Trials of Slavery

Since August van de Caab, bondsman of the burgher David Benjamin d’Aillij, 26 years old at a guess, Andries van Calkuta,¹ slave of the dragoon Christiaan Velbron, 25 years old at a guess, Jonas van Batavia, bondsman of the burgher Willem van Reenen, 30 years old at a guess, Damon van Bougies, slave of the burgher Jochem Janeke, 28 years old at a guess, Saripa van Mandhaar, bondsman of the burgher Jan Bierman, 30 years old at a guess, Welkom van Ternate, slave of the widow of Daniel Beets, 27 years old at a guess, currently their honours’ prisoners, have voluntarily confessed and since, from the other documents produced in the case, it has appeared evident to the honourable Council of Justice:

That about a year ago now, when the first prisoner, August, together with the third prisoner Jonas and 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. by the name of Maij, belonging to the burgher Johannes Engel, ran away from their owners for the first time they, for greater security in their fleeing, requested a certain free black, commonly known by the name of Valentijn van Dapoer, to write a permit or butcher’s letter² for them, in order to thus get, in accordance with their planned scheme, far into the interior to the Caffers. So they agreed with the said Valentijn that he would provide such a letter to them, on the condition that they would not reveal it to anyone; as this letter was then also written by this Valentijn under the name of the burgher lieutenant, Jonas Albertus van der Poel,³ without, however, according to the confessions of the first and third prisoners, the said Valentijn having known what they were intending to do, while the same Valentijn received from them a copper watch.

That after they were provided with this letter, the first and third prisoners with the aforementioned Maij set out on their way and progressed to beyond the Gantouws [sic] River, when this letter got lost during the crossing of the river; as they were also some time thereafter, and indeed in the month of March of this year, taken prisoner by one Pieter le Roux and brought here under arrest; at which time the aforementioned Maij was sold by his said owner to one of the countrymen far into the interior.

Next, that in the month of September this year all six prisoners agreed with one another to run away again and to provide themselves with, instead of one, two letters so that, in the event of one of them becoming lost, they could still profit from the other. The first, second and third prisoners took the provision of these false passes upon them, to which end they again went to the aforementioned Valentijn van Dapoer, who this time refused to oblige them as before.

That since the first three prisoners found themselves frustrated in this design of theirs, they repaired to the house of the military captain residing here, Paul Paulsen, to request the youth living there, by the name of Johannes Jacobus Fabritius, to write a similar letter for them under the name of Jonas Albertus van der Poel, and to get this ready [for them]. But since this Fabritius was not at home but at school, he was called from school on two separate occasions by a 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.’ of the aforementioned Paulsen, by the name of Lena; and who, when he finally got home, and after the first three prisoners made their request, at first absolutely refused to write such a letter, yet on the repeated assurances of the prisoners that they were the slaves of Van der Poel and had lost their letters, and did not dare to go to their owner to ask for new ones, as well as the persuasion of the aforesaid woman slave, the said youth finally had himself persuaded to write these letters; the contents of which the first prisoner dictated to him, as he did not know what he had to write, while the second prisoner, with the agreement of the first and third prisoners, paid him two rixdollars in paper money for this, without the said Fabritius or anybody in the household of the aforementioned Paulsen, according to the confessions of all the prisoners, having known anything of the plot the prisoners had devised.⁴ So, this Fabritius, who could certainly, on account of his youth and ignorance, not have realised the dangerous consequences of this, was relieved from his detention, in accordance with a decision of the honourable Council of Justice, while those under whose care he is here were ordered to send him away from here at the first opportunity arising.

That in this way the prisoners had achieved their aim, as they needed at this time only to consider the means for their immediate desertion, as the first, second and third prisoners, after receiving these letters, then also went to the other prisoners and declared in joyous terms to them that they were now provided with double passes and were therefore ready.

Further, that the third prisoner, Jonas, also took along a small square lead disc, on which were written with a needle some letters, seemingly Malay, and which was provided to the third prisoner, according to his own confession, by the Mohammedan priest Norman, who was banished here from Batavia in the year 1770, without the third prisoner wanting to admit that this might be a charm through which they could remain safe from danger and pursuit, but saying only that he had got this small disc from Norman when he, the third prisoner, was still living with the burgher Elias Voberg, and that such discs are actually charms which protect one from being torn apart by wild animals, and nothing else, while the fourth prisoner says that it is a charm which protects the body, but according to others, that such a disc protects a person from all evil, including being taken prisoner during desertion.

That the third prisoner showed this disc to the fourth prisoner on their way, and that he, the fourth prisoner, [based] on the belief the third prisoner had in it, also put his faith in it. Now, since the said priest Norman, when he was examined before deputised members from the honourable Council of Justice, continued to deny all of the above, and since there was not sufficient evidence to convince them, the aforementioned Council therefore thought it fit, and decided, to provisionally banish the same priest Norman to Robben Island, until such time that further evidence regarding this would have come to hand; while the aforementioned Valentijn was also properly punished for writing the false letter and likewise confined to Robben Island.⁵

Moreover, that the third, fourth, fifth and sixth prisoners were each provided with a special kind of powder, without, however, their wanting to confess to what end this served, as the one says that it was a kind of incense with which to smoke the aforementioned small disc on Fridays, in order to keep the power of the charm; another that he had taken this along for his health, while the third says that this only served to protect them from any evil, without wanting to acknowledge either the power of the powders or the reason why these were taken along with them, while, notwithstanding this, the fifth prisoner Saripa had even added to the powders a kind of charm on a piece of paper, written upon with Malay characters, which the fifth prisoner says to have obtained from the fourth prisoner Damon, which was also admitted by the fourth prisoner.

That when the prisoners were thus provided with everything, even guns for murdering, which seemed serviceable to them in their damnable design, they finally, amongst other things, made a mutual alliance never to leave one another, but to die together, which alliance sworn by them here [i.e. at the Cape] was subsequently confirmed by them with the oath of loyalty as often as they could obtain wine on their way.

That on the 28^th of September of this year, the prisoners went from here on their journey, [which is] when the place of their gathering was determined to be at Salt River or, as most of the prisoners put it, behind the Castle.

That since the second and sixth prisoners had gone from here half a day earlier and went some way towards the Dunes, or the so-called Cape Flats, the first, third, fourth and fifth prisoners did not find the second and sixth prisoners at the appointed place and so, instead of continuing their journey further, the prisoners were forced to search for one another until the second day when they again met one another in the vicinity of Salt River.

That thereupon the prisoners first went to the Dunes again where they, by means of a file and then with a machete, which had been taken from his owner by the sixth prisoner, took off the the chains which were riveted around the legs of the third prisoner.

That from there the prisoners went further to ’t Moddergat, the farm of the former heemraadheemraadThe origin of this word is uncertain, but is connected to the Dutch words heem (‘homestead’) and raad (‘councillor’). This was the title of a free burgher who served on the Collegie van Heemraden in the rural districts of the Cape, usually for a term of two years. of Stellenbosch, Jacobus Conterman, and after having stayed there and having bought bread and wine, they continued their journey to the cloofmaker⁶ beneath Hottentots Hollands kloof, where they refreshed for a while and thereafter passed through the kloof and arrived at a certain Christoffel Kock, living at Bot River, and from there to one Willem Wilkens at De Wolve Kraal, where, the third prisoner says, the second prisoner apparently sold two blue jackets belonging to the sixth prisoner for the price of ten schellingen each, and for which the prisoners again bought two large loaves of bread and two bottles of wine.

That the prisoners continued to a certain Barend Gildenhuijzen where they bought further, from the remainder of their money, two loaves of bread and a bottle of wine, while they went from there to one Christiaan Koen, who lives at the Kwartel River, and further on to the widow of Hans Jurgen Linde, where the prisoners slept for one night, from there to the Storm Valleij⁷ to one Gerrit Kemp, where they bought two bottles of brandy and half a loaf of bread; after which the prisoners continued their journey further to the Nieuwe Clooff until they arrived at a Hottentot kraalkraalBoth this word and the English ‘corral’ derive from Portuguese curral, meaning an enclosed area for keeping livestock. However, in South Africa a related meaning developed, right from the founding of the Cape colony, namely as a settlement of indigenous people, at first specifically the Khoikhoi but later also other indigenous peoples. and stayed there for two days and two nights when the sixth prisoner stole some money and the fourth prisoner some clothes from these Hottentots; whereupon the said Hottentots, when the prisoners had departed from them for about a day, chased and captured them but, upon returning the stolen goods, and since the prisoners were provided with permits, they let them free again and allowed them to go on their way.

That the prisoners had by then already proceeded to one widow Van Eede, down at the Breede River, whereafter they went through the Karnmelks River to the farm of a certain Jan van Reenen, where they passed the Donau River, and on to the farm of one Pieter du Pree, situated in the vicinity of the Kafferskuijls River;⁸ while the second prisoner also confessed, which was confirmed as well by the third and sixth prisoners, that when they passed the place of a certain blacksmith, who lived in a small house along this road and maintained himself by selling blacksmith’s or wagonmaker’s work to passers-by, the third prisoner proposed that since this man lived alone there with a couple of slaves and was provided with some money, they should murder him and steal everything, as the second, third and sixth prisoners then also repaired to this place with the intention to murder and rob, yet when they arrived at the place of this blacksmith and found nobody there, as the place had been deserted, they returned from there to their other comrades without having achieved their object.

That finally, on the report of the third prisoner Jonas, namely that the burgher Sebastian Rotman⁹ was a trader and had many goods and cash, the prisoners set their course to the farm of the aforementioned Rotman and, when they reached it on 21 October of this year, they mutually agreed to remain close to the farm that night so that they could then put into action their planned murder and robbery at that place.

However, that on the manifold and continual objections of the second prisoner, Andries, against remaining in the veld, but rather to take up residence in the house that very night, the prisoners at last agreed amongst themselves to go there, as indeed they also arrived there by the fall of night and showed, on the request of the 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.’ on that farm, by the name Kramer, their permits or passes.

That while her husband was not at home, the wife of the aforementioned Rotman,¹⁰ under the impression that the prisoners, in accordance with their letters, were truly jongensjongensLiterally ‘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. of the butcher Van der Poel, and fearing no evil, supplied the prisoners with proper food and drink, and moreover provided them with a good sleeping place. By then the second prisoner, Andries, had already asked the 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. of the house, by the name of Hector van de Caab, how many Europeans, slaves and Hottentots were there to be found in the house, and upon receiving the answer and report, he went outside with the sixth prisoner, Welkom, apparently in order to confer with him over the one and the other.

That with their return into the house, the second and sixth prisoners further agreed with the other prisoners to send the first prisoner, since they were lodged in the kitchen, inside the house in order to espy the situation in the house, which was refused by the first prisoner, who added: “There are few people here, now is the time if we want to start something”.

That thereafter the prisoners further decided amongst themselves to remain awake, instead of going to sleep, until the whole household would have fallen asleep, which was also done by them, until they got up at about ten or eleven o’clock to put into action their atrocious plan, with the four last prisoners saying that they were spurred on to it by the first two prisoners who said: “Now is the time”.

That thereupon the prisoners all got up together, while each one took up his separate post, with the first prisoner at the back door, to keep watch so that nobody would flee outside, and the second prisoner at the front door and the window of the room in which the woman was, so that he could prevent her from going out.

Next, that the fourth prisoner first went to the 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.’ or tailor Kramer and after stabbing him twice in the stomach, he went to the two meijdenmeijdenLiterally ‘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.’ who slept 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 after having taken the life of the first with one stab, he wounded the second one with several stabs and, according to what the sixth prisoner tells, when 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.’ did not die at once, he went to sit on top of her and, while stabbing continually at her, also used these profane terms: “God damn it, how long does 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.’ not live, I can’t get her to die”.

That when the woman, upon hearing the noise, wanted to save herself by fleeing through the window with one of her children, the second prisoner, who was armed with a kirrijkirrijThis is the Cape Khoi word for the walking stick traditional Khoikhoi carried with them and used as weapons. In the course of the eighteenth century, the word was adopted by Dutch-speaking colonists to refer to a walking stick, also where it was used as an instrument of punishment. and a knife, gave her such a blow with the kirrijkirrijThis is the Cape Khoi word for the walking stick traditional Khoikhoi carried with them and used as weapons. In the course of the eighteenth century, the word was adopted by Dutch-speaking colonists to refer to a walking stick, also where it was used as an instrument of punishment. that she, who had already climbed onto the window sill, fell from there onto the ground.

That when the fifth and sixth prisoners had hacked open the door of the room in which this woman was, and the third prisoner had stepped inside, he, on the pointing out of the fourth prisoner that a 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.’, who had meanwhile taken hold of the suckling child and another little girl, was lying with these two children under the bedstead, went to 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.’ and gave her some stabs with a kris which he had obtained from the fourth prisoner.

That since 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.’ only screamed once and thereafter kept still, the third prisoner supposed that she was dead, while in fact 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.’ only got wounded in her legs, the little girl escaped with a light wound on her head and the suckling child remained totally unhurt.

That according to the confessions of the fifth and sixth prisoners, the fourth prisoner also robbed of its life a child who had been with its mother in the room.

That after the fifth prisoner, Saripa, caused the death of the slave Hector van de Caab, who had been lying asleep in the kitchen, with two wounds, he went inside and, with the help of the sixth prisoner, hacked open the door of the room, in which the woman was, with an axe or machete, stepped into the room and split into two the head of the child the mother was holding in her arms, whereafter he also beat the woman with the kirrijkirrijThis is the Cape Khoi word for the walking stick traditional Khoikhoi carried with them and used as weapons. In the course of the eighteenth century, the word was adopted by Dutch-speaking colonists to refer to a walking stick, also where it was used as an instrument of punishment. in such a way that he thought that she would likewise give up the ghost as a result of it.

Further, that the sixth prisoner, as aforementioned, hacked opened with the fifth prisoner the door of the room in which the woman had been, that he then broke open all the wardrobes and chests with the aid of the machete he had taken with him when he ran away from his owner, and took, along with all the other prisoners, as many goods as they could carry, with the prisoners being unable to properly specify what had in fact been stolen by them.

That the other prisoners unanimously accused the sixth prisoner that – even though they had not seen this, but which had been told them by the sixth prisoner when, after they had perpetrated the aforementioned abominable murders and had departed from this farm, they were swapping stories on the way amongst one another about the atrocities they had committed, as if being some kind of heroic feat – he had also given the 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.’ Kramer a stab, that the knife had remained sticking in his stomach, and that in addition to this, he had wounded one of the meijdenmeijdenLiterally ‘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 such a way in her stomach that (by your leave) the shit had come from her stomach, which is, however, denied by the sixth prisoner, under the pretext that he only said this in order not to stand ashamed before his comrades and so that he would not be accused of cowardice by them, adding nonetheless to this that, as regards the 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.’ Kramer, in case this 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.’ might prove to have three wounds, he could then perhaps have received one from him, the sixth prisoner.

That after they had executed these execrable murders and had provided themselves with everything they thought fit, the prisoners set out from there, at about twelve or one o’clock at night, to here and postponed their plan to go to the land of the Caffers until they had sold here all of the goods that they had stolen, and agreed with one another to then continue the journey they had started thither.

That next, on the following day, when the prisoners sighted a wagon or two, the second prisoner Andries again proposed that they should also attack and plunder this wagon, which was refused by the other prisoners, saying: “The one sin has just been finished, and you already want to start another?”, through which this was then prevented.

That, finally, some days after the perpetration of the murders, the prisoners went at night to the farm of one Hendrik Hop, situated at the Karnmelks River, in order to steal some sheep from there, while the third prisoner remained at their hiding place as watchdog over the goods they had stolen from the farm of Rotman, since he had a sore leg.

That when the fifth prisoner was provided with a sheep, and wanted to set out on the way to their hiding place, he, because of the darkness, wandered from his comrades, so that when day broke, he was forced, since he was still close to the farm of the aforementioned Hop, to go to the said farm where he was then taken prisoner, in spite of the fact that he pretended to be a butcher’s 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 to have strayed from his comrades.

Moreover, that the Hottentot Captain Adam Prins, who was on that farm and had already received the order to go out after the prisoners,¹¹ went this very day on commando with his subordinate men, and upon passing the sheep corral of the aforementioned Hop, discovered as result of the wetness and muddiness that there had been strange people there that night, and followed these traces until he had been busy doing this for about half an hour, when he disovered the prisoners in the undergrowth around the Karnmelks River who, as soon as they noticed the Hottentots, instantly drew up a defence array, with one of them saying: “Now it is time, we must defend ourselves now”, however, in spite of this, the prisoners were finally apprehended, after which they were taken to Swellendam, and finally delivered here into the hands of justice.

Now since such a wanton flight, accompanied with atrocious murders and violent thefts, can under no circumstances remain unpunished in a country where law and justice are properly upheld, but ought, on the contrary, as an example and deterrent to other similar murderous rogues, as well as for the safeguard and security of the good inhabitants who live so thinly scattered in the far-away districts and their possessions, to be punished rigorously.

Thus it is, that the honourable Council of Justice, aforementioned, serving today, having read and considered with all due attention 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 prisoners by the landdrost of the district of Swellendam, the honourable Constant van Nuld Onkruijd, in his official capacity, as well as having noted the prisoners’ voluntary confessions, further everything that served the case and could have moved their honours, practising justice in the name and on behalf of the high and mighty Lords States General of the United Netherlands, and having judged all the prisoners, their honours are sentencing them with this: to be taken to the place where criminal sentences are usually executed here, there to be handed over to the executioner, each to be stripped naked and to be tied to a cross, when pieces of flesh are to be pinched from the fleshy parts of their bodies at eight different places with red-hot pincers, further to be broken alive from the bottom up, without the coup de grâce, and to remain lying thus until they would have given up the ghost; moreover, the dead bodies to be dragged to the outer place of execution, there to be put onto wheels and their heads onto stakes, to remain thus until being consumed by the air and birds of heaven, with sentencing all the prisoners to the costs and expenditure of justice, and denying the further or otherwise drawn-up 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 delivered conclusie of the Officer¹².

Thus done and sentenced at the Cape of Good Hope on the 23^rd of the month November 1786; as also pronounced in the Castle of Good Hope on the 2^nd of the thereupon month December, and also executed on the same day.

Let the execution be done, [signed] C.J. van de Graaff.

[signed] P. Hacker, J. Rhenius, S. v. Echten, Johs. Smuts, J.M. Horak, As. van Sittert, W.F. v. Reede van Oudtshoorn, J.M. Bletterman, C.L. Neethling, C.G. Maasdorp, Cl. Matthiessen, G.H. Meijer, O.G. de Wet.

In my presence, [signed] C. van Aersen, secretary.