After Jan van Riebeeck arrived in Cape Town in 1652, the slave trade began. Following the establishment of the Dutch East India Company’s supply post by Van Riebeeck, slaves from South East Asia were transported to labor on the plantations.
Why were slaves brought to the Cape?
In addition to prisoners from South-East Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the firm also transported slaves to the Cape for labor. These captives were distinct from the few political detainees. They were convicts completing their prison sentences in the Cape.
What did the slaves do at the Cape?
As a result, in addition to their regular home duties, slaves in the Cape could engage in a wide range of vocations. The likes of butchers, bakers, masons, carpenters, and potters were among the many craftspeople. However, there existed a difference between unskilled and knowledgeable domestic slaves.
Who was the original savage in South Africa?
In what is now Cape Town, Jan van Riebeeck established a refreshment station for ships traveling to the Dutch East Indies in 1652 and asked for slaves.
Who arrived at the Cape first with slaves?
On March 28, 1658, the Dutch ship Amersfoort brought the first slaves to the Cape. These people were taken prisoner by the Dutch from a Portuguese slave ship traveling to Brazil. Only 170 of the 250 slaves that were seized made it to the Cape.
The first slaves were transported to the Cape when?
The first slave to be taken to the Cape was Abraham van Batavia; nevertheless, Abraham did not bring himself to the Cape; he came there as a stowaway. Abraham landed at the Cape on the Malacca, a ship in a VOC fleet, on March 2, 1653 while it was sailing from Batavia back to the Netherlands.