Stellenbosch Slave Lists 1816 - 1838 (F - J) Database

This database primarily holds records of slave registrations, a practice mandated by the British from 1816. Initially, Dutch Free Burghers were the main slave owners, but ownership later expanded to include Free Blacks and other European settlers, notably the French Huguenots. Despite having fled religious persecution themselves, these Huguenots actively participated in the slave trade and the brutal mistreatment of enslaved people at the Cape.

The intermarriage among French Huguenots, Germans, and Dutch settlers led to the emergence of a new European identity: the Boere*. Their distorted interpretation of the Bible played a significant role in developing Apartheid, an alternative form of slavery in South Africa.

Slave owners assigned names to enslaved individuals, often reusing names or naming new children after those who had died. Slavery was abolished by the British at the Cape on December 1, 1834, but enslaved people were subjected to a four-year "apprenticeship." Forced labor officially ended on December 1, 1838, marking the end of slavery. When exact birthdates aren't available, the year of birth is an owner's approximation.

*Not to be confused with the Afrikaans word for farmer. There were and are many farmers/boere of different ethnicities.

Slave records - South African National Archives

Archive copying by Lara Seaward

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