The database mainly consists of records of slave registrations mandated by the British starting in 1816. The Worcester district, established in 1820, is located in the Breede River Valley, nestled between the Du Toits and Hex River Mountains. This area, inhabited since ancient times by the Khoi San peoples, was rich in game and wild birds. It served as a lucrative source of income for the VOC and Dutch Vryburghers through the trade of elephant tusks. By 1709 European farmers, most of them migrants, grazed their livestock in the region, leading to conflicts with the nomadic indigenous peoples. The VOC allocated the first farms to white settlers in 1714, and temporary A-frame Hartbees houses, resembling European Long Houses but constructed from reeds and clay with thatched roofs, became common. Slaves, Free Blacks, and smallpox accompanied the settlers. The disease devastated the indigenous population and paved the way for permanent settler farms. By the mid-1800s, German farmers began cultivating crops, including fruits and grapes.

Slavery was abolished by the British at the Cape on December 1, 1834, but slaves were required to serve a four-year "apprenticeship." On December 1, 1838, all forms of forced labor ended, marking the official conclusion of slavery. When no exact birthdate is provided, the year of birth is an estimate made by the slave owner.

Slave records - South African National Archives

Archive copying by Lara Seaward