The database primarily contains records of slave registrations that were made mandatory by the British from 1816 onwards. Initially, slave ownership was concentrated among the Dutch Free Burghers, but it later included Free Blacks,  and other European settlers, in particular the French Huguenots. These Huguenots fled religious persecution in France but were involved in the sale and brutal mistreatment of slaves at the Cape. The intermarriage between the French Huguenots , Germans, and the Dutch created a new mix of European which called themselves Boere*. Their delusional interpretation of the Bible was instrumental in formulating the alternative form of slavery, Apartheid, policies of South Africa. (*Not to be confused with the Afrikaans word for farmer. There were and are many farmers/boere of different ethnicities). Slave names were allocated by the slave owner. Names were often re-used by an owner and children of the same slave parents were often named for a slave child who had passed away. Slavery was abolished by the British at the Cape on 01 December 1834 but slaves had to serve a four year "apprenticeship".  On 01 December 1838 all forms of forced labour was ended and slavery officially came to an end. Where no exact birthdate is given, the stated year of birth is an approximation by the slave owner.

Slave records - South African National Archives

Archive copying by Lara Seaward