directors with all the powers of a dictator to correct abuses in
Hindostan and Ceylon, and has supreme authority conferred upon him while
at the Cape, 177; from the 19th of April to the 16th of July 1685 he is
in Capetown, 178; and three days before he leaves makes a grant to
Commander Simon van der Stel of the farm Constantia at Wynberg as a
reward for his good conduct, 179
Roman Catholics: position of in the Cape Colony under the Dutch
government, 182
Rotterdam, Jan: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel,
226; account of his return from banishment, 233
Saar’s _Account of Ceylon_: extract from, 174
de Savoye, Jacob: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel,
229
Scarcity of timber and fuel at the Cape in 1699: mention of, 187
Seasons, the: from 1698 to 1705 are unfavourable for farming, 204
Sheep’s wool: efforts to produce in South Africa in the beginning of the
eighteenth century, 203
Silk: experiment in the production of, 204
Slaves: are being introduced from Madagascar and Mozambique, 205
Spoelstra’s _Bouwstoffen voor de Geschiedenis der
Nederduitsch-Gereformeerde Kerken in Zuid Afrika_: reference to, 217
van Staden, Martin: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan van der
Stel, 230
Starrenburg, Jan, landdrost of Stellenbosch: conduct of, 224; by order
of the directors he is dismissed from office and sent out of the colony,
243
van der Stel, Adriaan: in 1623 goes to India in the service of the Dutch
East India Company, 171; in 1638 becomes commander of the island of
Mauritius, ib.; becomes next a military commander, and in that capacity
is sent to Ceylon, 172; on the 19th of May 1646 falls in battle with a
Cingalese army, when nearly his whole force is destroyed, 173
[Sidenote: Synoptical Index.]
van der Stel, Frans, farmer at the Cape and younger brother of the
governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel: makes himself greatly disliked by
the burghers, 217; is required by the directors to leave the colony, and
in April 1708 embarks for Europe, 248
van der Stel, Simon: on the 14th of November 1639 is born at Mauritius,
172; at a very early age is sent to Amsterdam to be educated, 175; is
regarded as their protégé by the directors of the East India Company,
ib.; when grown up marries and becomes the father of six children, ib.;
in 1679 is offered the situation of commander of the Cape settlement,
which he gladly accepts, and in October of that year assumes the duty,
176; like all the chief officials he is prohibited from carrying on
farming operations or speculating in cattle, ib.; he must be regarded as
a model ruler, 177; in 1691 he is promoted to be governor, and in 1692
to be councillor extraordinary of Netherlands India, 179; in February
1699 retires from office, and is succeeded by his eldest son, 180; on
the 24th of June 1712 dies at Constantia, ib.
van der Stel, Willem Adriaan: in February 1699 succeeds his father as
governor of the Cape Colony and councillor extraordinary of Netherlands
India, 180; has previously held various situations in the colony, 187;
in November 1699 sets out on a tour of inspection of the settlement,
188; makes large profits by dealing in wine, 207; in February 1700
obtains an illegal grant of four hundred morgen of ground at
Hottentots-Holland from the Commissioner Wouter Valckenier, 208; which
farm he names Vergelegen, 210; and immediately begins to build upon and
cultivate it, ib.; using the Company’s materials and servants for the
purpose, ib.; until it becomes the most highly tilled ground in the
colony, 211; beyond the mountains he holds an immense tract of country,
on which he keeps a great number of horned cattle and sheep, 212; the
utmost care is taken that no information of these matters reaches the
directors, ib.; on the 15th of March 1701 the directors instruct him to
be on guard, as war with France is imminent, ib.; which order he
disobeys by frequent and long absence at Vergelegen, 215; in 1705 some
of the farmers send a complaint against him to the Indian authorities,
219; which is sent back to him for explanation, 220; on receiving it he
immediately concludes that similar charges will be sent to the directors
and that his farming operations will become known to them, 223; to
prevent this, if possible, he resorts to the most arbitrary and violent
measures, 224; at this very time a commission in Amsterdam is making
inquiry into his conduct, 234; and a committee appointed by the
directors is devising measures for the security of the Cape settlement
in case Vergelegen should not be a myth, 235; the commission of inquiry
investigates the matter very thoroughly, and sends in a report, 237; in
accordance with which the directors issue orders for the immediate
recall of the governor and the other unworthy officials, 241; in April
1708 he leaves the colony, 247; after his dismissal from the Company’s
service he publishes the _Korte Deductie_, as the best excuse he can
make for his conduct, 248; he purchases an estate in the Netherlands,
and in July 1723 dies there, 250
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
van der Stel’s _Korte Deductie_: references to, 210, 211, 212, 214, and
248
Stellenbosch: is founded under Simon van der Stel’s supervision, 177;
defiant conduct of the residents, 231
System of the Dutch East India Company of paying its officials: is a
very bad one, 176
Tas, Adam: draws up a memorial to the directors, complaining of the
governor, 220; is illegally arrested and committed to prison, 225;
further particulars of the treatment accorded to him, 229 and 242;
journal of, 183
Text of the orders of the directors of the 26th of April 1668
prohibiting the high officials in the settlement from farming land or
dealing in cattle, 179
Text of the order of the directors of the 27th of June 1699 again
prohibiting the chief officials from trading in cattle, 192
Text of the resolution of the directors on the 22nd of June 1700
concerning emigrants, 185
Text of the instructions of the directors to the governor on the 15th of
March 1701 to be on his guard against an attack by the French, 213
Text of the orders of the directors on the 28th of October 1705
reiterating their previous commands that the officials should not
traffic in cattle, 210
Text of the resolution of the assembly of seventeen on the 8th of March
1706, 235
Theal’s _Abstract of the Debates and Resolutions of the Council of
Policy at the Cape from 1651 to 1687_: reference to, 187
Theal’s _Belangrijke Historische Dokumenten over Zuid Afrika_:
references to, 174, 178, 180, 185, 235, 237, 239, and 250
Timber and fuel: scarcity of in 1699 at the Cape, 187
du Toit, François: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel,
230
[Sidenote: Synoptical Index.]
du Toit, Guillaume: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan van der
Stel, 230, 232, and 242
Traffic of any kind in cattle is prohibited on the 27th of June 1699 to
the chief officials in the colony, 185
Training of the colonists, 193
Treaty of Utrecht: reference to, 213
Tulbagh Basin: in November 1699 is inspected by Governor Willem Adriaan
van der Stel, 189; description of the basin, ib.; receives from the
governor the name Land of Waveren, 190; in 1700 begins to be occupied,
ib.
Valckenier, Wouter: when returning from India to Holland acts as a
commissioner at the Cape, 208; and illegally makes a grant of land to
the governor, 209; is a member of the commission that condemns the
governor for having obtained Vergelegen in an improper manner, 239
Valentijn’s _Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien_: reference to, 173
Vergelegen: is illegally obtained by Governor Willem Adriaan van der
Stel, 209; the ground is resumed by the East India Company, 244; is
divided into four farms, which are sold separately, 247
War of the Spanish Succession: reference to, 213
Waveren outstation: in 1700 is formed, 190
van der Westhuizen, Nicolaas: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan
van der Stel, 227
Witsenberg: is so named in honour of Nicolaas Witsen, of Amsterdam, 190
Wool; see Sheep’s wool
Wynoch, Christiaan: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan van der
Stel, 227
van Zyl, Willem: treatment of by Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel,
230
SKETCH IV.
Albany: settlement of the district of, 255
Barbarians: effect of the influx into the Cape Colony of, 258
Battle in which the army of Natal under English chiefs is almost
annihilated, 291
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
Betshuana refugees: can give very little information upon the interior
of the country, 265
Betshuana tribes: destruction of in the wars of Moselekatse, 258
Bird’s _Annals of Natal_: reference to, 293
du Buis, Coenraad, a notorious freebooter: account of, 270
Cape Colony: extent of in 1835, 255
Causes of the great emigration from the Cape Colony: as given by Louis
Triegard, 273; as given by Pieter Uys, 281
Chase’s _Natal Papers_: reference to, 281
Destruction of human life in the wars of Tshaka and Moselekatse: leaves
great tracts of land without inhabitants, 262
Discontent in South Africa in and before 1835: causes of, 257
D’Urban, Sir Benjamin, governor of the Cape Colony: the confidential
correspondence of is presented by his grandson to the Union government,
259
Dutch and English colonists: difference in disposition of, 255
Dutch language: the suppression of in the public offices and in the
courts of law is felt as a grievance by the old colonists, 258
English and Dutch colonists: difference in disposition of, 255
Englishmen: in 1835 some forty are living in Natal, 263; list of their
names, 264; in June 1835 fourteen of them send a petition that the
territory may be annexed by Great Britain, ib.; in March 1836 Lord
Glenelg replies refusing to annex Natal, ib.
Fingoes, the: are brought by Sir Benjamin D’Urban from Kaffirland and
located in Peddie, 260
Futu, Bantu chief: particulars concerning, 264
Gardiner’s _Narrative of a Journey to the Zoolu Country in South
Africa_: reference to, 264
_Geslacht Register de Oude Kaapsche Familien_: reference to, 278
Glenelg, Lord, secretary of state for the colonies: maintains that the
colonists are to blame for the Kaffir war of 1835, and abandons the
Province of Queen Adelaide, 262
Glenelg system of dealing with the Kaffirs: particulars concerning, 262
Grahamstown: description of, 257
[Sidenote: Synoptical Index.]
Hottentots: injudicious treatment of, 257
Influx of barbarians into the Cape Colony: effect of, 258
Invasion of the Cape Colony by the Xosas in December 1834: particulars
concerning, 260
Isaacs’ _Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa, with a Sketch of
Natal_: reference to, 264
Jacobs, Pieter: is leader of the fifth party of emigrants from the Cape
Colony, 277
Jalusa, a Xosa robber captain: moves to the country north of the Orange
river, 267; in September 1836 his entire band is exterminated by the
Basuto, ib.
_Kaffir War of 1835_: origin of the volume so called, 259; reference to,
279
Land tenure: the new system is not appreciated at first by the cattle
farmers, 258
Maritz, Gerrit Marthinus: is leader of the third party of emigrants from
the Cape Colony, 275
Matiwane, chief of the Amangwane: drives a section of the Tembu tribe
into the Cape Colony, 258
Missionary and philanthropic press: tone of, 259
Moselekatse: effect of the wars of, 258
Natal: description of, 263; number of Bantu residing in 1835, 264;
condition of the emigrant farmers in after the massacres by the Zulus,
290
Potgieter, Andries Hendrik: is leader of the second party of emigrants
from the Cape Colony, 275; after the massacres by the Zulus goes with
his men to the assistance of the distressed people in Natal, 290; with
Pieter Uys marches into Zululand to attack Dingan, 292; on the 11th of
April 1838 encounters a great Zulu army, and is compelled to retire,
ib.; shortly afterwards leaves Natal and returns to Winburg, 294
Preller’s _Piet Retief, Lewenskets van die Grote Voortrekker_: reference
to, 288
Province of Queen Adelaide: is created by Sir Benjamin D’Urban, 260; is
abandoned by Lord Glenelg, 262
[Sidenote: Historical Sketches.]
van Rensburg, Jan: is leader of a small party of emigrants from the Cape
Colony, 268; in July 1833 leaves Louis Triegard’s party at the
Zoutpansberg to open up a road to Delagoa Bay, 269; and with every
individual in his company is murdered by blacks on the journey, ib.
Resolutions adopted by Pieter Uys and those who agree with him,
asserting independence of Mr. Retief, 283
Retief, Pieter: is leader of the fourth party of emigrants from
the Cape Colony, 275; in June 1837 is installed as governor and
commandant-general of his own party and the one under Maritz, 276; on
the 21st of July 1837 writes to Sir Benjamin D’Urban desiring that the
emigrants may be acknowledged as an independent people, 286; in October
1837 goes over the Drakensberg into Natal, 285; on the 6th of February
1838 is murdered with all his companions at Dingan’s kraal, 280
Sekwati, chief of the Bapedi: mention of, 272
Settlement of the Cape Colony by Europeans: slow progress of, 255
Slaves in the Cape Colony: hasty emancipation of, 257
Smit, Erasmus: reference to the journal of, 275
Smith, G. C. Moore, Esqre., M.A.: assistance rendered by, 260
Tembu tribe: a section of is driven by the Amangwane under Matiwane into
the Cape Colony, 258
Triegard, Louis: family history of, 266; in June 1834 he moves from the
district of Somerset to the bank of the White Kei river beyond the
colonial border, ib.; where about thirty emigrant families are then
residing, 267; here all his slaves run away, ib.; he is believed by the
British officials on the frontier to have induced the Xosas to persevere
in the war against the colony, ib.; he moves northward with the
notorious robber captain Jalusa, ib.; in September 1835 crosses the
Orange river, and then with a number of other emigrants travels onward
to the Zoutpansberg, 268; which he reaches in May 1836, ib.; account of
his residence there until August 1837, when he and his party leave for
Delagoa Bay, 271; they encounter great difficulties on the way, 272; but
in April 1838 reach Lourenço Marques, 273; where they are received with
great kindness by the Portuguese, ib.; but are attacked by fever, from
which in course of time nearly the whole party, including Triegard
himself, dies, ib.; in July 1839 the remnant of the party is rescued and
taken to Natal, 274
Tsetse fly: destructive nature of, 272
Tshaka: effect of the wars of, 258
[Sidenote: Synoptical Index.]
Umnini, petty Bantu chief: particulars concerning, 263
Uys, Pieter Lavras: particulars concerning the family of, 278; personal
character of, 279; in 1834 visits and inspects Natal, 265; is leader of
the sixth party of emigrants from the Cape Colony, 277; travels
northward over the Orange river, with the intention of crossing the
Drakensberg into Natal, 280; on the 7th of August 1837 writes to Sir
Benjamin D’Urban, stating the causes of the emigration, ib.; he assumes
an attitude of independence as regards Mr. Retief, 283; in October 1837
joins Commandant Potgieter in the campaign in which the Matabele are
driven far to the north, 286; in December 1837 visits Natal again, 289;
in February 1838 is in the present Orange Free State when tidings of the
fearful massacres by the Zulus reach him, ib.; he immediately collects
his men and goes down into Natal to the assistance of the distressed
people there, ib.; with Commandant Potgieter marches into Zululand to
attack Dingan, 292; on the 11th of April 1838 is drawn into an ambuscade
and is almost surrounded by a great Zulu army, ib.; when attempting to
retreat is killed with nine others, 293
Uys, Dirk Cornelis: heroic death of, 293
Voigt’s _Fifty Years of the History of the Republic in South Africa_:
reference to, 286
Xosa invasion of the Cape Colony in December 1834: particulars
concerning, 260
CENTER
THE END
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Among the sources of information for the next few pages I must
mention particularly Arnold’s _History of Rome_, Gibbon’s _Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire_, Busk’s _History of Spain and Portugal_, and
Stephens’ _History of Portugal_.
[2] The old library of the Ptolemies was consumed in Cæsar’s
Alexandrian war. Marc Antony gave the whole collection of Pergamus
(200,000 volumes) to Cleopatra, as the foundation of the _new_ library
of Alexandria. It was kept in apartments of the great temple of
Serapis, which was broken down in A.D. 389 by Theophilus, archbishop
of Alexandria, “the perpetual enemy of peace and virtue, a bold, bad
man, whose hands were alternately polluted with gold and with blood.”
The valuable library was pillaged or destroyed. See Gibbon’s _Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire_, Chapter XXVIII.
[3] The Arabs, Persians, and Indians were found at the beginning
of the sixteenth century of our era to be well acquainted with the
eastern coast as far south as Cape Correntes, and the Arabs and
Persians had settlements along the whole of that seaboard. But of this
Europeans knew absolutely nothing. Beyond Cape Correntes, in latitude
24° 4´ south, the Asiatics did not venture in their coir-sewn vessels.
Here the Mozambique current, from which the cape has its present name,
ran southward with great velocity, usually from two to five kilometres
an hour, according to the force and direction of the wind, but often
much faster. The cape had the reputation also of being a place of
storms, where the regular monsoons of the north could no longer be
depended upon, and where violent gusts from every quarter would almost
surely destroy the mariners who should be so foolhardy as to brave
them. The vivid Arab imagination further pictured danger of another
kind, for this was the chosen home of those mermaids--believed in also
by the Greeks of old--who lured unfortunate men to their doom. There
were legends of ships having been driven far beyond it in gales, and
having been carried by the current onward to a great ocean in the
west, from which they had only with the greatest difficulty returned.
The perils the crews had gone through and the hardships they had
suffered were magnified as a matter of course, and the dreadful sights
that had met their eyes were such as to make the boldest shudder. Of
the shore of that awful sea nothing was known, for no one had ever set
foot upon it. So Cape Correntes, with its real and fictitious perils,
was the terminus of Mohamedan enterprise to the south, though there
were men in Kilwa who sometimes wondered what was beyond it and half
made up their minds to go overland and ascertain. Had there been a
Bantu settlement beyond Inhambane there can be no doubt that their
eagerness to procure ivory would have led them on, but black men had
replaced the wild aborigines there so shortly before the arrival of
the Portuguese that there was not time to make the venture.
[4] For information on the discoveries mentioned here I am indebted
chiefly to the _Indice Chronologico das Navegações, Viagens,
Descobrimentos, e Conquistas dos Portuguezes nos Paizes Ultramarinos
desde o Principio do Seculo XV_, the great history _Da Asia_ of João
de Barros, Major’s _Discoveries of Prince Henry the Navigator and
their Results_, and Beazley’s _Prince Henry the Navigator, the Hero of
Portugal and of Modern Discovery_.
[5] These islands and even the Canaries had been visited by Genoese
ships before they were rediscovered by the Portuguese. But as no use
was made of them by the first visitors, and as knowledge concering
them was not communicated to the world in general, the Portuguese have
a fair claim to be regarded as the real discoverers. In the same way
Columbus is rightly credited with the discovery of America, though the
Northmen visited its north-eastern coast long before his time.
[6] It would be interesting to know the exact day on which Dias
sailed, but I have not found it possible to ascertain it. As already
observed, before the entrance of Vasco da Gama into the Indian sea
the dates of the various discoveries given by Portuguese historians
are not implicitly to be relied upon, and as no original journals
or logbooks of the early voyages are now in existence, there are no
means of verifying them. João de Barros is the only historian known
to me who has placed on record the month and year of sailing and of
the return of Dias in this voyage, and he does not state the day of
departure from the Tagus. His words are: (ElRei Dom João) “determinou
de enviar logo neste anno de quatrocentos e oitenta e seis dobrados
navios per mar, e homens per terra, pera ver o fim destas cousas.”
... “partiram no fim de Agosto do dito anno.” ... “onde chegáram em
Dezembro do anno de quatrocentos e oitenta e sete, havendo dezeseis
mezes, e dezesete dias que eram partidos delle.” Barros is the most
reliable of all the Portuguese historians of that time, and he
was in a position to obtain the particulars of this voyage, which
unfortunately he gives so scantily. Neither Damião de Goes in his
_Chronica do Felicissimo Rei Dom Emanuel da Gloriosa Memoria_ nor
Fernão Lopes de Castanheda in his _Descobrimento e Conquista da India
pelos Portuguezes_ mentions the date of the voyage, but both relate
other particulars which tend to confirm the opinion that it took place
at the time stated by Barros. For instance, Castanheda states that
Affonso de Paiva and João Pires de Covilhão commenced their journey
from Portugal after the departure of Dias, and he agrees with Barros
in giving the 7th of May 1487 as the date on which they left Santarem.
The exact dates of Dias passing the Cape of Good Hope eastward, of his
reaching the mouth of the Infante river, and of the erection of the
landmark São Philippe cannot be ascertained, but these events in all
probability occurred in 1487, as making allowance for his detentions
when leaving the storeship, at Angra dos Ilheos, and afterwards, Dias
can hardly have reached the latitude of the Cape before the beginning
of that year. See appendix.
[7] See the numerous statements concerning this mythical monarch made
by the early Portuguese writers, copied by me and printed, together
with English translations, in volumes i, iii, v, vi, and vii of the
_Records of South-Eastern Africa_. Ultimately the name was applied to
the ruler of Abyssinia. Index, Prester John, in Vol. ix, page 474.