff. 12-13v.
Huijden, den 18e Januarij 1754, compareerde voor mij, Jan Frederick Tiemmendorf, secretaris van den edelagtbaare Raad van Justitie deeses gouvernements, praesent de naargemelde getuijgen, Amarentia van de Caab, slavin van den oud opperchirurgijn Dirck Wijdenaar, van competenten ouderdom, dewelke, ter requisitie van den heer Independent Fiscaal, Pieter Reede van Oudshoorn, verclaarde hoe waar is:
Dat een dag voor Kerstijd, zijnde geweest den 24e December des voorleeden jaars, de slavin van den burger Jacob van Rheenen de jonge, Rachel genaamt, ’s morgens heel vroeg aan ’t huijs van der comparante lijfheer gekoomen weesende, aen haar comparante om wat quik heeft gevraagt, ten eijnde daarmeede, soo als sij seijde, knoopen te vergulden; ende de comparante aan deselve ten antwoord gegeeven hebbende, dat sien soude om haar wat te beschikken, is sij Ragel weederom weggegaan; koomende egter op Donderdag daaraanvolgende, ’s morgens vroeg, weederom naar hetselve vragen, ende de comparante alsdoen teegens haar gesegt hebbende, dat sij soude sien om wat te krijgen en het aan haar besorgen soude wanneer sij aan haar lijfheers huijs quam om vleesch te haalen; heeft sij comparante oversulx dien eijgensten morgen een vlesje van een vingerlang, waarin omtrent een vingerhoed vol quik was, uijt het, in de galderij staande, kasje van haar lijfheer, waar de sleutel in stack, genoomen, hetselve bij sig gestooken en vervolgens, wanneer bij voormelde Van Rheenen vleesch ging haalen, aen den slaaf Fortuijn, die voor de deur was, overgegeeven ten eijnde hetselve aan gemelde Ragel, die in ’t huijs was, te overhandigen.
Niets meer verklaarende, geeft de comparante voor reedenen van weetenschap als in den text, berijd zijnde hetselve, des vereijscht werdende, nader gestand te doen.
Dat aldus passeerde ter secretarije van justitie des Casteels voormelt, ten overstaan der clercquen Daniel Egbert Pfeil en Michiel Daniël Leij, als getuijgen, die de minute deeses, beneevens de comparante ende mij, secretaris, meede behoorlijk hebben onderteekend,
’Twelk ik getuijge, [get.] Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretaris.
Recollement
Compareerde voor ons, ondergeteekende gecommitteerdens uijt den edeleachtbare Raad van Justitie des Casteels de Goede Hoop, voormelde slavin Amarentia van de Caab, dewelke deese, haare voorenstaande verclaaring, van woorde tot woorde klaer en duijdelijk voorgeleesen weesende, verklaarde daarbij ten vollen te persisteeren, niet begeerde oversulx dat er iets meer bijgevoegt ofte van gedaan werden sal, en betuijgde alle ’t voorenstaende de suijvere waarheijd te weesen.
Aldus gerecolleert aan Cabo de Goede Hoop, den 26e Januarij 1754, voor d’ edele R.S. Alleman en H.J. Prehn, leeden uijt den edelagtbare Raad van Justitie, voormelt, die de minute deeses beneevens de comparante ende mij, secretaris, behoorlijk hebben onderteekent.
’Twelk ik getuijge, Jn. Fr. Tiemmendorf, secretaris.
Footnotes
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The word basta was commonly used, especially but not exclusively, by slaves at the Cape in their Dutch, presumably because of the prevalence of Creole Portuguese as a lingua franca in their speech community. It usually means ‘stop it’, but here seems to be used in the sense of ‘leave it, let it be’. On the use of this word amongst slaves in the eighteenth century, see Franken 1953: 112-13. ↩