Slavery in South Africa | A collection of letters and documents, c. 1816-1836

Slavery in South Africa

A collection of letters and documents, comprising:

i) Various letters and documents including letter signed, by a slave named Rachel promising to keep the peace or forfeit 10 pounds, 1833; customs certificate, certifying that a slave had arrived on the Brig “Venus” from Mauritius, 1825; birth certificates of children born to slaves [3]; a number of letters concerning the purchase, sale or transfer of ownership of slaves; a number of address panels mainly to Major G.J. Rogers, Protector of Slaves at Cape Town; together c. 44 items, 4to and folio, Cape Town, 1818-1834

ii) Letters signed, to Major Rogers, Inspector for the Enregisterment of Slaves, headed ‘Colonial Secretary’s Office’, ‘on His Majesty’s Service’ or ‘Secretary’s Office’, with other related correspondence and address wrappers, 14 items, mainly 4to, 1816-1825

iii) Address wrappers, from the Colonial Secretary’s office, 19 pages, 4to, n.d.

iv) Certificates signed, from the Office for the Enregisterment of Slaves, registering adult slaves [2], infants born to slave women [13]; with letters concerning fines issued for failing to register slaves within the specified period since their purchase, together 21 items, 4to and folio, Cape Town, 1816-1834

v) Certificates signed, from the Office for the Enregisterment of Slaves, registering slaves, 10 items, mainly folio, Cape Town, 1818-1825

vi) Documents signed, from the Office for the Enregisterment of Slaves, concerning the raising of mortgages against slaves [4]; with letters signed, concerning the cancellation of mortgages, together 7 items, 4to and folio, 1822-1834

vii) Certificate signed, from the Office for the Enregisterment of Slaves, listing 19 slaves belonging to Miss Clara Gous; letter signed, from the Insolvent Estates Chamber, listing 11 slaves they have sold; list detailing 40 slaves with their name, age, place of birth, owner, dates of seizure and sale, auction price and purchaser, 3 documents, 1822, folio, 1817-1822

viii) Letters and documents detailing the manumission of slaves, including a certificate signed, with wax seal of the Protector of Slaves Office, stating that a female slave named Charlotte bought her own freedom and that of her child when sold at auction, 1831; letter signed, from the Hospital for Infirm Government Slaves, listing four slaves who wish to be freed, with details of three others that were given freedom papers but who wish to remain government slaves, 1828; letter granting freedom of three slaves upon their master’s death; with other similar letters and documents, together 7 items, mainly folio, 1824-1831

ix) a series of letters concerning a slave, Rachel, claiming her freedom under the laws of the British Government as she was brought to the colony by a British naval vessel and sold by the Admiralty, including letter signed from the Police Office detailing her case, 1826; a copy of her original 1807 sale notice, describing the auction of 150 slaves from the Coast of Guinea who were part of the cargo of the American ship “Ann”, which was captured by the British navy and brought into Cape Town, with the slaves sold on orders of the British admiralty; with other related documents discussing Rachel and 5 other slaves, together 9 items, folio, 1807-1826

x) letters detailing crimes and punishments of slaves, including letters signed, from Cape Town Prison, concerning the slaves Thomas, Africa and Daniel that had been executed because they had authored an anonymous placard which was “wickedly malicious” and cast the character of His Excellency the Governor in a negative light, May-June 1824; report signed, detailing an account of the slave November wounding another slave boy; letter signed from a slave, Laurie, pleading his innocence to a charge of robbery, 1832; with other letters including one addressed to the Protector of Slaves, 7 pages, mainly folio, Cape Town, 1824-32

xi) documents and letters on the punishment of slaves, including three forms detailing a punshiment of 20 stripes with a thin piece of rein for neglect of duty or for ill-treating other slave children; statements signed, swearing that the signatory has not inflicted punishment upon their slaves; letter signed, by a doctor stating they have examined a slave and no marks of punishment were found, with other related letters and documents, together 18 items, folio and 4to, 1827-1831

xii) documents and letters on the mistreatment of slaves, including a printed notice, from the Circuit Court of the District of Uitenhage, describing the case of Jacobus Andries Olivier, who forcibly hung his slave, Francina, “so that her Feet did not reach the Ground” and beat her for seven hours with a bundle of twigs hardened by fire, 1830; letter signed, from Cape Town Prison, to the Protector of Slaves, describing a runaway slave that had deserted his master complaining of being punished with a cat-o-nine-tails, 1831; statement from a slave, Regiena, who had been kicked or beaten with a rein; statement from a slave, Sara, who had been beaten with a riding sambock; letter signed, from a slave who had served for 12 years on Robben island before being given his freedom, but then was reclaimed by his former master, 1829; doctors certificates stating that slaves examined showed signs of excessive mistreatment, together 7 items, folio, 1829-1831

xiii) documents relating to the abolition of slavery and resultant compensation to owners, altogether listing 21 slaves for which a total of £1,996.17.6 was claimed in compensation, 3 documents, folio, 1834-1835

xiv) letters and address wrappers from Graaf Reinet, including letters signed, to the Military Secretary; letters signed to the Office of Enregistering Slaves; and other documents, together 11 items, 4to and folio, 1818-1832

xv) letters and documents from Grahamstown, including letter addressed to the Slave Office at Grahamstown; letter addressed to the Register of Slaves Office at Grahamstown; documents granting freedom to slaves due to their age and ill health; document listing the returns of slaves in the Albany District, together 20 documents, folio, 1822-1830

xvi) letters from Simons Town, including letters from the Slave Office at Simons Town; letter, endorsed by G.J. Rogers, Inspector of Slaves, to the Slave Registry Office at Simons Town, together 3 items, folio, 1825-1836

xvii) letters to or from the Slave Registry Office in Simons Town including statement, signed, of the lowest wages paid to slaves for Sunday labour; document detailing the return of slave children in the district aged 7 years or less; letter signed, appointing C.M. Lind a functionary for the enregisterment of slaves at Simons Town upon payment of one Rix-Dollar stamp duty on his commission, together 19 items, mainly folio, 1824-1826

xviii) letters from the Slave Office at Stellenbosch; with six letters to the Registry of Slaves in Cape Town, together 11 items, folio and 4to, 1820-1835

xix) letters to or from the Slave Office at Swellendam, including two letters signed, to the Inspector of Enregisterment of Slaves in Cape Town; with letters reporting on slaves sold at auction, together 8 items, 4to and folio, 1817-1834

xx) letters from the Slave Office at Uitenhage, including ten addressed to the Inspector of Enregisterment of Slaves in Cape Town; together 11 items, folio, c.1816-1819

This important archive comes from the Offices for the Enregisterment or Protection of Slaves at Cape Town, as well as at Grahamstown, Graaff Reinet, Simons Town, Stellenbosch, Swellendam and Uitenhage, between 1816 and 1838. Slavery was abolished in South Africa - and throughout the British Empire - on 1 January 1834, following the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act.

The archive includes documents registering the ownership of slaves, fines for the late registerement of slaves, documents raising mortgages against slaves, documents relating to the manumission, punishment, crimes and mistreatment of slaves, and documents relating to the abolition of slavery and the compensation of slave owners.