1775 Gerrit Marits
Gerrit Marits, acting veldcorporaal1 in the Roggeveld, here reports to the Stellenbosch landdrost that he had shot a slave he encountered in the veld. The fact that he had called upon the slave to surrender himself was sufficient warning. No action was taken against Marits. The incident shows how dangerous it was for slaves to be in the veld without permission: only after he had been shot did Marits recognise him as a runaway.2
Footnotes
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On the development and significance of this office, see Botha 1962, vol. II: 109-12. This Gerrit (Stephanus) Maritz was the uncle of the Voortrekker leader Gert Maritz and later played an important role in the commandos against the Khoisan in the Roggeveld in the 1790s. ↩
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Veldcorporaals, veldwagtmeesters and commandos did not have to obtain permission to act and could institute search parties and execute justice as they saw fit, as long as they gave a report of it later (Newton-King 1999: 66). Athough this is a relaas, called for by the landdrost, rather than a letter or report initiated by Marits, there is no record that the matter was taken further. ↩
1/STB 3/11 Criminele Verklaringen, 1759-1782, unpaginated.
Statement given on the requisition of the honourable landdrost, Marthinus Adrianus Bergh, by the burgher Gerrit Marits, of competent age, which is of the following content, namely:
On 22 February of this year – after the veldkorporaal of the middle Roggeveld, Hendrik Olivier, had ridden off to the Cape, and who, beforehand, had handed over to the testifier his farm and function as corporal there – when the testifier, armed with a gun loaded with a bullet, had set out to the veld with the Bushmen to look after the livestock of the aforesaid Olivier, he came across a slave with a group of tame goats in the mountain who, when the testifier called out that he should give himself up as prisoner, immediately proceeded to flee by running away. Upon this, the testifier shot at him, whereupon the said slave at once turned around and, when he got to the testifier, sat down on the ground, which is when the testifier recognised him as a runaway 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., by the name of Fortuijn, of the farmer Cornelis Coetze Cornerlisz. who lived in the said veld.1 At the same time, the testifier discovered that the bullet had gone through his body and his left arm (which, because of this, was in pieces), of which case the testifier informed the said Coetze as soon as possible. The aforementioned slave Fortuijn, after he was taken from there to the farm of the aforesaid Olivier, came to die of the aforementioned wounds the following day at sunset.
The testifier declares further that the said slave Fortuijn, in the presence of his owner and the testifier, answered to the question of how he supported himself during his desertion, that he was supported and provided with food by a slave of aforementioned Olivier, named April.
There being nothing further to relate, the testifier asserts to be convinced of the accuracy of his statement as in the text, being willing, if so required, to subsequently confirm the above with solemn oaths.
Thus related at the office of the secretary in Stellenbosch on 8 June 1775 in the presence of the burghers Johannes Joacobus Rijniers and Johannes Victor, requested as witnesses hereto.
[signed] Gerrit Maritz.
As witnesses, [signed] J.J. Reiniers, Johs. Victor.
With my cognisance, [signed] A. Faure, secretary.
Footnotes
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It is not clear whether this refers to the veld in general, or if it is an abbreviated way of referring to the Roggeveld. ↩
Relaas gegeven, ter requisitie van den heer landdrost, Marthinus Adrianus Berg, door den burger Gerrit Marits, van competenten ouderdom, zijnde van den volgende inhoud, namentlijk:
Dat wanneer den veldcorporaal van ’t middelste Roggeveld, Hendrik Olivier, Caabwaards gereeden was en alvorens aan den relatant zijn plaats en post als corporaal aldaar overgegeven had, den relatant, op den 22e Februarij deeser jaars, bij gelegentheid dat denselven, met een geweer, dat met een kogel geladen was, gewapend, met de Bosjesmans zig in ’t veld had begeven om naar ’t vee van voorseijde Olivier te zien; aldaar in ’t gebergte een slaaf had aangetroffen met een partij tamme bokken, denwelken, op ’t toeroepen van den relatant, dat hij zig als gevangen aan hem overgeeven moest, gedagte slaaf zig aanstonds ter vlugt op den loop begeeven had, waarop den relatant naar denselven geschoten hebbende, gemelde slaaf zig terstond omgekeerd en bij den relatant gekomen weesende, zig op den grond had neder gezet; als wanneer hij relatant hem kennende wierd voor een gedrossen jongen van den, in ’t gemelde veld wonenden, landbouwer Cornelis Coetze [sic] Cornelisz., in naame Fortuijn, terwijl den relatant teffens quam te ontwaren dat hem de kogel door het lijf en den linkerarm (die daar door was aan stukken geraakt) heengegaan was; van welk geval de relatant ten eersten aan gemelde Coetze kennisse gegeven had, waarop meergemelde slaaf Fortuijn, nadat hij van daar ter plaats van meergemelde Olivier was gebragt, ’s daags daaraan tegens sonsondergang aan voormelde wonden was komen te sterven.
Relaterende den relatant wijders dat gemelde slaaf Fortuijn, ten bijweesen van desselfs lijfheer en den relatant, op de vrage waar hij geduurende zijn drossen zig opgehouden had, geantwoord dat hij door een slaaf van voormelde Olivier, genaamt April, opgehouden en van kost bezorgd geworden was.
Anders niet relateerende, geeft den relatant voor reedenen van wetenschap als in den text, bereijd zijnde het voorenstaande, des vereischt werdende, met solemneelen eede nader te zullen gestand doen.
Aldus gerelateerd ter secretarije aan Stellenbosch den 8e Junij 1775 in ’t bijweesen van de burgers Johannes Jacobus Rijniers en Johannes Victor, als getuijgen hiertoe versogt.
[get.] Gerrit Maritz.
Als getuijgen, [get.] J.J. Reiniers, Johs. Victor.
In kennisse van mij, [get.] A. Faure, secretaris.