Cape Slave Lodge Census 1714

! Sensitivity : It is crucial to handle this database with care and a strong sense of responsibility. Many of the terms used were originally assigned by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and often do not reflect how individuals and groups identified themselves. The terms themselves can be misleading, as they oversimplify the complex social realities experienced by people at the time.

This database may also contains terms that are considered derogatory, offensive, or harmful. The concepts within it are deeply connected to a history of colonial violence, enslavement, and racism that persisted both during and after the VOC's existence.

The Slave Lodge is situated on the corner of Adderley and Wale Streets in Cape Town and now houses the Iziko Museums. It was built in 1679 to house slaves owned and transported by the VOC to Cape Town. I believe that the slaves brought to the Cape by Van Riebeeck were from southern India and were intended to work in rice paddies. However, these attempts to grow rice were unsuccessful.The slaves lived in appalling conditions in this building. It operated as a prostitution den during certain hours of the night where some male slaves sold their partners to visitors (of European descent) for a piece of tobacco, and some of the women willingly prostituted themselves with dreams of a better life with their users. Housing 500 - 600 people at the outset it became overcrowded by 1716, and was eventually enlarged for the first time in 1732. The slave lodge provided accommodation to the VOC slaves  for 31 years. After the British seized power in 1806 the slaves were all sold off and the lodge was repurposed. The recorded names of the slaves listed in this 1714 census appear to be a truer reflection of their real names. According to James Armstrong and Nigel Worden in the section "The Slaves, 1652–1834", in their book The Shaping of South African Society 1652–1840, on manumission from the Slave Lodge a slave had to provide a replacement. To date historians have been unable to trace with certainty how this transaction was effected, although it has been suggested that the manumitted slave would purchase another slave for this purpose.

Mandoor - slave person in charge of work team consisting of around 66 slaves (Mandoor's were either mulattos from the East or born at the Cape)

Meijden - female slave

School -  Slave Lodge crèche for children deemed too young to work

Werk - In the work team

Caffer - (Imported Black slave) Fiscal's or executioner's assistant or hard labourer . Often acted as policemen and were the only slaves permitted to carry weapons. Their control of public order extended over the Free-Burghers.

Source: https://www.iziko.org.za

Compiled from Slave Lodge Census 31 August 1714 transcribed by Prof Robert Shell

Image: Wikimedia Commons - Cape Town 1798. 

Usage Terms for Website Content

This applies to all databases on this website.

You are welcome to copy facts, names, and dates for your own use, subject to the terms of our license. Please click on the link provided to view the full terms.

However, please be aware that you may not copy and paste sentences from my histories or introductions, and Blog, onto your own website, as these are protected by copyright.

All images and photographs on this site are either AI-generated, open source, or copyright protected.

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.