Cape of Torments, first published in 1983, is a detailed examination of slavery in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. It describes the reactions of the slaves to their conditions of slavery, concentrating on those aspects of their lives which their masters considered criminal, and above all on the large numbers of occasions when slaves ran away in an attempt to start a new life elsewhere. The book examines Cape society and slave organization; the complex relations between slaves and the other groups of population at the Cape – Khoisan, Xhosa, Sotho-Tswana, Dutch East India Co servants and sailors – and the opportunities for escape; major uprisings and rebellions. The major theme of the book is the extent to which the Cape slaves were able to build a culture of their own, and the legacy of slavery to their descendants in modern South Africa.
Author(s): Robert Ross
Series: Routledge Library Editions: Slavery
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 174
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Original Title Page
Original Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Glossary
1 Introduction
2 The Beginning and the Setting
3 The Structure of Domination
4 The Slaves and the Khoisan
5 Hanglip
6 The Slaves and the Sailors
7 The Slaves and the Africans
8 The Impossibility of Rebellion
9 Conclusion
Appendix: The Hanglip Maroons
Maps
Notes
Bibliography
Index
