Sodomy race and respectability

Sodomy, Race and Respectability in Stellenbosch and Drakenstein, 1689 —1762: The Story of a Family, Loosely Defined Author(s): SUSAN NEWTON-KING Source: Kronos, No. 33 (November 2007), pp. 6-44 Published by: University of Western Cape Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41056580 . Accessed: 29/09/2014 07:02 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . University of Western Cape is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Kronos. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions in Stellenbosch Sodomy,Race and Respectability and Drakenstein,1689 1762: The Storyofa Family, LooselyDefined SUSAN NEWTON-KING ' University oftheWestern Cape Department ofHistory CAST OF CHARACTERS The trial(in orderofappearance) GerritCoetzeeJacobuszoonof Non Pareilleand Goede Rustin Daljosafat,tried andexecutedforsodomyin 1733. ofStellenbosch. PieterLourensz,Landdrost in Daljosafat. CharlesMarais,ownerofRust-en-werk LouwPretorias,16 year-oldstepsonofCharlesMarais. Johannes ofJohannes Louw Pretorius. Abrahamle Roux,24 year-oldfriend LeendertBarendszvan Saxen,freeblack,marriedto Johannade Ryk,daughter of Constantiaof Bengal,ownerof thegreymareallegedlysodomisedby Gerrit CoetzeebehindthequincehedgeofCharlesMarais. Caatje or Domine,a 26 year-oldKhoekhoewoman,seasonalworkeron thefarm toAndriesdu Toit. Calais,belonging Claas Mallabaar, freeblack ownerof Vlakkelandin Daljosafat, neighbour ofJacobusCoetzee. guestofClaas Mallabaar. Christoffel Beijer,freeburgher, Constantia of Bengal, free black, concubine of Claas Mallabaar, mother de Ryk. ofJohanna Andriesdu Toit,ownerofCalais in Daljosafat. AugustusLourensvan Holsteijn,knegtof the Widow PieterJürgenvan den Heever. Willem Stolts,freeblackownerofthefarmWolwedans,nearKlipheuwel. AlexandervanTernaten, 'elderly'slaveoftheWidowvandenHeever. Some ofGerritCoetzee's paternalkin: ofGerritCoetzee,ownerofGoede RustandNon Pareille JacobusCoetzee,father in Daljosafat. Dirk Coetzee, fatherof Jacobus Coetzee, grandfatherof GerritCoetzee Jacobuszoon;bornin Kampenin 1655, son of GerhardCoetse and Margaretha heemraadof Stellenbosch, Claasdochter; captainofthecivicguard,churchelder; in 1721. hisretirement until in Stellenbosch farmedatCoetsenburg of wifeof DirkCoetzee,grandmother Sara van der Schulp,bornin Amsterdam, Coetzee. Gerrit GerritCoetzee Dirkzoon,uncle of GerritCoetzee Jacobuszoon,heirto Coetsenburg. 6 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Some ofGerritCoetzee's maternalkin: bornin slaverycirca LouisofBengal grandfather ofGerritCoetzeeJacobuszoon, until1690, thereafter lived in Cape Town. Died 1652, farmedin Jonkershoek circa1715. of Gerrit Lijsbethvan de Kaap, (laterknownas LijsbethSanders),grandmother Coetzee Jacobuszoon,slave and concubineof Louis of Bengal from1678 to 1688, laterconcubineof JohanHerfstor Herbstof Bremen,possiblybornof slavesimported from'Guinea'in 1658. ofLouis ofBengalandLijsbeth ElisabethLouiszor Lowice,born1680,daughter vande Kaap; mother ofGerritCoetzeeJacobuszoon;married JacobusCoetzeein 1724. JohannHerfstor Herbstof Bremen,lover and life partnerof Lijsbeth van de Kaap from1695 until his death in 1734, owner of Opperherfstin the valleij. Wagenmakers Hans Jürgenof Salzburg,a formerCompanysoldier,grantedburgherstatusin ofherfirstchild,Johannes 1688,husbandofElizabethLouisz,father Jürgen. Introduction This articleexplorestheinteracting dynamicsof race,class, statusand respectcolonialsocietyat theCape ofGood Hope in thelatesevabilityin theemerging andearlyeighteenth enteenth centuries. It is essentially a case studywhichclosely examinesthebackground to thetrialand executionof GerritCoetzee,thefirst tobe accusedofsodomyattheCape. By implication itraisesa number freeburgher ofquestionsabouttheruralcommunity inwhichGerrit was raised,anditre-opens old debatesabouttheroleof raceand thedeterminants of statusin earlycolonial SouthAfrica. GerritCoetzee,as willbecomeclearbelow,was a personof mixeddescent in therecordofhistrial).His paternalgrandparents (thoughthiswas notapparent wereDutchimmigrants, staunchmembersof thecolonialReformedchurchand in thecommunity lifeof Stellenbosch-Drakenstein. His prominent participants maternalgrandparents, had been bornin slaveryand his maternal by contrast, at least,was a womanof ill-repute, grandmother, havingtwicebeenconvictedof theftby thecolonialCouncilof Justice.As one probesGerrit'sbackground and the social networks within which and he his one comes investigates familylived, to wonderaboutthemeaningofhis arrestandconviction andthemotivesbehind his allegedlytransgressive behaviour.Was he a victimof social or racialprejudice?Was he excluded,cold-shouldered or otherwisesubtlymarginalised by his male in where he lived? Was he driven young peers Daljosafat, by prejudiceto seek thecompanyof othermarginalised individualsand ultimately to engagein behaviour?Or was he simplya youngmanwhowrecked suicidallytransgressive hischancesbygoingtoofar? 7 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The trial GerritCoetzeeJacobszoon(the On Thursday10 September1733 thefreeburgher in Cape Town.He was twensonofJacob)appearedbeforetheCouncilofJustice ty-oneyearsold and he was chargedwithsodomy.He was alreadya prisonerin andbrought toCape Townfromhishomein DaltheCastle,havingbeenarrested in he had twicebeenintersome time late July.Although josafat(in Drakenstein) members of the Council,thiswas hisfirst rogatedinthepresenceofcommissioned appearanceinthelongmeetingroomintheKat BastionoftheCape TownCastle, He was to maketwofurther wherethecouncilmeteveryThursday. appearances therebeforehisdeath. On this,his first appearance,he was biddento heartheclaim(theeijsch)of The LandLanddrostPieterLourenszof Stellenbosch. theinvestigating officer, himto sentence'condemning drostaskedtheCourtto deliveran 'interlocutory in supHe readouthisclaimandhandedovera largebodyofdocuments torture. Coetzeedeniedthechargeand remainedsilentwhentheLanddrost portthereof. soo als deselvealhier concludedthathe be condemnedto 'de volkomen tortuur, is as is,' (fulltorture, usuallyappliedhere)despitethefactthatthis gebruijkelijk Lourenszthenrepeatedhisclaim(presumably was repeatedseveraltimes.1 threat andthehearing Coetzeesaidagainthathe was innocent, in summary form).Gerrit Jande la Fontaine chairedbytheGovernor was concluded.The CouncilofJustice, orderedthattheyoungmanbe brought andassistedbythreefreeburgher members, 'ad actumproximum'andhe was led away.2 inthiscase,Landwas appropriate In orderto convincethecourtthattorture toproducewhatwas knownas 'a fullhalfproof drostLourenszhadbeenrequired thatthecrimehad indeedoccurredand thatCoetzee was the guiltyparty.Aclaw whichgovernedcriminalprocedurein cordingto therulesof Roman-canon controlled and in theterritories theNetherlands companies,'full by itschartered is in law con'which confession the either was constituted suspect's by proof of 'the or the to to amount sidered testimony twoor more by strongest proof3 know...'4 In theabsenceof of whattheypersonally crediblewitnessestestifying thecourtcouldnot twoeye witnesses, a confession(as in thiscase) and without convict:' . . . so thatitdependson thenumberofwitnessesandthemeansoftheir the is provedby onlyone witnessit cannot,without knowledge.For ifanything in was thecourt be received.'5If,however, aid ofothercorroboration, possession evidenceto rendertheaccused 'vehemently of sufficient suspect',it couldorder whichwould'completetheproof so as to obtaina confession thathe be tortured round'.6 the 'make or proof 1 2 3 4 5 6 CJ 15, Minutesof theCouncilof Justice,10 September1733; CJ 337, documentsin criminalcases, 1733,Eijsch ende incourt10 September1733. PieterLourenszcontradenburgerGerritCoetséJacobsz,presented conclusieofLanddrost CJ 15,MinutesoftheCouncilofJustice,10 September1733. on Roman-Dutch law,revisedandeditedbyL.w. Decker,translated oyj.o. Kotze,¿ SimonvanLeeuwenscommentaries vols(London:1886),vol. II, 490. Ibid.,487. Idem. inde vroegThisexpressionis used inTheo vanderMeer,Sodomszaad inNederland:hetontstaanvanhomoseksualiteit and thelaw ofproof:Europeand England modernetijd(Nijmegen:SUN, 1995),148, 150.See also J.G.Langbein,Torture ofChicagoPress,1976). in theAncienRégime(Chicago:University 8 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 'Vehement suspicion'couldbe established bya 'halfproof'. Thiswas defined bySimonvanLeeuwenas ... evidencewherebythejudge indeedobtainssomeknowledgeof the case, butnotcomplete,or such thatjudgmentcan be pronouncedor justicedone thereon.Such proofis forinstancetheevidenceof one witness,whoseevidencealthoughhe is a man of honourand credit, cannotbe acceptedas proof...7 'Commonreport'or circumstantial evidence(indiciawas theformalterm) also be taken to constitute a half might proof.8 In thiscase, Lourenszwas able to producethe statements of threeeyewitnesses. The firsttwo,thefreeburghers Johannes Louw Pretorius andAbraham le Roux,testified that'abouteightmonthsago', whilewandering one afternoon in the vineyardof CharlesMarais,who lived in Drakenstein, across the Berg Rivier,theyhad,'to theirgreatamazement', Seen a greymarebelongingto theburgher Leendertvan Saxen standin a ditch behind a on the ing quincehedge, rumpof whichtheburgherGerritCoetse Jacobzoonwentand lay,and thenmovedupon it as thoughhe was usingit,(sig vervolgens daarop merendeals of hij deselvegebruijkte,) notwanting to watchthat, he, whereupon appearer, wentawayfromtherewiththeaforenamed Abrahamle Roux,without to waitfortheendofthatwork.9 wanting Thethird was a Khoe womannamedCaatjeor,'in herlanguage', eye-witness 'Domine'.The secretary estimated herage attwenty-five.10 She testified toa differentincident whichhad allegedlyoccurredmorerecently, 'at thebeginning of the recentpressing-time'.11 One eveningatsunset,shesaid,shehadarrivedatthefarm ofthevrijswart Thereshefoundthe (freeblack)Claas Mallabaar,inDrakensteijn. Christoffel and thewivesof(respectively) Claas Mallabaarandthe burgher Beijer Cobus van Macassar.Theywerejoined by theburgher GerritCoetzee vrijswart Jacobszoon,who,afterhe had spentsometimein thehouse,came to herin the whereshehadlaindownto sleepwithherchild,andaskedwhether waggon-house he could'lie withher'.Whensherefusedhimhe leftat once andwentbehindthe housein thedirection of [Claas Mallabaar's neighbour] CharlesMaraisdejonge, whereClaas Mallabaar's horses(an old marewithfoalanda red-brown mare)were tethered toa pole.Soon afterGerrit's from the departure waggon-house Caatjetoo wentoutsideandshesaw Gerrit Coetzeestanding on a block,usingthered-brown 7 8 9 10 11 vol. II, 493. Decker,ed., VanLeeuwen's commentaries, discussionofthelegalrequirements Ibid.,vol. II, 494. Forfurther fortorture, see S. Newton-King, 'For theloveofAdam: twosodomytrialsat theCape ofGood Hope', Kronosvol. 28, 2002,21-42. CJ337, 315,Testimony ofJohannes Louw Pretorius, 27 July1733.Abrahamle Roux'saccountoftheseeventsis virtually identical. Thisandsubsequent translations fromtheDutcharemyown.The originalDutchtextscan be foundinan earlier draftofthisarticle. CJ337,318,Testimony oftheHottentot Caatje,or Domine,2 1 August1733. The grape-pressing seasontodaybeginsin lateJanuary andendsinApril. 9 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions mare'againstnature'.In his handhe heldthehorse'stailand theropeby which it. Seeingthis,Caatje approachedto withina fewpaces of the he had restrained scene.She saton thegroundand watched,'and saw thenthathe was proceeding inthatdetestable hiswholebody.'She wentevencloserand workandwas stirring himdirectly, De Grandpreez):'my confronted saying(as renderedby Secretary God Gerrit, whatareyoudoingthere?(mijngod GerritWatdoeje daar?Y As he was open.Whenhe dismounted fromtheblockshesaw thattheflapofhistrousers hadremovedtheropefromthemouthofthemareandretiedittothepole,he left. Thereuponshe,Caatje,bangedon thedoorand windowsof thehouse,shouting to theoccupants:'Look whatGerritis doingwithyourhorse!'ÇKijkhoe Gerrit hiermetjoupaard omgaatV)The twowomenandChristoffel Beijercameoutside mare and noticed thattheanimalhad still behind the and saw theblock standing tethered. beenincorrectly Finally,saidCaatje,shehadbeenable to see everything at thattime.12 the moon shone because brightly clearly elaboLourenszpointedly as Landdrost 's remarked, was, Caatje testimony was a And heathen. he rateanddetailed.Butshewas a singleeye witnessand she is not of a Hottentot (Lourensz)wellknewthat'thetestimony againsta Christian unlike Herstatement, thatthesamecan serveinlaw as a halfproof.'13 so sufficient and supported couldnotbe confirmed thoseoftheotherwitnesses, bythesolemn conoath'So waarlijkhelpmijgod almagtig' Butherevidencewas,he thought, the and Christoffel evidence the circumstantial firmed bapBeijer by provided by ofBengal,one ofthetwowomenin thehouse tisedfreeblackwomanConstantia thattheyhadbeenawakenedbyCaatjebangingon the atthetime.Bothconfirmed behindthemare.Accordwindowsandthattheyhad seentheblockstillstanding theeveningbefore. the house at the door of had lain the block to just ing Beijer ofCharles behindthevineyard thefirst The twomenwhowitnessed incident, themselves and both declared Marais,wereof coursebothChristian, readyto Coetzee'sbackhadbeen ButbecauseGerrit oftheirdepositions. sweartothetruth turnedtowardsthemand sincetheyhad notwantedto see more,theycould not and and ejaculationhad takenplace. Proofof penetration thatpenetration testify of could be convicted a theexchangeofbodilyfluidswas requiredbefore suspect 'volbragte(completed)sodomie".At besttheLanddrostcould use theevidence forattempted andLe Rouxto securea conviction ofPretorius sodomy,whichwas with death.14 if ever punished rarely neededto convincethe Lourenszwantedmore,however,and he therefore thesustojustifysubjecting courtthattheevidencehe hadcollectedwas sufficient 12 13 14 oftheHottentot CJ337,3 18, Testimony Caatje,or Domine,2 1 August1733. incourt10 PieterLourenszcontradenburgerGerritCoetseJacobsz:,presented CJ337,EijschendeconclusieofLanddrost discussionofthispoint,see RobertRoss,'The ruleoflaw intheCape Colonyintheeighteenth 1733. Forfurther September in RobertRoss,Beyondthepale: essayson thehistory ofcolonialSouthAfrica(Hanover:WesleyanUniversity century', a thesisby De testimoniis: thesisof theCape-bornGijsbertHemmy, translated Press,1993), 158-9.See also therecently and annotated and otherpagans,translated by M.L. Hewitt oftheChinese,Aethiopians GijsbertHemmyon thetestimony thislatterworktomyattentoGeraldGroenewaldforbringing ofCape Town,1998).I am grateful (Cape Town:University tion. see VanderMeer,òodomszaad in iseaeriana,144, i»d tora sodomyconviction, of therequirements Foran explanation 'For theloveofAdam',32. andNewton-King, 10 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions denial'andfurther uncover'sucha so as toovercomehis 'stubborn pecttotorture, andgodlesscrime...M5 horrible As attention? How hadGerrit Coetzee'sallegedmisdeedscometotheLanddrost's in so manysuchcases,thetrajectory fromlocal rumour to formal investijudicial record.Accordingto Lourenszhimself gationhas leftfewtracesin thehistorical he first becameawareoftheallegationsin May thatyear(1733), thoughhowand in thecommunity? to rumours fromwhomis unclear.Was he reacting circulating Did someoneapproachhimwithinformation? Did he make informal inquiries beforelaunchinga formalprosecution? Accordingto thecourtrecordit was not untillateJulythathe tookformalstatements fromJohannes Louw Pretorius and Abrahamle Roux. On 28 Julythesestatements wereconfirmed (' gerecolleerd') underoathat theCastleinthepresenceofGerritCoetzee,whowas nowunderarforthefirst rest.Coetzeehimselfwas interrogated timeimmediately afterwards. thatsome eightmonthsago he had indeedbeen He toldhis interrogators behindthequincehedgeadjoiningthevineyard ofCharlesMarais.He hadpassed thereon hiswayto cutwoodbesidetheBergRiver.Had he seena greymarebelongingto Leendertvan Saxen? 'Yes,' he said,'I don'tknowifI saw themareat thattimeor not,butit was indeedon ourlandforfourteen daysand sometimes and I brother fetched it the from veld and it home.' Had he brought my brought themareto a ditchbehindthevineyard? as he 'so to mount Yes,' said, it;andthen I rodeithome.'Did he lie uponitsrump?'No, butsincethemarewas quitehigh I putmyhandon herhipso as to climbup frombehind,butI couldn'tmanageso I stoodat hersideandjumpedup fromthere.''Neverin mylifehaveI donesuch withrepeatedinvitations to confessto sodomy deeds',he said,whenconfronted withthemare.'If I had donethatI woulddeserveto die. HoweverI neverdid it northought to do it.'16 The Landdrostdid notlet the matterresthere.He made further inquiries andthreeweekslaterhe securedtwofurther statements: one fromCaatje,already and one fromAndriesdu Toit,ownerof thefarmCalais in Daljosafat, described, and therefore of theCoetzee family.17 (as will becomeclearbelow) a neighbour Du Toittoldthetwocommissioners to take his statement that,sometime deputed his slaves had alertedhimto thepresenceof Jaago, 'afterthepressing-time', cob Coetzee's son Gerritin his slave quarters(in 7 slaave huijs).x% Gerrithad two consecutive with there Du said. Toit toldthem them, alreadyspent nights they to lethimknow,shouldGerritcomeagain.Thatverynighthe receivedwordthat Gerritwas againamonghis slaves.He confronted himin theslaave huijs,asking himwhathe was doingthereandwhether hisparentshad senthim.Gerritreplied thathis parentshad notsenthimand thathe was lookingforsomething, buthe 15 16 17 18 CJ337, EijschendeconclusieofLanddrostPieterLourenszcontradenburgerGerritCoetséJacobsz:,presented in court 10 September1733. CJ337,324-6,Interrogation ofGerrit 28 1 733. Coetsé, July J.G.le RouxandW.G.le Roux,Ons Drakensteinse Erfgrond: Daljosafat(Paarl:Drakenstein undated). Heemkring, CJ337,322,Statement ofAndriesdu Toit,2 1 August1733. 11 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions wouldnotsay more.'Did youthencometo steal?'askedAndriesdu Toit;'or are youlookingforone ofmyslavewomen?'To whichGerritresponded Thathe came therefora femaleHottentot knownto theappeareras who is squint,thereuponimmediately said Caatje, whichHottentot, to GerritCoetse in substance:'You say thatyou have come forme,I haveto do witha dog thanwithyou,becauseyouhad to wouldrather with a do horseof Claas Mallabaar,to whichGerritCoetse answered notone singleword. . . 19 'Do youknow,'askedAndriesduToit,'thatthosewhodo suchthingsdeserve buthe said no more,neither notdenyingthe death?''Yes', said Gerrit, admitting forhe accusation.His silenceapparently ledDu Toittoconcludethathe was guilty, said: 'sinceyouknowthatsuchdeedsmeritdeathandsinceitis all thesametoyou thatone shouldreproach youwithit,whythendidyoudo sucha thing?'Again,he gotnoresponsefromtheyoungman,whothenwentaway,as didCaatjesoonafter, forshewas onlythereforthepressingseason.20 Gerrit'ssilencein theface of theseaccusationswas laterseized upon by LanddrostLourenszwho arguedthatit betrayedhis guilt.An innocentperson, suchan accusationin silenceandwould wroteLourensz,wouldnothavesuffered Coetzee's sibe punishedforherinsolence.21 haveaskedthatthe'hottentottinne' further disclosures from saidLourensz,thathe wishedtoforestall lencesuggested, and known led to the matter attracting becomingwidely Caatje,whichmighthave theattention ofthejudge.22 a secondtime,afterbeing However,whenGerrithimselfwas interrogated withthenew evidencein thepresenceof thenew witnesses(Caatje confronted with andAndriesdu Toit),he revealedthathe alreadyhad a sexualrelationship of Caatje at thetimeofhisvisitto thehouseofClaas Mallabaar,at thebeginning thepressingseason.He castdoubton Caatje's versionofevents:he hadnotasked to lie withher,he said, 'since he alreadyhad knowledgeof her' herpermission and he had notleftherduringthenight.He had lain thewholenightwithherin He 'untilthefirst thewagon-shed, cock-crow',whenhe gotup and wenthome.23 block the the of her remainder the horse, concerning testimony, entirely rejected andthetrousers. admitofAndriesduToit,Gerrit Withrespecttohisvisittotheslavequarters tedthathe had gonethere'fora Hottentot meijd9(Caatje),and he acknowledged thatCaatje had accusedhimin frontof Andriesdu Toitof havinghad sex with his silence thehorseofClaas Mallabaar,buthe explainedthathe had maintained farm.24 Du Toit's on becausehe didnotwanthisparentsto knowthathe hadbeen thathe wishedtoavoida fuss,buthis'frivolous' meant,presumably, By thisGerrit 19 20 21 22 ¿i 24 Ibid. Ibid. in CJ 337, 310, EijschendeconclusieofLanddrostFieterLourenszcontraden burgerUerritLoetseJacobsz,presented court10 September1733. Ibid. oruerrituoetsejacoosz, i òeptemoeri m. (JJ55 /,ill, interrogation Ibid. 12 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions whoagainvoicedhissuspicionthat on theLanddrost, excusemadeno impression revelations. thesuspecthadmerelywantedtoheadofffurther A modernreader,accustomedto themethodsof defencelawyersin adverthatLanddrostLourenszentirely sarialcriminaltrials,maybe surprised ignored withCaatje.In a moderntrial to hispriorsexualrelationship Coetzee'sreferences at a lover'squarrel,thefury defencecounselwouldseize on sucha detail,hinting intent ofa womanscorned,orotherwise to hostile on Caatje's part. seeking prove betweenthestatement The defencemightalso drawattention to an inconsistency of Caatje on theone handand thoseof thetwo circumstantial witnesseson the other.Caatje'saccountplacedCoetzee'sencounter withClaas Mallabaar'smarein theearlypartofthenight,or at leastwellbeforedaybreak(she specifically noted thatthemoonshonebrightly thatnight), butbothChristoffel BeijerandConstantia thatCaatje had wokenthem'thenextdayat cock-crow'.25 van Bengalentestified ThisaccordswithGerrit Coetzee'sinsistence thathe hadlainthewholenightwith and had at left daybreak. Caatje Thiswas notan adversarial in whichprosecution anddefence trial,however, in accordance squareup to one another;itwas an inquisitorial process,structured withtheprinciples ofRoman-canon law andgoverned bytheCriminalOrdinances ofPhilipII. Thesehadbeenintroduced totheSpanishNetherlands bytheDuke of Alva in 1570,in an attempt to bringsomeorderto thediversity ofcriminal codes. The procedure was designedtobe speedyandfinal.26 A suspecthadno righttodefencecounselandhisabilityto cometo hisowndefencewas severelylimited.He didnotsee orheartheevidenceagainsthimuntiltheinvestigating officer (normaltoconfront himwithit. lytheFiscal,inthecase oftheCape) deemeditopportune He couldnotcross-examine thewitnesses, thoughhe couldrebuttheirallegations. Aboveall,he had no rightto remainsilentand,ifthecourtgranted to permission him 'a to he could be examination', put sharper compelledto speak. GerritCoetzeewas takento thetorture chamberin theCastleon Friday11 1733.The entireCouncilofJusticewas present, September exceptfortheGoverandtheSecunde,AdriaanvanKervel,whowas indisposed. nor,Jande la Fontaine, The Fiscal,Daniel van den Henghel,who wouldhaveprosecuted thecase had it notfallenunderthejurisdiction of LanddrostLourensz,was also present.27 The was warned that he would be 'aan de if he failed to prisoner strung up pleije' give truthful answerstothequestionsputtohim.28 'Did he catcha greymare,someten months ago,andbringitintoa dryditch?''Yes', he said. 'Did he notthencommit thesodomiticalsin withthismare,whichbelongedto theburgher Leendertvan Saxen?' 'Yes', he said. 'Was he notat thehouseof thevrijswart Claas Mallabaar on theBergRiverone nightin thelastpressingseason?' 'Yes', he said. 'Did he notagaincommitthesodomiticalsin witha red-brown marebelongingto Claas Mallabaar?''I untiedher,'he said,'withtheintention ofdoingso, butI didn'tac25 26 27 28 CJ337, Statement oftheburgher Christoffel de Beijer,3 1 August1733; statement ofthevrijswartin Constantia of Bengal, 31 August1733. 'For the love of 24. Adam', Newton-King, CJ337,334, Interrogation ofGerrit Coetsé,11 September1733. Ibid.Thepleije,also knownas themanaclesor strappado, was a formof torture in whichthevictimwas suspendedfrom a beam,hook,orpulley,whileweightswereattachedto hisfeet.Itdistended thelimbs,sometimes causingdislocationand was extremely and thelaw ofproof,23, 84-5. painful.See JohnH. Langbein,Torture 13 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions woman,Caatje,came up to me.' He had in sum, complishitbecausea Hottentot this'sin' onlyonce,behindthequincehedgeofCharlesMarais.29 committed thefollowing Thisadmission, confirmed day,signedbythepris'voluntarily' all and witnessedby themembersof theCouncilof onerwitha spindlycross,30 to secure Justice(exceptthe Secunde,who was stillindisposed)was sufficient forthecrimeofsodomy.On thenextcourtday,ThursGerrit Coetzee'sconviction The to deathbydrowning. 1733,GerritCoetzeewas sentenced day 17 September 'thathorrible courtfurther orderedthattheanimalswithwhichhe hadcommitted deed' werelikewisetobe putto death.31 Thiswas notquitetheend,however.In whatmayhavebeena lastdesperate an attempt topurgehis ortogainmoretime,oralternately tosavehimself, attempt ofhisexecution(Friday soulbeforedeath,Coetzeetoldhiscaptorson themorning ofthe confession.32 Two members thathe wishedto makea further 18 September) He toldthemhow,about Councilof Justiceweredeputedto takehis statement. had come to his father'sfarm woodcutters a yearago, two ox-wagonscarrying One belongedto theWidin Drakensteijn fromthedirectionof theTijgerberg. WillemStolts.34 and theotherto thevrijswart van den Heever33 ow PieterJürgen The wagonswereaccompaniedbytheWidowvan denHeever's knegt, Augustus The dayaftertheirarrival WillemStoltsandthreeslaves.35 LourensvanHolsteijn, 's father, Gerrit Jacobus,senthimaheadtotheforestwithone ofthevisitors'wagwhomGerrit ons,accompaniedbyan 'elderlyyellowish'slavenamedAlexander, where thevisitors the was the to to lead Gerrit was place way thought Buginese. two slaves the other intendedto cutwood,whilehis father, Stolts,Lourensand followedinthesecondwagon. thattheyshouldhave AlexanderproposedtoGerrit On theirwaytotheforest witha horse'and to do as man and wife',to whichGerritreplied intercourse from The wood-cutting that'he wouldsee whentheygothome'.36 partyreturned theforestfourdayslater,aroundmidday,and thatsamedayGerritand theslave On theirwayback Alexanderweresenton an errandto Claas Mallabaar'sfarm.37 landand thatof his father's in a between horses a of hometheysaw group place 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 ofGerrit CJ337, 334, Interrogation Coetsé,11 September1733. 12 September1733. Ibid.,Recollement, ortnedeatnsentencepassedon 1Hi. horan explanation incriminal CJ 15, 8 1, Minutesofproceedings cases, 17 September andSandraSwart(eds), CanisAfricans, 'A shortpaperabouta dog', inLancevanSittert theanimals,see S. Newton-King, a dog history forthcoming). ofSouthAfrica(Leiden:BrillAcademicPublishers, Exhibitwn andCouncilofJustice, LourensztoGovernor CJ337,Landdrost injudicio8 October1733. PetersenvandenHeever,whoarrivedas a sailorin 1693,becamea knegtin 1710and laterownedMeerendalnear Jürgen vol. 3 (Pretoria: as wellas otherfarms.(J.A.Heese and R.T.J.Lombard,Suid-Afrikaanse theTijgerberg, geslagsregisters, HumanSciencesResearchCouncil,1992),247. JanBotmaand his witeStijntjecnnstorreiae Bruijn,wnoownea WillemStoltshad beentheslave of theoud-heemraad whereJacobusCoetzeewas on theedgeofStellenbosch thefarmWelgevallen, adjoinedCoetsenburg, village.Welgevallen bornandraised.AfterBotma'sdeathin 1719,Stijntjede Bruijnmovedto De SchotscheKloofinTable Valley,whereshe Pieterszvande Caab should madea willwhichstatedthatWillemandhisfellowslavesPietervanBengalenandChristina be freedaftershedied.The threeslaveswerealso to receivea wagon,eighttrekoxenandtwofishnetswithwhichtoearn theirliving.(CJ2602,Wills,no. 11, 14 July1723.)Stijntjede Bruijndiedin 1724andby 1726WillemStoltshaddonewell JanValk.(Margaret Cairns,'WillemStoltsofthe enoughto buythefarmWolwedans,nearKlipheuwel,fromtheburgher toJackieLoos forthisreference.) Cape, 1692-1750',Familiavol. 27, 1990,47. (I am indebted ofGerritCoetsé,18 September1733. confession CJ337, 339,Further Ibid. Gerritspentthefourdays in theforestwiththewoodcutters. It is notclearwhether AugustusLourenswas adamantthat ofAugustusLourensvanHolsteijn,7 October1733.) homethesameday.(CJ337, 344,Testimony Gerritreturned 14 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Leendert Claas Mallabaar,amongthema greymarewhichbelongedtotheburgher vanSaxe (sic). Seeingthis,Alexandersaidthattheyshouldtryto catchone ofthe whichhorsewas thetamest, towhichGerrit horsesandhe askedGerrit replied'the one of Leendertvan Saxe'. Theycaughtthehorseand led it intoa nearbyditch, wheretheycouldnotbe seen. Alexanderused thatmareagainstnature Whereuponaforementioned it also tried whiletheconfessant held fast,afterwhichhe confessant to use thatmarewhileAlexanderheldit fast,butcouldn'treachit for thatpurpose,so Alexanderletthemareloose and liftedhimup against whichhelphe theconfessant also used themarein herrump,through his turn,afterwhichdoingsbothof themwent[back]to his father's house... This was thesame mare,he added,whichhe laterused one othertimebehindthefenceofCharlesMarais'vineyard.38 Landdrost Followingthisrevelation Lourenszimmediately out the slave Alexander and detained him at theCassought tle.Gerrit's executionwas suspendedwhileAlexanderwas foundandinterrogated. On Monday21 September Gerrit'recollected'hisconfession inAlexander'spresence(notunderoathbecausehe was alreadya convictedsodomite), addinga detail whichwas to becomethefocusofthesubsequent he investigation: explainedthat whenthewoodcutters returned fromtheforesthe andAlexanderhadbeensentto Claas Mallabaar'shouseto fetchwine,andhe said thatitwas theknegtAugustus Lourenswhohad sentthem.Andall thiswas as true,he said 'as he hopedshortly to appearbeforeGod andreceivehisjudgment.'39 In myopinion,Gerrit Coetzee'sthirdandlastconfession hastheringoftruth. It has a breathless andurgent quality,as thoughthepersonwhosespeechwas recordedwas eagerto unburden himself.Butin theend(fortunately forAlexander) Coetzeewas notbelieved.Alexander(whowas about50 yearsold andcamefrom theislandof Ternatein theIndonesianarchipelago)acknowledged, whenqueswithhis mistress's tioned,thataboutone yearago he had gone to Drakensteijn in thecompanyofWillemStolts,andthattheyhad stopped wagonandherknegt, at thefarmof JacobusCoetzee.Coetzee's son Gerrithad indeedshownhimthe buton hisreturn he hadnotbeensenttothehouseofClaas waytothemountains, Mallabaar,he hadnotleftJacobusCoetzee'shouse,he said.40 TheCouncilofJustice tooktheallegationssufficiently tocall a speseriously cial meeting, on Tuesday22 September, at the Governor's duringwhich, suggesandAlexanderwereconfronted withone another. The Governor tion,Gerrit urged Gerrit totellthetruth, buttheyoungmanstucktohisstory, sayingthattherewere witnesseswhocouldbackhimup: thevrijswart WillemStoltswas presentwhen 38 39 4U CJ337,339, Further confession ofGerritCoetsé,18 September1733. ¡bid., Recollement, 2 1 September1733. CJ337,Interrogation ot theslaveAlexanderofTernaten ('m de PortugeesetaaV),21 September1733. 15 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Pietervan den Heever'sknegtgave himmoneyand senthimwithAlexanderto buywinefromClaas Mallabaar;andClaas Mallabaar'swifeorconcubineÇbijsif) hadgivenhima jug ofwineinthepresenceofAlexander.41 Alexander, bycontrast, deniedthathehadeverbeentothehouseofClaas Mallabaar.He knewitonlyfrom thathe hadnotsenthim afar,he said,andtheknegt AugustusLourenscouldtestify there.42 theCouncilofJusticeinstructstatements, Perplexedbythesecontradictory ed LanddrostLourenszto questionWillemStolts,AugustusLourensand Claas Mallabaar'sconcubine,'so as to see whether one cannotthrowsomelighton this which theaccuseror theaccused- they matter and of the two [decide] tricky shouldbelieve.'The Councilalso decidednottofurther postponetheexecutionof Gerrit Coetzee.The sentencewas to be carriedoutimmediately.43 GerritCoetzeewas drownedthefollowingmorning (23 September1733),44 Lourensz butthetrialsoftheslaveAlexanderwerenotoveryet.IttookLanddrost Theirevidenceconflicted twoweeksto findandquestiontheadditionalwitnesses. concorin some respectswiththatof GerritCoetzee,butthereweresignificant dances.It emergedthatLourenshad madetwo tripsto thewoods nearJacobus Coetzee'sfarm:he hadgonethereaboutthreeyearsago,withthreeslaves,among and whenhe reachedJacobusCoetzee'splace he had bychance themAlexander, there.He metup withthefreeblackWillemStolts,whowas likewiseoutspanned had visitedthewoodsagainaboutone yearago, also withthreeslave men,again Alexander. On thisoccasionhe had againstoppedat JacobusCoetzee's including CoetzeemonHe hadnotgivenGerrit but had notstayedovernight. he farm, said, ey to buywineand neitheron his mostrecentjourneyto theforest,noron the previousoccasion,had he sentAlexanderor anyotherslave to fetchwinefrom thatAlexanderhad been WillemStoltsconfirmed thehouseofClaas Mallabaar.45 to thewoods about Lourens Augustus amongthepartyof slaves accompanying threeyearsago,buthe saidthat,whileLourensandtheslaveshad spentthenight on Coetzee's farm,he had notseen or heardthatLourenshad givenmoneyto GerritCoetzeeand senthimwithAlexander,'who was an elderlyslave', to buy winefromClaas Mallabaar.He andLourenshadindeedspentan eveningat Claas had Andhehimself Mallabaar'shouse,he said,butAlexanderwas notwiththem.46 withLourensoralone.Finally, notbeenbacktotheforestsincethattime,whether de Grandpreezand testified Claas MallabaarhimselfappearedbeforeSecretary twoorthreeyearsago, that occasion on Coetzee thathehadnotsoldwinetoGerrit whenthewoodcutters' waggonswereon Gerrit'sfather'sfarm,'and evenless' to nottobe awarethatthe whomhe didnotknow.He professed theslaveAlexander, to Widowvan den Heever'swaggonwithherknegtand herslaveshad returned 41 42 43 44 45 46 ofBenincriminal CJ 15, Minutesofproceedings cases,22 September1733. Claas Mallabaar'sconcubinewas Constantia Claasz. de Ryk,whointurnwas thewidowofClaas Mallabaar'sdeceasedson,Johannes ofJohanna gal.She wasthemother thefreeblackLeendertBarendszvan Saxen,ownerof theunfortunate Johannade Ryklatermarried greymare.(Mansell inSuidCiaassen(eds),Die Claas(s)en afstammelinge Upham,'Claas vanMalabar',inNicolaasClaassenandGertHendrik 2001).) (Centurion: Afrika Ibid. Ibid. note. Ibid.,17 September1733,marginal ofthesoldierAugustusLourensvan Holsteijn,7 October1733. CJ337, 344,Testimony WillemStolts,7 October1733. ofthevrijswart CJ337, 346,Testimony 16 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions JacobusCoetzee'splaceone yearago,andwhenAlexanderwas presented to him, he saiddidnotknowhimandhadneverseenhimon hisfarm.47 Werethesewitnesseslyingin orderto protectAlexander?Or were they colludingto protectClaas Mallabaarwho mayhave been sellingwine without a license?48 to coverup for AugustusLourensmayhave been underinstructions Alexanderwhobelongedto his employer. WillemStoltsmayhavebeentornbetweenloyaltyto Gerrit'sfatherJacobus,whomhe musthave knownduringhis earlierlifeas a slave on Welgevallen49 and loyaltyto Claas Mallabaar,a fellow freeblacklandholder. He mayin anycase havebeenunawareofthenatureofthe which into he was drawn.Butitis worthnotingthatStoltshad reainvestigation sonto be grateful to theauthorities at theCape. In 1724theOrphanChamberhad overseentheexecutionof thewillwhichsethimfree;in 1726 he had boughthis farmWolwedanswiththeaid ofa largeloanfromHendrikSwellengrebel, a memberof theCouncilof Policyand theCouncilof Justice;and in July1733,while thecase againstGerritwas inpreparation, hisrequestforan additional14 morgen of landadjacentto Wolwedanshad been favourably received.50 Claas Mallabaar ofthecolony'sgoverning elite,but maylikewisehavebeenindebtedto members at presentlittleis knownofhisoriginsor ofthemannerin whichhe had financed thepurchaseofhisfarm, in 1724.51 Vlakkeland, itmayhavebeenGerritwholied.He may,as suggested above, Alternatively, havesimplybeenplayingfortime.Or hisstorymayhavebeenessentially true,but and dangerousfamiliarfaultyin itsdetail.If it weretrue,it revealsa surprising between a freeborn and an a ity youth elderlyslave, subjectto whichI willreturn below.Be thatas itmay,whenLanddrost Lourensreviewedtheevidencegivenby theabove-named threewitnesses, he concludedthathe couldnotproceedagainst AlexanderofTernateand he askedtheCouncil'sadviceas to whathe shoulddo. AtthenextCouncilmeeting, on 8 October1733,Alexanderwas released,'losten schaadeloos'(freeandunharmed). Freeburghersand Free Blacks Thisparticular fortworeasons.First,as willbe sodomytrialattracted myattention seenbelow,itis theonlycase ofwhichI amawareinwhicha freeburgher was tried and executedforthecrimeof sodomy.WhileI cannotyetgive a comprehensive accountof all sodomytrialsconductedat theCape since 1652,a carefulstudyof theseventeen cases triedbetween1709and 1734revealsthatnoneofthesuspects in theothercases werefreeburghers. Most wereslaves,Khoekhoeor Company servants soldiers or sailors,thoughtherewas one schipper,one (usuallyordinary boekhouder andoneonderkoopman In thesubsetofeight'bestialiamongthem).52 47 48 49 50 51 52 CJ337, 348,Testimony ofthevriiswart Claas Malabaar(sic), 7 October1733. I am grateful to Leon Hattingh foralerting metothispossibility. See above,note34. Cairns,'WillemStoltsoftheCape, 1692-1750',47. Upham,'Claas vanMalabar'. CJ5-16, Minutesofproceedings incriminalcases andCJ3 13-337,Documentsincriminalcases, 1709-1734. Mydecision tobeginmysearchin 1709 was arbitrary and I planto workbackwardsfromthere. 17 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions inthisperiod,fouroftheaccusedwereslaves, ty'cases amongthetrialsconducted twoweresoldiersandone was Khoekhoe.Gerrit Coetzeewas theonlyfreeburgher In 1713 an elderlyfreeburgher to be accusedof sodomyin any form.53 named in 7 Land vanWaveren, Claas Holder,a knegton thefarmDuiwelsbergh hadallegwitha dog,buthe committed suicidethe edlybeencaughtintheactofintercourse samedayandwas therefore neverbrought to trial.54 Holderwas in anycase more (usuallysoldiersfromtheCastlegarritypicalofthoserootlessCompanyservants masters(whomtheyserved son),whowereloanedbytheCompanytofreeburgher as knegten, thanofthefreeburghers themselves: he or schoolmasters) tradesmen, was an eenlopendeman- single,elderlyandwithout property. was a memberof a prominent and prosperous GerritCoetzee,by contrast, familiesin theColony,itcouldbe freeburgher family one of theleadingsettler DirkCoetzee (who died in His paternalgrandfather said,at leastby reputation. of first to be was the 1725) freeburghers grantedlandin thenew district among In 1682 he had establishedthefarmCoetsenburg on thebanksof Stellenbosch. of thenewvillage.DirkCoetzeehad a longand theEersterivier, on theoutskirts of record service, havingbeenappointedHeemraad(Alderpublic distinguished nineteenyearsin that in 1687 and Stellenbosch of man) havingserveda further becamea memberof 1688 and 1721. He a between basis) capacity(on rotational churchcouncilin 1685 and servedon thisbodyon and offfora theStellenbosch frompubliclife as deacon,thenas elder,untilhisretirement 36 years,first further had marriedmen and Sara Coetzee in 1721.55Gerrit'sauntsMargaretha (Griet)56 His 'bestuurs-elite'51 the small local who werelikewisemembersof orphaned cousinsMatthijsGreeff(aged 22 in 1733) andJanand Sara Krugel(aged 18 and thousandsof guilderswhentheycame of stoodto inherit 16 yearsrespectively) atCoetsenburg, andhisown His uncle Gerrit Coetzee Dirkzoonnowfarmed age.58 inthe father Jacobus, properties thoughnotwelloff,was theowneroftwofreehold DaljosafatwardofDrakenstein.59 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Dutchjuriststooktheirlead fromCharlesV's imperial and a complexetymology. The term'sodomy'has a longhistory to nature'with CriminalisCarolinain 1532,whichdefinedsodomyas 'unchastity criminalcode,theConstitutio contrary andseventeenth sixteenth Theo vanderMeer,'well-known totheDutchhistorian century man,womanorbeast.According AntoniusMattheusII, UlrikHuber,Simonvan Leeuwenand Dutchjurists,suchas PhilipsWielant,Joostde Damhouder, ofall serious as the most that intheiropinion sodomy, and 'wereunanimous followedtheConstitutio' SimonGroenewegen kind'of sodomyand felt was 'themosthorrible thedeathpenalty'.Theyagreedtoo thatbestiality carnalcrimes,merited andmasturbaanal intercourse thattheanimalshouldalso be puttodeath.Theywereless sureofthestatusofheterosexual ofthe tion.(VanderMeer,Sodomszaad inNederland,29-30.)In medievalChristian sodomywas a manifestation theology, maintained anda loveofexcess.Christian sinofluxuria.Itwas thusassociatedwithself-indulgence consistently theology thatsodomywas thegravestandmostdangerousofall thesinsoftheflesh. a dog history and S. Swart(eds), Cams Africanis: 'A shortpaperabouta dog' in L. van Sittert S. Newton-King, ofbouth forthcoming). Africa(Leiden:BrillAcademicPublishers, BertbakPrometheus/ ¡680-1730 (Amsterdam: Ad Biewenga,De Kaap de GoedeHoop: eenNederlandsevestingskolome, 7 October1721.Dirk ker,1999),41 and 135;C 1086,Memorialsandrequests,DirkCoetsetoCouncilofPolicy,exhibited from1706-1721. Coetzeehadalso beenCaptainoftheStellenbosch infantry) schutterij (burgher Leo Fouché(ed), ThediaryofAdamTas ( 1705-1706),(London:Longmans,1914),64. thewidowerMatthijsKrugelin 1/I /. He was the Coetzee married The termis used by Biewenga:ibid.,40. Margaretha andservedas Heemraadforseveralyears.SaraCoetzeemarried inSimondium ownerofStellengift Matthijs (Drakenstein) in 1710(whenshewas sixteenyearsold). sonofthelateHeemraadMatthiasGreeff, Greeff, December 21 ot Jan MOOC en Roose, TEPC Projectand SentrumvirBesigheids- Taaldiens, 8/3.103,Inventory Jürgen ofMatthijsKrugerandMargareta Coetze,8 March173 1. 1718;MOOC 8/5.71, Inventory le and W.G. J.G. le Roux of Jacobus MOOC 8/6.1 Roux,Uns DrakenTEPC Projectand Sentrum, Coetze; la, Inventory steinseErfgrond: undated),5-7. Heemkring, Daljosafat(Paarl:Drakenstein 18 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Whatwas one to makeofthis?IfGerritwas guiltyoftheactsallegedagainst hisreputation andhis socialposihim,whyhadhe riskedhislife,notto mention his of were shunnedin much tion,indeed, verymembership society(forbuggers forthegratification ofhislibido?Whyhadhe steppedso faroutside ofEurope),60 behaviouras to layhimselfopento thechargeshe now theboundsofrespectable ofthecharges,whyhadhebeenfalselyaccusedofso faced?Or,ifhe was innocent ifsexualplayandexperimentation withanimalswas seriousa crime?Alternately, commonamonghis peers,as it was amongcountry relatively boysin someparts ofruralEuropeatthattime,61 whywereotherburgher youthsnotprosecuted? Why hadGerrit beensingledout? The secondaspectofthiscase whichcaughtmyeyewas theunexpected ease and familiarity of Gerrit'srelationswithfreeblacksand slaves in his immediate He seemsto have feltat homewithClaas Mallabaarand his neighbourhood.62 concubineConstantiaof Bengal,whose farmVlakkelandadjoinedGoede Rust andNon Pareille,ownedbyhisfather, JacobusCoetzee(see Figure1 below).He was intimately a seasonalworker, and acquaintedwithCaatje,whowas apparently he didnottryto hidehisconnection withher,at leastnotfromClaas Mallabaar's didwantto concealitfromhisparents.He spent household, thoughhe apparently at leasttwo nightsamongthe slaves of Andriesdu Toit,who was likewisehis father's (see Figure1 below).And,finally, neighbour byhisownaccount,he was willingto place himselfunderthetutelageof an elderlyslave,by whomhe was initiated intowhattodaymightbe called 'high-risk sexualbehaviour'. WhileGerrit Coetzee's familiar relationswithslavesandfreeblacksseemed to me particularly therecordof his trialalso suggestedthatrelationnoteworthy, - but between free blacks and free (termswhichweresometimes ships burghers notoften- appliedto thesame person)63 in generalin Daljosafat,whereGerrit harmonious and even egalitarian. At leasttwo of thefree lived,wererelatively blacksnamedin thetrialrecord- Claas MallabaarandWillemStolts- werelandowners.As notedabove,Claas Mallabaar'soriginsareobscure.He first appearson thetaxrollof Stellenbosch and Drakenstein in 1710,whenhe paid/4 for'leeuw en tijgergeld'.64 In 1712he was employed(as knegtl)byGerritBasson,65 himself theson of thefreeblack womanEngela,or Ansiela,of Bengal,who farmedat Honswijk, justnorthofDaljosafat(see map)untilherdeathin 1720.66In 1724he Vlakkeland fromMariaCatharinaDurier,widowof Guillaumele Lièvre bought (or de Haas), whohad movedto thefarmWelgevallenin Stellenbosch (adjoining 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 On this,see JonasLiliequist,'Peasantsagainstnature:crossingtheboundaries betweenmanandanimalinseventeenthand thestate,societyand theregulation Sweden',inJ.C.Fout,ed.,Forbiddenhistory: inearly eighteenth-century ofsexuality modernEurope(Chicago:University ofChicagoPress,1992). Ibid. 'Freeblack'or 'vrijswarfwas thetermusedtodenotepersonswhohadbeenborninslaveryandlaterfreed,eitherbytheir orbya thirdparty.Hans Heese correctly criticises owners,bythemselves, Elphickand Shellforusingthetermtoo loosely in TheshapingofSouthAfrican society,1652-1840.( Heese,Groepsondergrense,21.) H.F. Heese,Groepsondergrense:die rolen statusvandie gemengdebevolking aan die Kaap, 1652-1795(Bellville:UnioftheWestern vandie Kaap: die wêreldvan x«slavin,1652-1733 versity Cape, 1984), 14,28; KarelSchoeman,Armosyn Town: Human and 628-9. Rousseau,2001), (Cape - 1679-1720(Bellville:University Leon Hattingh, Die eerstevryswartes vanStellenbosch oftheWestern Cape, 1981),69. 1/STB5/7,Minutesofproceedings incivilcases,2 1 March1712. Fora wonderful, readableaccountofthelifeofAngelaofBengal,see Schoeman,Armosyn vandie Kaap, pp.642-646.For detailsconcerning thetransfer of Honswijkfromone ownerto thenext,see LeonardGuelkeand RobertShell,Thedeed's book:theCape cadastralcalendar,1677-1731(New Haven:OpgaafProject,1990). 19 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions withherson-in-law Jeanle Roux of Normandie.67 Claas Mallabaar Coetsenburg) to JanMartinKursz (or ownedVlakkelanduntil1746, whenit was transferred Coerts),who marriedGerritCoetzee's sisterJacobain 1736.68Claas Mallabaar was therefore theimmediateneighbour of Gerrit'sfatherJacobus,who farmed Vlakkelandwas infactoneofa string GoedeRustandNonPareilleinDaljosafat.69 offarmslaid outalongtherivulet, Dal-se-loop,whichflowedintotheBergRiver ofthepresent-day Daljosafatrailwaystation(see Figure1 below). justnorth relationswith Jacobus Claas Mallabaar clearly had good neighbourly winetohisguests(ornot,as thecase maybe) andallowinghis Coetzee,supplying son to comeand go uponhis property (thoughhe was notat homeon thefateful nightwhenCaatje allegedlysaw Gerrithavingsex withhis horse).He accomunion Christoffel modatedtheburgher Beijer (himselfthechildof a legitimate and he playedhostto betweena freeblackwomanand a Europeanimmigrant)70 theknegtAugustusLourensvanHolsteijn,andthefreeblackWillemStolts.Simiand larly,LeendertBarendszvan Saxen,whosehorseis at thecentreofthisstory, Johannade Ryk who was marriedto Claas Mallabaar's former daughter-in-law, (Claas Mallabaar's onlysonhaddiedin 1727)71seemstohavebeenwellintegrated describedby VanSaxenwas respectfully ofDrakenstein. intothefreecommunity andAbrahamle Roux in theirevidenceas 'den burger Johannes Louw Pretorius titlewas likewiseadoptedbyLanddrost vanSaxen'.Thismorerespectful Leendert had ofStellenbosch one yearbefore,theSecretary Lourenszinhiseisch,although, black as that of the a free fellow 's claim minutedVan Saxen 'vrijswart against LeendertvanSaxen'.72 Shouldwe concludefromthisevidence,then,thatthefreepopulationof and in a webofneighbourly areaswas boundtogether Daljosafatandsurrounding and the little for familialrelationsin whichrace and descentcounted stigmaof Shouldwe agreewithLeon Hattingh, slaverywas erasedwithinone generation? withtheobservawhoconcludedhis carefulstudyof freeblacksin Stellenbosch ofracialdominancewhichcame tionthat,whileit mightbe truethatthepatterns SouthAfricain latercenturieswerealreadytakingshape in the to characterise Stellenbosch societyintheearly1700swas stillan 'open century, earlyeighteenth dicolour conscious without prejudice,whichcould evolve in different society' of the between of correlation to the with rections categories race, degree respect statusand class?73Hattinghwas, of course,arguingagainsttheconclusionsof RichardElphick,RobertShellandHermann Giliomee,whoassertedin TheShap- 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 Deeds Office,T 1588,7 April1724.Claas Mallabaarpaid /850 forVlakkeland,a farmof 50 morgen.He paid /300 on thatthedebttohismothertheauthorities In October1727 Jeanle Rouxinformed transfer andthebalancein3 instalments. in-lawhadbeenpaidinfull. 'Die blankenagesiagvan Louis van Bengaleen Le Roux and Le Roux,Daljosafat,11-12;torKurszsee Leon Hattingh, Lijsbethvandie Kaap', Kronos,vol. 3, 1980,17. Le RouxandLe Roux,Daljosafat,5-7. andCatharinaVrijmanof theCape, who Christoffel Beijerwas theson ofAndriesBeijers,theCompany'swagon-maker, nearStellenbosch. geslagsregisters, was bornin slavery. (Heese and Lombard,Suid-Afrikaanse Theyfarmedat Bottelarij, vol. 1 (Pretoria:HumanSciencesResearchCouncil,1986),258.) Upham,'Claas vanMalabar'. incivilcases,25 February1732.LeendertBarendszvanSaxen s originsarepresently 1/STB5/14,Minutesofproceedings unknown. - lö/V-l/zu(tseiiviiie:university oí me westerni^ape, ivöi;, o/, vanòtellenbosch Die eerstevryswartes Leon Hattingh, 74. 20 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions of racialdominancewerealready ingofSouthAfricanSocietythatlaterpatterns In theirview,manumisat theCape in theeighteenth century. clearlydiscernible which totheoverallsocietalpattern, madelittledifference sionandmiscegenation of raceand class,littleupfromearlyon by a highcorrelation was characterised wardmobility forpeopleofcolouranda 'congealingideology'ofwhitesupremaShelland andDrakenstein With to thearableregionsof Stellenbosch respect cy.74 wrote: Elphick balancedsex HeretheEuropeansettlerssoon achievedcomparatively of stable Europeanfamilieswas possible. ratiosand the formation and Consequentlytherewas littlepressuretowardsmiscegenation, was little intensified. There also to manumission, hostility concubinage even thoughmostof thecolony'sslaves livedin theseareas.Without thegingergroupof freeblackswhogave Cape Townitscosmopolitan air,thisregionwas soon characterised by the assimilationof blacks intothechurchor to Europeanculture,butnotto theirincorporation betweenEuropeansand freeburgher society.A clear social distinction blackswas establishedsoon aftersettlement. Prestigeand local power and almostall landholders were becameassociatedwithlandholding, European.75 totheseassertions, outthattheywere Hattingh responded cautiously pointing based on inadequateempiricaldata and thatthetwo authorshad greatlyunderestimatedthenumbersof freeblacks in the arabledistricts.76 He demonstrated thatdetailedresearchintothecareersof individualfreeblacksandtheiroffspring showedthatpeopleofcolourin Stellenbosch district had greateraccess to credit, and opportunities to earna livingthanElphickand Shell had supposed. markets Theywerealso notexcludedfromthechurchto thedegreethatthetwo authors hadsuggested andtherewas littleevidenceofstrained relations betweenthemand themajority oftheburgher It is he that population. true, wrote, fewsucceededas but this was more due to 'a lackofknowledge, farmers, insightanddrive'thanto theirdeliberate exclusionfromtheruraleconomy.77 MostthenwerenotlandholdwithElphickand Shell.But,he concluded,theirchildren ers;in thishe concurred and grandchildren, wereabsorbed especiallythosebornof mixedrelationships, intothefarming 'Hierinle die warebydraevandie community through marriage. vroeëvryswartes vanStellenbosch.'1* Withtheseremarks in mind,we shouldtakea closerlookat theprotagonists in thedramasurrounding GerritCoetzee.Claas Mallabaar,Constantia of Bengal, Leendertvan Saxen and WillemStoltswereall freeblacks,bornin slaveryand 74 75 76 77 78 RichardElphickand HermannGiliomee(eds), The shapingof SouthAfricansociety,1652-1840(Cape Town: Maskew MillerLongman,1989edition),220-221,536-540,560. RichardElphickandRobertShell,'Intergroup relations:Khoikhoi,settlers, slavesandfreeblacks,1652-1795',in Elphick andGilomee,Shaping,23 1. Eerstevryswartes, 67. Hattingh, Ibid.,72. ibid.,75. 21 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions laterfreed;Christoffel was of mixeddescent(his father Beijerwas a freeburgher German,his mothera freeblack).Andries(or André)du Toit(to whoserole in theseeventswe shallreturn)was a freeburgher of Huguenotorigin.In 1733 he was 42 yearsold and he ownedthefarmCalais in Daljosafat,threekilometres fromJacobusCoetzee'shomeat Non Pareille.79 Laterthatsameyear,in upstream factjusttendaysbeforeGerrit Coetzee'sfirst courtappearanceinSeptember 1733, he acquiredtwomorefarmsin Daljosafat:Kleinbosand Schoongezicht, thelatter fromNon Pareille.80 Thesefarmscameto himfromthe lyingjusthalfa kilometre heemraadand churchelderFrancoisdu Toit,who theformer estateof his father, livedat Kleinbosanddiedtherein 1731.81In 1736Andriesdu Toitmovedbackto Pierre,tooktransfer Kleinbos,wherehe had grownup, and his youngerbrother, Andriesand Pierre,weremarriedto two of Calais.82The two Du Toitbrothers, ofthelateheemraadandchurch MarthaandIsabeauRousseau,daughters sisters, councillorPierreRousseau,whohad farmedat Orleansin KleinDrakenstein (see in marsix sisters all. the 1 There were Rousseau Maria, eldest, figure below).83 riedLodewijkPretorius(fifthchildof the gequalificeerde Companyemployee in Daljosafat.Whenhe JohannesPretorius)who ownedthefarmRust-en-werk died she marriedCharlesMarais,whichwas how Maraiscame to own Rust-enwerk.Rust-en-werk adjoinedVlakkeland,whereClaas Mallabaarlivedwithhis Itwas MariaRousseau'ssixteen-yearofBengal.84 wifeor 'concubine',Constantia Pretorius whohad spottedGerritCoetzee old son,Johannes Louw) (or Lodewijk van Saxen's greymarebehind with Leendert to have sex allegedlyattempting 1732. As forAbrahamle Roux, in summer of the his stepfather's early vineyard 's companionon thatfateful Louw Pretorius Johannes day,he was the24 year-old son of thelateGabrielle Roux of Blois, who had ownedSalomonsvleiin Klein twicesincehis father'sdeathin Abraham'smotherhad remarried Drakenstein.85 thento hiselderbrother, to hisstepfather, 1712andSalomonsvleihadpassedfirst in 1729. Pierre,whosolditto a neighbour thatmuchofthelandin Daljosafat It wouldseemthen,on closerinspection, was ownedbycloselyrelatedand well-connected Huguenotfamilies.Whatwere offreeblacksat Vlakkeland?Werethey withthesmallcommunity theirrelations and mutualsupport?Or characterised conviviality friendship, by neighbourly and social distance?Did theirsons weretheymarkedby disdain,condescension, Claas Mallabaar's houseanddrinkhiswine?Or was Gerritsomehowdiffrequent ferent? answerto these Thereis notenoughevidenceto give a fulland satisfactory own at Gerrit Coetzee's A look closer suggeststhathe was, background questions. one And the more his from 'different' indeed, probeshis backHuguenotpeers. 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 Le RouxandLe Roux,Daljosafat. ¡bid. ¡bid.,4,'2. ¡bid.,15. vandie ou Kaapsefamilies,vol. 2 (Cape Town:Balkema,1966),799. C.C. de VilliersandC. Pama,Geslagsregisters HelenavanTimorin 172 1, butsheseemstohavediedsoon Le RouxandLe Roux,Daljosafat,8-9.Claas Mallabaarmarried afterwards. (Upham,'Claas vanMalabar'.) vol. 2, 819; Le Roux and Le Roux,Uns Drakensteinse De Villersand Pama,Geslagsregisters, erjgrond:KleinUraKenstein. 22 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions erfgrond: Figure 1: Map of Daljosafat,1700 (Source:J.G.and W.G. le Roux,Ons Drakensteinse undated)). Daljosafat(Drakenstein Heemkring, 23 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions themorethequestionsdirectedat himbyAndriesdu Toitwhenhe found ground, in 1733,acquirea dishimin his slaavenhuijsat Calais, afterthepressing-time Did 'What come to do here? have yourparentssendyou?Did you turbing edge: you thencome to steal?'These werehostilequestionsto ask of a neighbour's on thecollege son; thegrandsonof a manwho had servedwithDu Toit'sfather of Heemradenand who,likeFrancoisdu Toit,had beenformanyyearsan elder ofthechurch.However,whileyoungGerritCoetzeewas indeedthegrandsonof as suchat birth, and he hadnotbeenacknowledged DirkCoetzeeofCoetsenburg, in in been raised not white. hismaternal were fact, had, slavery, They grandparents lives.Theyhadnever andaftermanumission respectable theyhad notled entirely Gerrit'smaternal had a shall marriedand,as we see, they 'stormyrelationship'. andhisgrandfaLijsbethvande Kaap, was twiceconvictedoftheft grandmother, and been madea respectable ther,Louis of Bengal,whohad eventually marriage on had suffered Town as a member of the church, sequestration Cape accepted on he was twooccasions.Atthetimeofhisdeathin 1715or 1716, dependent poor relief. Louis ofBengaland Lijsbethvan de Kaap in 1683whenhe was 31 yearsold. He Louis ofBengalhadsettledin Stellenbosch on the was amonga smallgroupoffreeblackswhomovedto thenewsettlement banksoftheEersteRiverintheearly1680sinordertotakeadvantageoffreeland from partlyin responseto encouragement opportunities, grantsand newfarming 29 morgenon thebanksoftheriver SimonvanderStel.He was granted Governor knownas namedforJanAndriesze,otherwise in an area knownas Jonkershoek, his named Louis the further who lived Jande Jonker, optimistically valley.86 up ofAngola wereManuelandAnthony farmLeefop Hoop}1 His nearneighbours andaboutthreekilometres Acrosstheriver, andJanandMarquaitofCeylon.88 upSteven livedfellowsettlers streamon theedgeofthenewvillageofStellenbosch, JanszBotma(at Welgevallen)andDirkCoetzee(at Coetsenburg).89 ownersat Louis ofBengalspenthisearlylifein slaveryand,thoughhisfirst theCape weremenofhighrank,one mayassumethathischildhoodwas hard.He ZachariasWagento theCape in 1664as a slaveoftheCommander, was brought left the When aer.He was thenabouttwelveyearsold.90 colonyin 1666 Wagenaer In soldLouis totheSecunde,HendrikLacus,for80 rixdollars.91 hisstep-daughter 1667Lacus was sentawayfromthecolonyin disgraceandLouis was takenover In 1671 by theCompany,forwhomhe workedwithoutrewardforfiveyears.92 to him the was who Isbrandt Commissioner Goske, permission visiting Cape,gave 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 Eerstevryswartes, 39, 80.) JanAndrieszewas also knownas JanAndrieszevanRijssenor VanArendsdorp. (Hattingh, 646. Schoeman,Armosyn, 649. EersteVryswartes, map,p. 87; Schoeman,Armosyn, Hattingh, See LeonardGuelke,'The southwestern Cape Colony,1657-1750:treeholdlandgrants, mapproducedDytneuepartmeni ofWaterloo,1987. ofGeography, University 646. 21; Schoeman,Armosyn, Eerstevryswartes, Hattingh, AnnaBöeseken,Slavesandfreeblacksat theCape, I65Ü-I7ÜU(Cape Town: larelberg,IV//),Z8. une rixdollarequalled 48 stuiwers. oftheCouncilof Policy,13 April1672. C 8, Resolutions 24 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions butittookhimsomemonthsto accumulatethemeansto do so. buyhisfreedom, theCouncilofPolicyto granthimhis In April1672he was at lastable to petition was granted, His petition freedom. providedhe paid50 realsofeighttoLacus' ac'his nameappearedannually 'From1673onwards,'notesLeon Hattingh, count.93 attheCape.'94 on therolloffreeinhabitants in freedom. Louis prospered By 1676 he ownedtwopiecesof landin Table 'in thevicinity of presentValley:a gardenon thelowerslopesof themountain, nearthecentreofthetown.96 anda residential plotinBergstraat dayBredaStreet'95 van de Cust Coromandel,who in 1678 he owned one slave: Anthonij By April andassault,and the of Justice for desertion Council 1681was brutally punishedby In setinchainsforlife.97 July1678Louis also acquireda femaleslave,the18 yeartheCompany'smasold Lijsbethvande Kaap. She had belongedto a neighbour, tercarpenter Adriaenvan Brakel,who had boughtherin 1671 fromone Mathijs Louis acquiredherina mostunusualmanner. Coemansfor/160 (53 rixdollars).98 In April1678 shebrokeintohis housein Bergstraat, openeda woodencupboard in his roomand stolea gold ring,threepairsof silverbuttonsand some money. Whenapprehended, she at firstdeniedthetheft, sayingshe had tradedtheitems froma 'Hottento'namedCorhaeij,buttwodays latershe confessed(apparently undertorture) afterreceivingsomeformofcorporalpunishment, and,presumably thatVanBrakel shewas returned toherowner.99 The CouncilofPolicydetermined shouldcompensate Louis forthelossescausedbyhis slave.Whenhe failedto do so, Louis againapproachedtheCouncil,whichorderedthatLijsbethbe sold to raisethemoney.100 In to Louis.101 Instead,it seems,Van Brakelgave herdirectly thiswayGerritCoetzee'smaternal and became the slave concubine grandmother ofhisgrandfather, Louis ofBengal. On 6 October1680 thefirstchildbornto Lijsbethand Louis was baptised in thechurchin Cape Town.102 (Louis himselfhad been baptisedin 1675,when he was 'abouttwenty-three yearsold'.)103She becameknownas ElisabethLouisz or Lowice.Louis and Lijsbethhad at leastone further in child,Maria,christened 1686.LijsbethcannothavebeenLouis' onlypartner, forin 1685 a third however, AnnaLouisz,was christened in Cape Townandhermother'snamewas daughter, givenas Mariavande Kaap.104 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 1 realwas worth54 stuiwers: 50 realsthuseaualled56.5 rixdollars. Eerstevryswartes, 2 1. Hattingh, 646. Schoeman,Armosyn, Eerstevryswartes, 2 1. Ibid.,646; Hattingh, 'Die blankenageslagvan Louis van Bengalenen Lijsbethvandie Kaap', 6 and Eerstevrijswartes, 22. See also Hattingh, Böeseken,Slavesandfreeblacks,90 andC 13,Resolutions,14July1678. 'Blankenageslag' 12; Böeseken,Slavesandfreeblacks,128;C 13,Resolutions,14July1678. Hattingh, CJ 2954, Confessien en interrogatorien, 1677-1685,28 and 30 April1678. I am deeplyindebtedto MansellUphamfor to thesedocuments andfortranscribing them.It has provedimpossibleto finda recordofLijsbeth 's drawingmyattention trial.The recordofherconfession on 30 April1678refers to heramendingherpreviousconfession'op scherperexaminaofthisintheminutes oftheCouncilofJusticeforthatyear. tie' butthereis no mention C 13,Resolutions, 14July1678. Thisis theinference drawnbyMansellUpham,and itis supported evidence. bycircumstantial 'Blankenageslag',16. Hattingh, Eerstevryswartes, 22. Hattingh, toHattingh, a womannamedMariavande Kaap was a godparent Ibid.,10,12and 19.According attheChristening ofMaria Louisz in 1686. 25 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions In July1683,theyearthatLouis andhisfamilymovedtoStellenbosch, Louis and 'lek Louis a in which he set her two children free. document Lijsbeth signed tehebbenmijnmeijtgenaamt van vanbengalebekennevrijgegeven lijsbeth Cabo' This documentwas haer tweekinderen...'105 he declared,'... en meedevrijgeefi butthereis no reasonto doubt testedin courtsix yearslater,and foundwanting, at thetime. thesincerity ofLouis' intention theunionofLouis givenitsinauspiciousbeginning, Perhapsunsurprisingly, whosemeticuofBengalandLijsbethvande Kaap was nothappy.Leon Hattingh, has describedit as 'apparently lous workguidedme to theoriginaldocuments, In March1687thecouplemadea trouwbelofie (gotengaged)beverystormy'.106 foretheCollegeof Landdrostand Heemradenin Stellenbosch. Exactlyone year Louis appearedbeforetheCollegeagain,thistimeto sue Lijsbeth later,however, thatherpromhim.Lijsbethcountered andtodemandthatshemarry fordesertion in his an Louis hadbeenconditional ise tomarry upon improvement behaviourtothecourt,thathe should had warnedhim,shereminded wardsher.The Landdrost vandooslaan en dreijgementen 'metsmijten, no longertreatherso tyrannically, to killher...)', butsincethattime and threatening den ... (withshoving,hitting andsheno longerwishedtomarry him,norwould thingshadgotworse,notbetter, all oftheasand she resisted was shelivewithhim.107 adamant, attempts Lijsbeth sembledHeemradentoreconcilethecouple.FinallysheandLouis agreedto part: norlive another marry 'Lijsbethcouldgo whereshewould,butsheshouldneither Louis gotcustodyof thetwo withhim... as longas Louis remainedunmarried.' outof wedlockwith children'bij ditoLijsbethin onechtgeprockeert (procreated toremain child(MariaLouisz) was permitted thesaidLijsbeth)',buttheyoungest Thuswas maintenance.108 that Louis onemoreyearwithhermother, paid provided intothe over ofGerrit ElisabethLouisz,latertobecomethemother Coetzee,given Louis ofBengal. unsafecustodyofherfather, unawarethattherewas a The Heemradenof Stellenboschwereapparently to thisdispute.OnlyinApril1689,whenLouis tookhiscase to hiddendimension theCouncilofJusticein Cape Town,diditemergethattherewas a thirdpartyinTheCouncilwas informed volved.109 that,'abouta yearanda halfago', thatis,not Louis had taken longafterLijsbethand Louis had concludedtheirtrouwbelofie, whohad on a knegtnamedWillemTeerling(orTarling),a 55 year-old Englishman as a and now worked service in the 16 been years amongthe shepherd Company's had Louis now allegedthat,whilein his house,Teerling seduced freeburghers.110 and 'debauched'Lijsbethandwonherawayfromhim.Beingunabletoprovethis, he said,he was obligedto dismissTeerling, Lijsbethlefthimtoo.Her whereupon he was unableto see to since he much him had caused damage, averred, departure 27 July1683. 1/STB 18/144, NotarialDeclarations, Hattingh,Blankenageslag, /. Ibid. in civilcases, 15 Ibid.,7. The sourceof thequotationsis notnamed,butit mustbe 1/STB5/1,Minutesof proceedings March1688. incivilcases, 10 February1689. 109 CJ3, Minutesofproceedings ot Willemleerling,b Aprillò»y. 110 CJ291, Documentsincriminalcases,interrogation 105 106 107 108 26 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions boththelandandthelivestockon hisown.111 Wildanimalshadkilledhislivestock (he had losta cow and calfto a 'wolf [jackal]and 25 sheepto a leopard);fruit andvegetableshadgoneto waste;16 chickenshadgonemissingand2 morgenof He askedthecourtto restoreLijsbethto himas grainhad been leftuntended.112 hisslaveandto freehimonceandforall fromhistrouwbelofte. FromTeerlinghe wanteddamagestotheamountof/450 forlossessuffered as a resultofLijsbeth's departure.113 The Fiscal electedto institute a criminalprosecution againstbothLijsbeth and Teerling,theformer fordisobeyingand deserting her 'patroorìand owner andthelatterfordebauching Louis' slaveandseducingherawayfromherduty.114 The Fiscal was unimpressed He called it 'her pretended by Lijsbeth'svrijbrief. letterof freedom'{'haare pretensebriefvan vrijdom')and said thatit was of no andhad notbeenvalidated value,becauseithadbeenissuedon privateauthority an oath sworn before the the Council of Justice?]and properly by Secretary[of witnesses. even a freed slave was requiredto Furthermore, appointed properly remainobedienttohisformer master.115 The FiscalconcludedthatTeerlingshould be compelledto makegoodLouis' lossesandto labourfortwoyearsat thepublic to Louis as his works;Lijsbethshouldbe whippedandbrandedandthenrestored 'with costs'.116 slave, Lijsbethand Teerlingwiselydeniedhavinghad carnalrelationswhilestill inLouis' house,andTeerling, oftheagreement reachedbetween perhapsmindful and Louis before the Heemraden of Stellenbosch in March 1688,denied Lijsbeth thathe hadlivedwithherthereafter. ButLijsbethfreelyadmitted thatshehadhad a steadyrelationship withTeerlingsinceherdeparture fromLouis' houseandthat (inApril1689) shewas fourmonths pregnant byhim.117 The courtdeclinedto granttheFiscal all thathe asked.Teerlingwas condemnedto paya fineof 25 rixdollarsand to labourfortwomonthsat thepublic Louis forhislosses,byan amountstilltobe deworks;he was also tocompensate termined the court. was without by Lijsbeth apparently discharged punishment.118 She was notobligedto return toLouis. It seems,however,thatthiscourtcase markedtheend of Lijsbethvan de withWillemTeerling.Accordingto hertestimony beforethe Kaap's relationship Councilof Justicein 1689,aftershe leftLouis's house at theend of 1787, she had gone to join her(unnamed)mother'ten huijse van Abramvan guinea'.119 withAnthony ofAngola(Louis' immediate Teerlinghad goneto live first neighbour) and thenwithJanAndrieszevan Rijssen (Jande Jonker)further up the 111 CJ29 1, Statement ofLouis of Bengal,6 April1689. 112 See listtranslated andreproduced in Hattingh, Eerstevryswarte, 25. The originaldocument is almostillegible. 113 CJ3, Minutesof proceedings in civilcases, 10 February1689; CJ29 1, Statement of Louis of Bengal.Louis's recourseto theCouncilofJusticewas perhapsprovokedbya successfulcivilsuitbrought byTeerlinginJune1688fortherepayment of31 rixdollarswhichhe hadlentto Louis. (1/STB5/1,Minutesofproceedings incivilcases, 11 June1688.) 114 CJ291, EijschofFiscalCornelisLinnes,1689. 115 Ibid. On thedutyof freedslaves towardstheirformer 670 and Hattingh, masters,see Schoeman,Armosyn, Vryswartes, 56. 116 CJ29 1, EijschofFiscalCornelisLinnes,1689. 117 CJ291, Testimony ofLijsbethvande Caap, 6 April1689. 118 CJ3, Minutesofproceedings incriminalcases,6 July1689. 119 CJ29 1, Interrogation ofWillemTeerling, 6 April1689. 27 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions While therehe seems to have had almostdailycontact valleyof Jonkershoek. withLijsbeth,so it is reasonableto assumethatAbramvan Guineaalso livedin or withJanofCeylon,Louis's Jonkershoek, possiblywithJanAndrieszehimself, to Stelreturned on theotherside.120 However,whileTeerlingcertainly neighbour ofhissentenceinSeptember lenboschafterthecompletion 1689,he doesnotseem tohaverejoinedLijsbethvande Kaap. In 1691and 1692he appearson themuster Andby 1695,as we knowfromanothersource,Lijsbeth rollsas a singleman.121 vande Kaap was alreadyinvolvedwiththemanwhowas to becomeherlifepartHerbstorHerfstofBremen. ner,Johann In January 1696 Lijsbeth(now aged about36 anddescribedas 'a freeblack The Fiscal (JoanBlesius) in living Stellenbosch')was againchargedwiththeft. allegedthat,one FridayeveninginMarch1695,whilelodginginCape Townwith thefreeblackJacobCorneliszof Bengal,she had takena lockedcasket{'seeker kleijnindischekisjemetkoperehengselsenslotplaatse') inwhichJacobCornelisz and othersmallthings'), kepthis mostpreciousgoods ('comprisingsilverwork removedit secretlyfromthehouse and takenit thenextday to Stellenbosch.122 TheFiscalwas abletoproducea confession signedwithLijsbeth'smark,as wellas attached totheDrostdyofStellenbosch. evidenceoftwoveldwagters thedamning Theyhad beenaskedby JacobCorneliszto fetchLijsbethfromthehouseof the herintheir JanHerbst,andbringhertohimso thathe couldconfront freeburgher, was lowhich at the of Jan found house was indeed to be She Herbst, presence. catedless thanhalfan hour'swalkfromthevillage(probablyinJonkershoek).123 herguiltwhenconfronted by Jacob Lijsbethwas guilty- she had admitted in the thecasketto him(withmostof itscontents)124 Corneliszand had returned as 'a Fiscal demanded and the Stellenbosch of of the that, Secretary presence shebe punishedin publicand 'in herperson'. commonthiefandrepeatoffender, 'and theredeliveredto theextothepublicscaffold, He askedthatshebe brought boundtoa pole andseverelywhippedwithrods',andthereafter clapped ecutioner, admitted in chainsto labourforthreeyearsat thepublicworks.125 Lijsbethagain She would ofa publicwhipping. guiltbutaskedthatshebe sparedthehumiliation of the The courtwas lenientby thestandards be willingto pay a fineinstead.126 ers (convictpobythecaff day:itruledthatthewhippingwouldbe administered thus notexactlyin 7 slaven slave in the quartier') lice) lodge {'in Company's of three the sentence and that the view of but out of generalcitizenry private, 'in case of toa fineof50 rixdollars, prompt yearshardlabourcouldbe commuted payment'.127 Eerste withMatthijsCalmer.See Hattingh, 120 Abramvan Guinea seems to have enteredintoa short-lived partnership afterthatof 47. The Stellenboschmusterrollsfor1691 listthenameof Abrahamvan Guineaimmediately vryswartes, 'Paij [Marquait]vanCeijlon' and therollsfor1692 list'Abrahamvan Guineaand Pladoor[Plat oorl' belowthenames at thetime.(VC 39, Musterrolls,1660-1700; of CornellsJoostenen JanHersts' whofarmedas 'maats' inJonkershoek 10 December1692.) 1/STB18/40,Contracts, 121 VC 39, Musterrolls,1660-1700. 1696. ForJacobCornelisz,also known incriminal 122 CJ299,Documents cases, 1696,eijschofFiscalJoanBlesius,26 January 640. as JacobCorneliszofCeylon,see Schoeman,Armosyn, 1696. ofthesoldierPieterSours,13 January 123 CJ299,Testimony 1696. of HansJürgen ofthecasketarelistedinCJ299,Testimony Smith,25 January 124 The contents 1696. FiscalJoanBlesius,exhibitedincourt26 January 125 CJ229,EijschofProvisional 1OVO. incriminalcases,5 .' January 126 CJ3, Minutesot proceedings 127 Ibid. 28 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Did Lijsbethserveout hersentencewiththechaingang?Or did herlover JohannHerbstpaythefine?It seemsunlikelythathe couldhaveraisedthemonwithCornelisJoosten, accordingto ey.In 1692 Herbsthad formeda partnership of farming Joosten's whichthetwomenagreedto sharethecostsandthereturns In return fortheuse of theland,Herbstwouldhelp landin Jande Jonkershoek. Butby 1695 thepartnership seemsto Joostenrepayhis debtsto theCompany.128 havebeendissolved.In thatyearHerbstwas listedaloneon themuster rolls,with twochildren(one of whommayhave beenLijsbeth'sunnamedchildbyWillem butneither Clara,fathered by Herbst)129 Teerlingandtheotherherlittledaughter hadformed a newpartnership withanother 'maaf norspouse.Joosten, bycontrast, It emergesfromanothersourcethatin 1694 Herbst man,namedHans Jürgen.130 hadconcludedan agreement witha certainClaas vanGuinea('Klaes vangenea'): HerbstwouldprovideClaas and his concubine(Hoen or Hoena van Guinea)131 withfood,helphimsow a muidofgraineachyear,andprovidehimwitha garden, fromwhichhe, Herbst,'wouldenjoyno morethanwhatwas neededto feedhis Claas wouldplacehissix oxenat Herbst'sdisposal.132 family'.In return, Thisagreement seemstohavebeenmarkedly favourable toClaas vanGuinea and Hattingh has suggestedthathe, ratherthanAbrahamvan Guinea,mayhave been thefatherof Lijsbethvan de Kaap. HattinghnotesthatClaas van Guinea had madea similaragreement withLouis of Bengalon 15 October1687,around thetime(perhapsa littlebefore)thatLijsbethhad lefthimforTeerling.133 Cerit seems that were West African slaves. The tainly veryprobable Lijsbeth'sparents so-calledGuiñeanslaves had arrivedat theCape in 1658,broughtby theVOC fromthecoastofDahomey,incontravention ofitsagreement withtheDutchWest IndiaCompany.'Some weresenton to Batavia,someretainedby theCompany and someassignedto thefirst Claas van freeburghers.'134 Accordingto Hattingh, Guineawas freedbytheCompanyin 1687 (theyearofhis agreement withLouis ofBengal),as 'old andwornout'.135 so Lijsbethvande Caap was bornin 1659,136 she maywell have been thechildof two newlyimported'Guiñean'slaves.We do know,at least,thatherbrother, thefreeblackPieterWillemsz,also knownas PieterWillemszTamboer,transport-rider and drummer in theStellenboschburwas sometimes knownas 'PieterWillemszAfricano'.137 ghercavalry, If Lijsbethvan de Kaap had servedherfullsentence,she wouldhave been freedfromthechaingangin 1699. In thatyearJohannHerbstwas grantedland on theupperreachesof theWamakersRiverin thenewlysettledregionof WaHerbst(or Herfst)namedhis farm'Opper(now Wellington). genmakersvalleij 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 1/STB 18/40,Contracts, 1694-170 1, 10 December1692. Herbstbrought 8 oxenand 112 sheepintothepartnership. Herbstalso hada son,namedJohannes, bornoftheslaveCecilia ofAngolain 1685.(Heese,Groepsondergrense,9.) VC 39, Musterrolls,1660-1700. The significance ofthiswillbecomeclearbelow. VC 39, Musterrolls,1660-1700. 1/STB18/40,Contracts, 1694. 1694-1701,2 January Eerstevryswartes, 44. Hattingh, JamesArmstrong andNigelWorden,'The slaves,1652-1834',inElphickandGiliomee(eds), Shaping,112. Eerstevryswartes, 42. Hattingh, 'Blankenageslag',10. Hattingh, 1/STB5/10,Minutesofproceedings incivilcases, 11 May 1716.Fortherelationship betweenPieterWillemszandLijsbeth vande Caap (or LijsbethSanders,as shebecameknown),see 1/STB5/3,Minutesofproceedings incivilcases,28 November1729.ForPieterWillemsz'roleas 'tamboer',see Hattingh, Eerstevryswartes, 48. 29 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions herfst'.He livedtherewithLijsbeth(nowknownas LijsbethSanders)138 untilhis Johannes tohisson-in-law, deathin 1734,thoughin 1724thefarmwas transferred Vosloo, on conditionthatVosloo maintainhim forthe remainderof his life HerbstandLijsbethSanders (LijsbethSanderswas notnamedintheagreement).139 had twodaughters: Clara,whomayhavebeenbornbeforeLijsbethwas convictJohannes who was bornin 1702 and married ed of theftin 1696,and Gerbrecht, Voslooin 1718.140 Whentheyfirstsettledat Opperherfst, Lijsbethand Herbstwereassistedby who agreedto helpHerbst,'wegenzijn theburgher (and tailor)HeinrichVenter, to establishthefarm.Theywouldsow swaekheijf(on accountof his infirmity) Ventermade his 60 cattle and sharetheprofitand theloss.141 and reaptogether availableforploughingand manureand pasturedhis sheepon theland.In 1704, downstream on theBergRiver.He Venterreceivedhisownlandfurther however, In time, to fend for themselves. and Sanders left Herbst then Lijsbeth presumably a smallcommunity ofrelatives, aroundthemselves as we shallsee, theygathered thehusbandsandloversofLijsbeth'sdaughters byLouis ofBengal. including * of his slave and to Cape Townin 1690,bitteroverthedeparture Louis returned He soldLeefop Hoop tohis concubineandcrippledbythelosseshe hadsuffered. to Cape Townwherehe stillowned ofAngola,and retreated Anthony neighbour, RebeccaofMacassar,a freewoma houseanda gardenplot.In 1694he married She arrivedfromBatavia.142 an and a Christian(possiblya mardijker), recently as Karel under her was and it arrival church on the influence, perhaps joined Cape as a fullmemberof thechurchin Schoemansuggests,thatLouis was confirmed 143 in Louis' housein Berg1697. For a whiletheyliveda lifeof modestcomfort butin 1705Louis' debtscaughtup withhimandhe was obligedtosubmitto straat, inexecutionofa judgment thesale ofhishouseanditscontents againsthim.144 hishousefor200 guilders Louis hadmanydebts- in 1703he hadmortgaged to JoanBlesiustheFiscal (thesamewhohad prosecuted Lijsbethvan de Kaap in ina bidforrespectability somewerenotincurred 1696) andonewonderswhether manandchurch-goer as a married life to down as Louis settled andburgher status, he In for town.145 in theColony'sonly 1703, example, boughtsix ebonychairsat The listof his of thetown.146 resident theauctionof Christina Does, a prominent board,eightporcelain possessionssoldatauctionin 1705includesa backgammon a curtained 2 mirrors, dollswithporcelainhair,a silkcabaaij (jacket),12 pictures, 24 and 2 a 4 saucers, porcelainplates,23 porcebed, sheets, teapot, porcelaincups name. whichmayhavebeenLijsbeth'sfather's 138 MansellUphamsuggeststhat'Sanders'was derivedfromAlexander, undated),11; ueeds urnce, i dw, 139 Le RouxandLe Roux,OnseDrakensteinse HeemKnng, erjgrond:tiovlei(Drakenstein volume33, donationintervivos,13April1724. vol. 3 (Pretoria:HSRC, 1992),328. 140 Heese andLombard,Suid-Afrikaanse geslagsregisters, 141 1/STB 18/40,Contracts1689-170 1, 17 March1699. 647. 'Blankenageslag',9; Schoeman,Armosyn, 142 Hattingh, 647. 143 Schoeman,Armosyn, 144 CJ4, part1, 154, 6 October1704. documents. in severalcontemporary 145 Louis is describedas a 'vrijburger' ofChristina MOOC 10/1.27, Inventory 146 TEPC ProjectandSentrum, Does, 8 October1703. 30 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions the6 lainservingdishes,18 tablenapkins,a roundtableand 12 chairs,including ' The houseitself(recordedas 7 huijsvanSwart ebonychairsacquiredin 1703.147 rix was 603 sold for dollars. Louis') remarks thatsince Thiswas nottheendofLouis's troubles.'IndeedHattingh In 1708theKerkraad 1676he was neverwithout debt',notesKarelSchoeman.148 debtof/300andin 1711 hiscreditors ofCape Towncalledinanoutstanding finally he and his claimedhisgardenlandinTableValley.149 1715 wife Rebecca were By In last aid church fund. that same Louis made one on from the poor year dependent to forceLijsbethto return futileattempt to him:he suedJanHerbstforthereturn ofhis 'slave'. The CouncilofJusticedismissedhis claimas 'frivolous'and fined him2 rixdollarsforhavinghandedin a documentwithouta seal.150 Louis died and His soon after, embittered. widow,describedin church penniless apparently as 'Rebecka'or 'de vrouwvan SwarteLouis', remaineddependent documents on a monthly from the fund until in her death 1724.151 Louis had made her grant poor his sole anduniversalheir,buttherewas no estateto bequeath.HoweverLouis's three'onegtehinderen', for Elisabeth,MariaandAnna,wereeach left50 guilders, thesemoniestotheOrphanChamberat thetimeofhis Louis hadwiselyentrusted toRebecca.152 marriage JacobusCoetzee and ElizabethLouisz Louis of Bengal'seldestdaughter byLijsbethvan de Kaap came to be knownas ElizabethLouisz or Lowice (Lowies in themodernspelling).She was themother ofGerrit Coetzee.The identity ofGerrit'sfather was less evident,ifnottohisparat large. ents,at leasttothechurchandthecommunity ElizabethLouisz andJacobusCoetzeemaywellhaveknownone anotheras children. on theedge Theylivedbuta shortdistanceapart,JacobusatCoetsenburg of thevillageof Stellenbosch and Lijsbethat herfather'sfarmLeef op Hoop, a littlefurther on theEersteRiver.Giventhedifference intherelativestaupstream tusoftheirparents, it seemsunlikelythattheymetat church(Elizabeth'smother or duringtheendlessroundof kuiery, Lijsbethwas notbaptised),153 card-playing andchatinwhichJacobus'parentsandtheirmoreaffluent neighbours indulged.154 ButElisabethLouisz andJacobusCoetzeewereexactlythesameage (bothhaving beenbaptisedin 1680) and theymaywell have playedtogether in Jonkershoek, with the children offreeblacksJanvanCeijlonandDina vanCoelang,who along wereofsimilarage,andthemuchyounger children ofJande Jonker andLijsbeth Janszvande Kaap. ElizabethLouisz mayhaveleftStellenbosch andreturned toCape Townwith herfatherwhenhe gave up farming in 1690. By 1695,however,whenshe was 147 148 149 150 15 1 152 153 154 CJ2913, 116,listofmovablegoodssold inexecutionat thehouseoftheVrijswart Louis vanBengalen,19January 1705. Schoeman,Armosyn'648. Eerste 648. 29; Schoeman,Armosyn, Hattingh, vryswartes, CJ6, Minutesofproceedings incivilcases, 142, 14 November1715. 648. Schoeman,Armosyn, CJ2597,Wills,30 August1697. CJ29 1, Documentsincriminal of Louis of Bengal,6 April1689. cases,Testimony Fouché(ed), ThediaryofAdamTas,1705-1706. 31 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions fifteen or sixteenyearsold, she was back in theJonkershoek valley,livingon new'maaf (partner), landas thewifeorconcubineofJoosten's CornelisJoosten's was a former Hans Jürgen Hans Jürgen of Salzburg.155 Companysoldierwhohad arrivedat theCape in 1681 and receivedburgher rightsin 1688. By theend of This may of Salzburghad one child.156 1695,ElisabethLouisz and Hans Jürgen in 1700.157 in Town christened havebeenJohannes Cape Jürgens, of Salzburg?No recordof a marDid ElizabethLouisz marryHans Jürgen riagehas survived,buttheremusthave been one, for,manyyearslater,when in Drakenstein, Elizabeth'schildrenDirkand MariaCoetze(sic) werechristened oudtvijfjaren, as in of the were described 'Maria, doopregister Drakensteijn they diedeselenzoonvanjacobus coetzeongetrouwde, enDirkouttweejaren,doghter venbij eenenElisabethLouies,getrouwde vrouw, gewönneheefi.U5S By contrast, in September1722, whentheiryoungestchildJohannesCoetzee was baptised, ElizabethandJacobusCoetzeewerebothdescribedin theDrakensteijn doopboek musthavedied lìederì(unmarried as 4ongetrouwden persons),so thatHansJürgen betweenDecember1720and September1722.ThatwouldexplainwhyElizabeth Louisz and JacobusCoetzee did notmarryuntil1724,whentheywereboth44 yearsold. ElisabethLouisz' secondchild,Maria,baptisedin Stellenboschin January is not childbyJacobusCoetzee.Maria'sfather 1704,maywellhavebeenherfirst arenamedas Janvan Ceijlonandhis namedin thedoopboek,buthergodparents old associatesofElisabethLouisz andherparentsand wifeDina (ofJonkershoek), ElizabethLouisz' thirdchild,Elisabeth(bapwellknowntotheCoetzeefamily.159 of werethechildren children tisedAnneElisabethin 1705) andall hersubsequent s, for,whilethe fromthedoopregister JacobusCoetzee,thoughthisis notapparent father ofAnneElisabethwas notnamed,Jacoba,baptisedin Cape Townin 1709, Margareta(baptisedin Cape Townin 1711) and Gerrit(baptisedin Cape Town Gerrit of Salzburg.160 underthenameof Hans Jürgen in 1712), werechristened Coetzeethusbeganlifeundera mistaken identity. of theCape Townchurchhave causedunTheseentriesin thedoopregister thegenealogy confusionamongthosewhohavetriedto reconstruct derstandable of thisbranchof theCoetzee family.But it is quiteclearfromotherdocuments ElisabethLouisz's first child,was drawnup manyyearslaterthatonlyJohannes, the For of Hans husband her fathered example, liquidation Jürgen Salzburg. by Sara vanderSchulp,drawnup in 1745but accountofJacobusCoetzee'smother, recordedpriortothatdate,statesclearlythatin 1739 carefully listingtransactions of GerritCoetzee) ElisabethLouisz and Jacobus execution the after (six years of Salzburgin no. 25. ForElisabethLouisz' associationwithHansJürgen en billetten, 155 C 2748,Diverseburgervrijbrieven maatwas JohanHerbst,theloverof Elizabeth's 1695,see VC 39, vol. 1, Musterrolls1660-1700.(Since Joosten'sformer and whilelivingwithhermother mother, Lijsbethvan de Kaap, one mayassumethatElisabethLouisz metHans Jürgen HerbstinJonkershoek.) 156 VC 39, Musterrolls,1660-1700, Stellenbosch1695. 157 VC 604,Doopregister, Kaapstad,26 September1700. 158 VC 644. Doonreeister. Drakensteiin. 15 December1720. 20 Januarv1704. 159 VC 632. Doonreeister. Stellenbosch. 160 VC 604, Doopregister, Kaapstad,3 February1709; 12 April17 11 and6 November1712. 32 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Maria(born1715),Elisabeth,Jacoba,Sara,DirkandJan Coetzeehadsixchildren: Coetzeeareclearlynamedas 'hinderen van boovengem:JacobusCoetsé,bij geMariamusthavedied meldeElisabethLouiszverweht'.161 Margaretaandthefirst beforethisdate.And fifteen in when the yearsearlier, 1724, couplewerefinally in Stellenbosch able to marry, thepredikant recordedtheeventas theunionbetween'JacobusCoetseevan Cabo, metElisabethGlam wede,van Cabo (hebbende7 kinderstussenhaar beide,wanneervereenigt The seventh wierden.y162 childwas Gerrit. The originsof JacobusCoetzee's love affairwithElizabethLouisz are hiddenfromtheeyeofthecurioushistorian. As alreadynoted,bothspenttheirchildhoodinandaroundJonkershoek, one ofthemostbeautiful valleysintheareanow knownas theCape winelands. WhenElizabethreturned tothevalleyinthe1690s, livingperhapsfirstwithhermotherand Herbston Joosten'sland and thenwith Hans Jürgen, herpathmust(literally)have crossedthatof DirkCoetzee's eldest son.Furthermore, it seemsthatHans Jürgen madea fateful choicewhichbrought hisyoungwifeintoclosercontactwiththeCoetzeefamily. In 1694,orthereabouts, he enteredintoan agreement withtheheemraadDirkCoetzee,in termsof which he wouldrent'a certainpieceofland,lyinginJanJonckershoek', andinreturn for hisenjoyment ofthefruits thereof he wouldpayCoetzee50 ewes. In 1697 (when JacobusCoetzeeandLijsbethLouisz werebothseventeen yearsold) thetwomen betweenthemhad been fulfilled and signeda documentstatingthatthecontract thattheyhadno further claimson one another.163 JacobusCoetzee's relationship withElizabethLouisz seemsto have caused hisparents muchdistress. In 1707theywentso faras topersuadetheGovernor and CouncilofPolicytostriphimofhisburgher enlist him a as soldier and send rights, himto Batavia.164 Such deportations werenotunheardof at thetime.165 Indeed Jacobus'parentsmayhavegottheidea fromeventsofthepreviousyear,whenthe CouncilofPolicy,facedwithwidespread agitation againstitselfandtheGovernor, WillemAdriaanvanderStel,decidedto getridof 'all singlemenandidlers.. .esthat peciallythosewho are notof good behaviourand who cannotdemonstrate earn their anddecently,' them they livinghonestly by 'fromtimetotime'enlisting as soldiersat f9 permonthandsendingthemto India.166 JacobusCoetzee was widelyreputed,accordingto theGovernor, to live a 'dishonourable and veryscandalouslife' ('een persoon alommeberigtvan een eerloosen zeer ergelijkleeveri)and his fatherand motherhad persistently and urgently requestedthathe be sentaway to India,'so thattheymightendureno 161 MOOC 13/1/3, no.61, LiquidationacountofSaraJacobszvanderSchulp,wedewijlendenburgerDirkCoetsé,31 December 1745. 162 VC 639, Huweliksregister Stellenbosch, 1700-1788,2 November1724.It is notat all clearwhyElisabethLouisz cameto be namedin somedocuments as ElisabethGlimorGlam. 163 1/STB18/40, 26 February 1697.The landinquestionwas knownas 'Assagaijbos'.Itwas 'a smallpieceofarable Contracts, landinJan-Jonkers ... ofwhichonly6 morgenweregoodland'andithadbeengranted Hoek,undertheGroote-berg toDirk CoetzeebySimonvanderStel,inadditiontothe39 morgenwhichbecameknownas Coetsenburg, 'in ordertocompensate himsomewhat'.(H.C.V. Leibbrandt, PrecisoftheArchives oftheCape ofGood Hope: requesten {memorials), 1715-1806, vol. 1 (Cape Town:Government Printers, 1905),257.) 164 C 1446,Lettersdespatched, Governor andCouncilat theCape toGovernor-General andCouncilof India,10 March1708. I havenotbeenable to finda written requestfromDirkCoetzeeandSara vanderSchulptothiseffect. 165 Schoeman,Armosyn, 437-438. 166 C 25, Resolutions, 11 March1706.Citedin Schoeman,Armosyn, 438. 33 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions him{op dat ze hierdoor geen meerschändevan mögt further disgracethrough in that he mightnevercomebackfromthere.'167 the beleeven), hope Thesewereharshwordsto use ofone's eldestson.Andwhatofhischildren, Maria,now aged threeand Jacoba,agedjust one year?Did his parentsspareno was it theirveryexistencewhichcaused forthem?Or,on thecontrary, thought themsuchdistress? to ask whatitwas aboutJacobusCoetzee's It is worthpausingfora moment Was ithercolour(being liaisonwithElisabethLouisz whichso upsethisparents. half-Asian or her she have been West African, dark-skinned), ancestry, may part with Was it herfather'slongstruggle thefactthatshe had been borna slave?168 liOr was ithermother debtandhisrecentsequestration? Lijsbeth'sextra-marital as a 'commonthief?Or wereDirk aisonwithHerbstandhershameful reputation ofDutchburghers CoetzeeandhiswifeSara vanderSchulp,boththechildren (he and from she of fromtheProtestant Amsterdam),169 especially stronghold Kampen and adulterouscontextof theirson's relationship provokedby theextra-marital themscancombinedtorender withElizabethLouisz?Mostlikelyall thesefactors dalised. beSchoemanandHeese haveablydemonstrated, As Hattingh, relationships commonat tweenwomenofcolourandmenofEuropeandescentwereextremely so muchso thattherewas scarcelya family theCape in theseventeenth century, to theopinionof Elphickand whichwas untouchedby such a union.Contrary In DirkCoetzee'sown the classes.170 to lower not confined such unions were Shell, had been bornin circletherewereseveralmenwhosewivesor mothers-in-law MatthiasGreeff, blacksmith The slaves. from were descended or wealthy slavery forexample,whohad severaltimesservedas heemraadalongsideDirkCoetzee, was marriedto SusannaClaasen van de Kaap.171His son MatthijsGreeffmarriedJacobusCoetzee's sisterSara in 1710 and afterSara's deathin 1718,Dirk Coetzeeand Sara vanderSchulptookin theirorphanedgrandson MatthijsGreeff The heemraadand churchelderArrieCruijtsand raisedhim as theirown.172 173 to Maria man,whoacquiredthevaluablefarmElsenburgin 1718, was married betweenHelenavanMalabarandthe Vosloo,childofan extra-marital relationship whofarmed GuillaumeFrisnet, Vosloo.174 Johannes chief woodcutter, Company's van de Kaap, a former to GrootArmosyn was married in Drakenstein, Company memberoftheStellenbosch slave(possiblyofWestAfricanorigin)andlong-time resiAndin 1720Hans JacobConterman church.175 ('Hans de Smif),a long-time and tothisletter toMansellUphamfordrawingmyattention 10 March1708.1am verygrateful 167 C 1446Letters despatched, itscompanioninC 382, Lettersreceived,9 November1707. see RemcoRaben, hacingthe to DutchprejudiceagainstAsiansin generaland Asian slaves in articular 168 For references hisand oceans: studiesinmaritime crowd:theurbanethnicpolicyoftheVOC in K. Mathew(ed.), Mariners,merchants tory(New Delhi:Manchar,1995). selt300 jaar in Suid-Afrika(Johannesburg, 169 N.A. Coetzee,Die stamouersCoetzeeand nageslagte:herdenkingsuitgawe published,1979). 170 ElphickandShell,'Intergroup relations',198. 638. vol. 2, 5 16; Schoeman,Armosyn, 17 1 Heese,Groepsondergrense,50; Heese andLombard,Geslagsregisters, 8 August1725. 172 MOOC 1/4,Weeskamer Notulenboek, of JanJürgen MOOC 8/3.103,Inventory Roose, 21 173 Guelkeand Shell,The deeds' book,85; TEPC Projectand Sentrum, December1718. vol. 3, 1082-1083. 174 Schoeman,Armosyn, 638; De Villiersand Pama,Geslagsregisters, 56 1. 175 Schoeman,Armosyn, 34 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions manwhojealouslyguardedhis reputaand a self-important dentof Stellenbosch of AndriesBeyers,the tion,madea secondmarriageto Maria Beyers,daughter the free black Catharina Therearemany by Vryman.176 Company'swaggon-maker, otherexamplesof such unions,butone finalexamplefromthe mid-eighteenth who in 1751 mustsuffice:thatof JacobusCoetzee's own brother Gerrit, century vanBeulen,childoftheGermanJanJansz Johanna at theage of68, wouldmarry andAnnavande Kaap, a former vanBeulen[orBollen]ofDitmarschen company vanBeulenwas also thewidowofthefreeblackWillemStoltsand, slave.Johanna for in marrying her,theelderlyGerritCoetzeeDirkzoonassumedresponsibility Stolts.177 herchildren by This made was sanctified Howevereach of theserelationships by marriage. rare within the wider of relations between themrelatively category Europeanmen relations and womenof colour.It is generallyacknowledgedthatextra-marital womenwerefarmore betweenEuropeanmenand slavebornor slave-descended were commonat theCape in thisperiodthanmarriages. Manysuchrelationships butotherswerelongtermand producedchildrenwho wereacknowltransitory, In suchcases, writesHans Heese, 'thechildrenwereabedgedby theirfathers. In general,longterm'concubinage'(in the sorbedintothewhitecommunity'.178 was of the tolerated day) by colonialsociety,whichturneda blindeye language butthereweresome,especiallywithintheCompanyesto its'immoral'features, tablishment andthelocal 'bestuurs-elite' (ofwhichDirkCoetzeewas a prominent it and who found member), reprehensible tookstepswheretheycouldto stampit out.179 In 1686,forexample,Dirkvan Koningshoven, a sergeant in theCompany's was severelyreprimanded garrison, by CommanderSimonvan der Stel and the Councilof Policyforhis 'misbehaviour'and 'scandalouslife'. His concubine, had applied Bort,a newlyemancipated Jannetje mesticoslaveoftheCommander, to theCouncilfor'permission'to marryVan Koningshoven, by whomshe alhad four 'onder van children, (with ready versekering trouwbelofte theassurance ofmarriage)'.180 The CouncilorderedVanKoningshoven to maintain thechildren andwarnedhimthathe wouldnotreceivepermission to marry anyoneotherthan Thisapproachapparently succeeded,forthecoupleweremarried Jannetje. bythe endoftheyearandwenton to haveanothersevenchildren together.181 Clearly,in thiscase, theassemblednotableswereoffended notso muchby theinter-racial natureoftherelationship as byitsillicitcharacter. In August1707 a row eruptedwithinthe ChurchCouncilin Cape Town. The newminister, FranciscusEngelbertus le Boucq,refusedto siton theCouncil withtwoof itsnewlychosenmembers, thedeaconJanOberholtzer and theelder 176 Ibid.,43; Heese andLombard,Geslagsregisters, vol. 1, 258. MariaBeyerswas thesisterofChristoffel Beijer,whotestified at thetrialofGerrit Coetzee. 177 Cairns,'WillemStolts';Heese andLombard,Geslagregisters, vol 1,603; vol. 12,(Gisa, 2005), 280-82. 178 Heese,Groepsondergrense,10. 179 For an illuminating discussionof concubinagein Batavia,see HendrikNiemeijer,'Slavery,ethnicity and theeconomic of womenin seventeenth-century in Batavia,in B. Andaya(edJ, Otherpasts: women,genderand history independence modern Southeast Asia 174-94. (Hawaii,2000), early 180 Schoeman,Armosyn, 56 1. 181 Ibid. 35 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions had an unblemished AbrahamPoulie,becauseithad cometo hisearsthatneither as a member of confirmed had been he said, Oberholtzer, only recently reputation. thechurch,and he was in anycase notfitto serveon thecouncil'dewijlhij zoo en haar hinderen geprolangentijdmeteenswartemeijd,ofhoer,huijsgehouden, ... (becausehe had forso longkepthousewitha black créeerdofgeprocureerd 's replywas childrenwithher)'. Oberholtzer meijd,or whore,and had procreated that He answered more edifying. scarcely Hij in dat leeveneen weersingekregenhebbende[,] zig totden tróuw begevenhebbende[,] wel waar te sijndat hij metzoo een meijdhadde die sij hadde op sijn naam niet huijsgehouden,maar dat de hinderen gedoopten waaren. . . (havingdevelopedan aversionto thatlife,he had embarkedupon a marriage[and that]it was indeedtruethathe hadkepthousewithsucha meijd,butthatthechildrenshehad had not inhisname...)182 beenchristened ofthemanumitThe womanin questionwas AgnietaColijn,granddaughter ted slaves Evertand Marij of Guinea and daughterof Maria Everts,a woman was Oberholtzer of considerablesubstance,by theHollanderBastiaanColijn.183 beenbornin his houseand at leastone, lying:Agnieta'schildrenhad apparently underhis namein the had beenchristened Overholscher Johannes (Oberholster), churchinCape Town.184 as a memberof ofJanOberholtzer Le Boucq's objectionto theappointment and theCape churchcouncilrevealsan unpalatablemixof theologicalrectitude racialprejudice.He cited 1 Timothy:3, whichdoes indeedenjointhatdeacons and eldersof thechurchshouldbe menof good repute,againstwhom'outsidwrotePaul, 'not ers' couldraiseno objections.Deacons should'be respectable,' toAgnietaColijnas a whorewas also not Le Boucq's reference double-tongued.' cenin seventeenth were and 'concubine' 'whore' virtually synonomous atypical: dewas a 'swarte as of her his But meijd' gratuitously description uryBatavia.185 links and her origins meaningbecauseitso clearlyemphasisedhernon-European withslavesandfreeblacks.''Meijd9was a termusuallyusedofslavewomenatthe Cape, andAgnietahadbeenborninfreedom. theothermembersof theCape TownKerkraadcouldnotfind Interestingly, from to supportle Boucq's proposalto removeJanOberholtzer it in themselves office.Theymerely'shruggedtheirshouldersandaftersomediscussionbackand Le Boucq said he wouldhe takeit forth theywouldnotconsentto it', whereupon council.186 the from Oberholtzer dismiss to on himself no. 112,2 August1707. C 2147, Verklaringen, 65 1-3. Schoeman,Armosyn, 653. 20 October1702; Schoeman,Armosyn, VC 604, KaapstadDoopregister, Melenaau ion inrsicousinoi lettherto marry ButAgnietamayhavebeenstungbytheuse ot theterm.WhenUberholtzer church lifeas farmer, Coetzee)andbegina respectable AndriesduToitofDaljosafat,whowas latertotestify againstGerrit another andheemraadofDrakenstein, councillor European,JanJansevanderHeyden,a Hollander Agnietaquicklymarried fromDelft.(Schoeman,Armosyn, 653.) 2 August1707. 186 C 2 147, Verklaringen, 182 183 184 185 36 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions familiarwith1 Timothy:3. The parentsof JacobusCoetzee werecertainly elderofthechurchshould'have an impeccablecharTheyknewthata presiding acter'.He shouldalso be 'a manwhomanageshisownhouseholdwellandbrings his children for,askedPaul, 'how can any up to obeyhimand be well-behaved,' manwhodoes notunderstand howto managehisownhouseholdtakecareofthe churchofGod?' DirkCoetzee,as we haveseen,was also a long-serving heemraad, andhe hadrecently beenappointedCaptainoftheschutterij (civicguard)in Stellenboschin place of HenningHüsing,whohad been sentto thevaderlandto anVanderStel.187 swerchargesoffomenting resistance to theauthority ofGovernor likeeldersofthechurch, wereexpectedtoleadbyexample.'De voorHeemraden, beeldfunctievan heemraden steldedus hogèremorele eisenaan hendan aan de DirkCoetzeemaywell kolonist.9m Given theseheavyresponsibilities, gemiddelde as itseems havefoundhisson'sbehaviour intolerable, especiallyifitwas flaunted, Racial prejudice to havebeen,beneathhis nose in thevillageof Stellenbosch.189 in thewidercommunity, especiallyagainstwomenofAfricandescent,who were but rarelychosenas bridesbyEuropeans,mayhaverubbedsaltin his wounds,190 one suspectsthat,as in thecase of Van Koningshoven, thechiefaffront was the natureoftherelationship. SinceElisabethLouisz was alreadymarried, adulterous therewas littleprospect ofhissonbeingable toregularise thesituation. Therewas foritbutto sendhim'faraway'. nothing JacobusCoetzeewas plucky, andhe refused togo quietly.No soonhowever, erhadhe arrivedinBataviainhisnewcapacityas Companyservant thanhe,along witha fellowdeportee, the and India Governor Council of to sendhim petitioned backagain.He said thathe had beenbornat theCape, 'and his parentsstilllived thereand he had beenmadea soldierin a violentmannerand sentaway against hiswill'. He wishedtoreturn to theCape withthenexthomeward-bound fleet,he as his as so to resume life a free wrotetheHoge said, Therefore, agriculturalist.191 Regeringin Bataviato theCape Councilof Policyin November1707,theyhad senthimandhiscompanion backtotheCape,stillintheircondition as soldiers,'so thattheycouldaddressthemselves to theGovernorand Councilthere',and they recommended thattheCouncil'deal fairlywiththesepoorpeopleand helpthem backon theirfeet'.192 The Cape Councilwas outraged. The twomenhadno righttocomplain,they since the scandalous of wrote, (Coetzee)was wellknownandthe lifestyle thefirst was second 'a vilepersonanda greatdrunkard'. The deportees hadmisrepresented theircircumstances, andtheCouncilwouldbe pleasediftheirExcellenciesinBatavia wouldhenceforth notgiveear to suchcomplaints, 'unlesssupported by sufficient so that we should not be to answer to the evidence; always required simple 187 H.C.V. Leibbrandt, PrecisoftheArchivesoftheCape ofGood Hope: Journal,1699-1732(Cape Town,1986), 14 August 1706,96-7. 188 Biewenga,De Kaap de GoedeHoop,58. 189 In September1704JacobusCoetzeewas granted an erfinthevillageof Stellenbosch. (Guelkeand Shell,Thedeedsbook, transfer no. 1414.) 190 Heese notesthatEuropeanmenrarelychose womenofAfricandescentas long-term sexualpartners. Mostextra-marital liaisonswithslavesinvolvedwomenofAsiandescent.(Heese, Groep,8, 10) 191 C 382,Inkomende Batavia to the 9 1 November 707. brieven, Cape, 192 Ibid. 37 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions andtodebatetheir ofthisorthatsoldieror sailor,howeverunfounded, complaints As man be to thefatherland. The second would sent on straight supposedwrongs.' forJacobusCoetzee,theywouldkeephimin serviceat theCape fora while,'to in his wayof life,in whichcase he will he makesanyimprovement see whether requestit;butwe believetheywillhavelittle againbe setfree,providedhisparents havehimfaraway.'193 to do so, butwouldrather inclination to mendhis ways,or hisparentsrelentEitherJacobusagreed(untruthfully) ed: in November1708 'den landbouwerJacobusCoetzee' was granteda graz'overde BergRiviertusschen inglicenseto settlewithhis stockin Drakenstein, after Baas JanenHendrikRoodenburg'mIn February1709,someelevenmonths his return fromBatavia,Jacoba,his thirdchildconceivedout of wedlockwith inCape Town.(Paternity was attributed to 'Hans ElisabethLouisz,was christened vanSaltsburgh').195 Jurrien Abraof a horse'.In 1710 theOud-Heemraad Thencame 'thesmallmatter Hoffman of in the Jan suit Stellenbosch hamde Villiersbrought against burgher was theloverof ElisabethLouisz' sisterMariaLouisz (he Hoffman Langenberg. De Villiersallegedthat ofherthreechildren.196 married herin 1711)andthefather hishorse:a blackmarewhichborethemarksofan hadmisappropriated Hoffman by a wolf.It had gone missingduringtheoptrekin Stellenbosch injuryinflicted thatthemarewas his: he had bought Hoffman countered in September1708.197 of 'Victor'inApril1708.In supportofhiscase itfor9 rixdollarsat thevendutie WillemCorneliszvan statements he submitted by JacobusCoetzee,JanHerfst, thathe knewthehorsewell; he had Coeveldand CasparJansz.Coetzeetestified De Villiersbridledat thecourt'ssuggestion oftenborrowedit fromHoffman.198 thathe too shouldproducewitnesses:he coulddo this,he said,buthe had twice ofall Hoffman's swornan oathandhiswordcountedformorethanthestatements he explained,'sincetheaccused were'inhabieV[unfit] Theirstatements witnesses. theirconcubines(doorde withone another, andthewitnessesarefriends through was theprobable v. Coesveld Willem Cornelisz and that die bijsitten zij hebben), cause oftheswappingofthehorse'.199 wereElisabethLouisz, her The 'bijsitten'to whichtheHeemraadreferred andAnnaLouisz. The first Maria sisters Louisz and her mother Sanders, Lijsbeth the concubinesof JacobusCoetzee,JohanHerbstand threewere respectively AnnaLouisz was in factmarriedto Caspar van Langenberg. Hoffman Johannes It appearsthatthefamilyafJansz(son of Janvan Ceijlon of Jonkershoek).200 fairsofJacobusCoetzeewereindeed'alommeberigf(widelyreported) amongthe to whichhisfather 'bestuurs-elite" belonged. 193 C 1446,Lettersdespatched, Cape to Batavia,10 March1708. ot me iarm whotooktransfer 194 RLR 1,13 November1708.Was 'Baas Jan'perhapsJean(or Jan)le Roux ot Normandie, at Goede Rustin Daljosafatin 1714? settlefurther afield,beforesettling Vlakkelandin 1694?Or didJacobusCoetzeefirst livedon thefarm ownerofGoedeRust,apparently seemsthemostlikely,sinceJacquesVivier,thefirst Thelatter possibility farmDe DruijveValleijwas situatedfartothenorthof Daljosafat. untilhisdeathin 1714,andHendrikRoodenburg's 3 February1709. 195 VC 604, Kaapstaddoopregister, 196 J.Hoge,'PersonaliaoftheGermansat theCape, 1652-1806',Archives yearbook,vol. 9 (1946), 167. incivilcases,30 December1709. 197 1/STB5/6,Minutesofproceedings 1710. 19 January 198 1/STB18/155,Notarialdeclarations, incivilcases, 10 February1710. 199 1/STB5/6,Minutesofproceedings 'Blankenageslag',11-12. 200 See Hattingh, 38 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Abrahamde Villierswonhiscase. Hoffman hadbeenlying:thehorsewas not his.He hadacquireditaccidentally, as theresultofa mix-upon thepartofWillem it to itsrightful Cornelisvan Coeveld.Insteadof returning ownerhe had falsely claimeditas hisown.DirkCoetzee,who,as heemraadhadtakenthesworntestiwhen defence,musthavebeenmortified monyofhisownsongivenin Hoffman's thecourtfoundin favourofDe Villiers.It also foundthat'all thedocuments preandunfit, sentedbytheaccusedwereobjectionable bloodrelationsince,through to misleadthejudge {alle des gedaagdens theywereintended shipandotherwise stuckenmitsvermenginge vanbloetverwantschap als andersints tot ge-exhibierde vandenregiergericht, inhabielen verwerpelijk mislijdinge zijn).'201 JacobusCoetzee may not have intentionally lied in order to support case. He maynothaveknownthatthehorseindisputedidnotbelongto Hoffman's Hoffman. Butin a community wherehonourmattered ofthe deeply,thejudgment was damning. His father assembledHeemraden hadbeenshamedbyassociation. Inheritance In 1721 DirkCoetzeeannouncedhis intention to retirefromfarming: he was 66 he with an invalid wife and no children in the house. He had yearsold, explained, donehisbesttoacquithimself wellintheserviceofthechurchandthecommunity andhe nowwishedto retirefrom'theunavoidabledifficulties ofcountry life'and the remainder of his 'in life meer ruste en minder spend omslag'('morerestand less upset')inCape Town.202 In 1722he andhiswifeSara vanderSchulpmadepreparations to handover theirhomestead(Coetsenburg) to theirsecondson GerritCoetzeeDirkzoon,who married SusannaLoefkeinJunethatyear.203 Gerritwas allowed (coincidentally?) tolease Coetsenburg on condition thathe farmeditproperly. In lieuofrenthe was to payhisparentshalftheharvestof grain,wineand anyothercropsraisedupon thefarm.204 Overthecourseofthenextthreeyearshe suppliedthemwithquantitiesofwheat,peas,beans,driedfruit andalmonds.In 1723and 1724he sentlarge of and quantities brandy wineto his fatherin Cape Townand in February1725, one yearafterhe had acquiredCoetsenburg in freehold, he brought his father'a loadofgoodsparsanda loadofgoodslats,'op mijneijgenlandtgekaptdoororder van mijnvader,om sijn agterhuijste vermaakerì('choppedon myown landby orderofmyfather, so as to alterhisouthouse').205 On 1 March1724Gerrit CoetzeeDirkzoontooktransfer ofCoetsenburg. His fatherset thepriceat /4000 and added a further for some 'loose /3600 goods' tools and furni(2 slaves,60 head of cattle,30 leggers,and some agricultural ture)whichwentwiththefarm.Gerritwas to pay/2600 cash and thebalanceof 201 1/STB5/6,Minutesofproceedings incivilcases,24 February1710. 202 C 1086, Memorialsandrequests, 7 October1721. 203 Gerritwas 39 whenhe married SusannaLoefke.Theyalreadyhadone child,Eva, christened in 1719.Theirsecondchild, on thedav ofhisparents'marriaee.(De Villiersand Pama.GeslaQsreQixters. Adam,was christened vol 1 145 ì 204 MOOC 14/14,Annexures to liquidation accountof Sara van derSchulp,statement of Janle Roux de Normandie, Coert HelmandHendrik 9 November1728;see also an undatedaccountsubmitted Coningshoven, byGerritCoetsé. 205 Ibid.,undatedaccount. 39 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions thefirst /5000infiveequal portions, payableon 1 March1726andthelastdue on 1 March1730.206 On 26 February1724,justthreedaysbeforeGerritmadehis markuponthe of JacobusCoetzee finallyacquiredownership of Coetsenburg, deed of transfer Goede Rustand Non Pareille,thetwofarmsin Daljosafatwhichhe had already (a total occupiedforsometime.He agreedto pay/1200 forbothfarmstogether a bond he areaof 100 morgen)and,likehisbrother Gerrit, signed mortgage (custin favourofthepreviousowneroftheland,in thiscase PieterJanszvan ingbrief) andpromisedto He paidhim/300 upfront of Drakenstein. Marseveen,a resident first due on 26 the in three annual the balance instalments, February1725and pay 1727.207 26 thelaston February Was DirkCoetzee's eldestson Jacobusdisinherited by his parentsbecause of his longaffairwithElizabethLouisz? This is theconclusionimpliedby Leon ofLouis ofBengalhas beeninvaluable whosestudyofthedescendants Hattingh, Thereis no evidencethatJacobus is wronginthisparticular. ButHattingh tome.208 DirkCoetzeeand Sara Coetzeewas disinherited by his parents.On thecontrary, weretreated carefultoensurethattheirchildren vanderSchulpwerescrupulously In their them. was divided estate when their jointwill,drawn among joint equally ordainedthat'any up in 1714,whenDirkCoetzeewas 60 yearsold,theyexplicitly fromtheestate]in orderto marryor to childof ours [whohas enjoyedbenefits to acrecord the written to a home, keptbyus, willbe brought according acquire so so that countafterourdeathand [theamountofthebenefit] deducted, by doing noneof ourchildrenshouldgo shortin his inheritance (opdatsodoendeniemand Theseprovisionswererepeated in sijn ervdeelverkortwerde)'.209 onserhinderen inthewilldrawnup byCoetzee'swidow,Sara vanderSchulp,inApril1727.She totheestate,whether was indebted ofherchildren statedthatwhichever expressly 'totuijthuwelijken ofom haarliedenterzeette brengen(to marryor to acquirea shouldmakegood the forwhomtheestatehad stoodsurety, and those home)', amountsoutoftheirshareoftheinheritance.210 todivideall herwoollenand herexecutors SaravanderSchulpalso instructed tothaar lijfbehoorende' linenclothing, gemaaktgouden silverwerk 'mitsgaders to as equallyas possiblebetweenhertwodaughters, Coetzee,married 'Margaretha the married to Maria and theheemraadatDrakensteijn Coetzee, MatthijsKreugel, and Maria wereher HendrikStempelMuller...'2n In 1727,Margaretha burgher as heryoungest, Sara,hadpredeceasedher.Noneof daughters, onlytwosurviving endowed. was similarly herdaughters-in-law omitted thatElizabethLouisz' namewas wilfully hasalso suggested Hattingh Dirk Coetzee of The is not correct. too But this fromthelistofheirs.212 inventory (compiledon 9 October1725) and his widow'swill (8 April1727) followedthe accountof Sara van derSchulp,document to liquidation 206 Deeds Office,T 1582, 1 March1724; MOOC 14/14,annexures dated1 March1724. 207 Deeds Office:Tl 580, 26 February1724. 'Blankenageslag',15. 208 Hattingh, 209 CJ2603,Wills,no. 6, DirkCoetseandSara vanderSchulp,14August1714. 210 CJ2604,Wills,no. 13, WillofSara vanderSchulp,8 April1727. 211 ¡bid. 'Blankenageslag',15. 212 Hattingh, 40 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions thehusbandsoftheirdaughters werementioned acceptedpattern: byname,while laws thewivesof theirsonswerenot.This practiceaccordedwithcontemporary and to inheritance: since the husband was the head the of compertaining marriage established he was technically theheir,and nothis wife.He munity bymarriage, namedindocuments was necessarily tothedivisionoftheestate.Once pertaining ElizabethLouisz was widowedin 1738,hernameappearsin thesedocuments, as thewidowof JacobusCoetzee.213 By thistimeshe and herlate husbandhad receivedall buta tinyportionoftheirdue inheritance: 344 rixdollarsand 35 stuiwas dividedinexactlyequal porwers.Thebalanceof8 rixdollarsand30 stuiwers tionsbetweenElizabethLouisz on theone handandhersix surviving children by JacobusCoetzeeon theother.214 Herfamilythusreceivedexactlythesameamount fromtheestateas theotherheirs:353 rixdollarsand 17 stuiwers. On theotherhand,whilethereis no evidenceofoutright one disinheritance, couldarguethatJacobusCoetzeewas severelydisadvantaged his failfather's by ureto extendhimcredit.Thereis no evidencethatJacobusCoetzeereceivedany loan fromhis father or his mother. his brother Gerritwas enabledto By contrast, a well developed,irrigableand conveniently locatedfarmon buyCoetsenburg, theedgeof Stellenbosch and his brother Jan ofthesons (thefirst village, younger to marry)was providedwithsuretyfordebtshe had incurred forthepurchaseof inCape Town.215 In bothcases thetermsofrepayment weregenerousand property flexible.In 1731,Gerrit CoetzeeDirkzoonstillowedhisparents'estatethesumof 804 rixdollars(/2412).JanCoetzeerepaidsomeofhisdebtsoonafterthedeathof hismother, butthebalanceof/1701 was stilloutstanding in 1739.216 These sums werefargreater thanthe/1200 expendedbyJacobusforthepurchaseofhis two farmsin Daljosafatandpaidinfullbythedue dateinFebruary1727. The parentshave eatenunripegrapes; and thechildren'steethare seton edge. (Ezekiel 18: 1-2) JacobusCoetzeeandElizabethLouisz weremarried in Stellenbosch inNovember 1724.Theywereboth44 yearsold. It is notclearwhathappenedto Elizabeth'shusband,Hans Jürgen of Salzfor is he all but in invisible the archival In record. 1703 he was burg, alreadydescribedinthemuster rollsas a mantooold to attendtheannualoptrek.211 By 1712 he seemstohavebeenlivinginDrakenstein, aloneandwithout In 1719 property.218 he was stillalivebutdescribedas 'oud en arm' anddependent on poorrelieffrom 2 13 MOOC 13/1/3,no.6 1, Liquidation anddistribution accountofSaraJacobszvanderSchulpwedeDirkCoetsé,3 1 December 1745. 214 Ibid. 215 In November1720 DirkCoetsestoodsurety fora loanof/600 obtainedbyJohannes fromone David Boelhouwer( 1/STB 18/64,Obligatiën,1 November1720) andinFebruary 1728 Sara vanderSchulptookovera debtof/3000whichJanCoetsé had owed theOrphanChambersinceJuly1724.(See MOOC 1/6,Minutesof theOrphanChamber,21 July1724 and C no. 70, 141.) 1088,Requestenen nominasies, 216 TEPC ProjectandSentrum, MOOC 8/6.98,Inventory ofSaraJacobszvanderSchulp,23 February1728;MOOC 3/1/3, no. 61, Liquidationanddistribution accountofSara JacobszvanderSchulp,3 1 December1745. 217 Hattingh, 'Blankenageslag',14. 218 Ibid. 41 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions He musthavediedsoonafter, foras we haveseen, thediaconi]ofDrakenstein.219 as a widow. Elizabethis describedin themarriage register Jacobusand ElisabethLouisz lived modestlyat Non Pareille.Theirhouse WhenJacobusdiedinApril comprised onlytworooms:a kamerand a voorhuijs. 1738,fourand a halfyearsafterhis eldestson was drownedin Table Bay,his householdeffects werevaluedbyhisneighbours (AndriesduToit,CharlesMarais, JanMaraisCharleszoonandJohannes Sweetmans)ata meagre33 guldenÇkeuken His livestockand his 18 goederen guld: kameren voorhuijsgoederen15 g/:').220 storeof winewereworthmore,butthegrossvalueof his entireestateamounted toonly/3058and,hadtheOrphanChamberforceda sale (whichitdidnot),there wouldhavebeenscarcely/1500 leftafterdebtsto thedoctor(/1000) andthediaconij (/600) hadbeenpaid. JacobusCoetzee'srelativeswerenotamongthosewho stoodsuretyforthe of his threeminorchildren(Sara, Dirkand Jan).Nor werethey vaderserfportie bed ofElisabethLouisz some24 yearslater(8 June1762).221 at the death present itwas nother ofherwillwas contested Whenthevalidity bytheOrphanChamber, totestify toherwishesandsupport whocameforward in-laws,butherneighbours childof theSwiss JanOberholster theclaimsof herson-in-law, (therepudiated his concubine Oberholtzer Jan Amongthem AgnietaColijn).222 by immigrant weretheOud HeemraadPieterdu Toitof Calais andhis nephewsStephanusand Guillaumedu Toit,sonsofAndriesdu ToitofKleinbos.223 had come forwardon an earlieroccasionto ElizabethLouisz' neighbours a to thevalidityof familybequest.In 1734 hermother, LijsbethSanders testify in (Lijsbethvande Kaap), hadcometo livewithher.LijsbethhadleftOpperherfst In FebruHerbst. Johann her the death of partner, following Wagenmakersvalleij interms withhereldestdaughter, a contract ary1738sheenteredintoa retirement to six with Griet's de herslave,Grietvan Caab, ofwhichshetransferred children, and 'good accommodation'.224 forlifelongmaintenance 'LijsbethLouisz' inreturn Since neitherLijsbethSandersnorLijsbeth(Elizabeth)Louisz could write,the It was caremusthavebeendrawnup bysomeoneintheneighbourhood. contract witnesses':CharleMarais (sic), Andriesdu fullysignedby seven 'trustworthy Toit,GuiliamOverholster (childof JanOberholtzer by his lawfulwifeHelena du Toit),IgnatiusMarais(Maree?),KasperRaadts,JacobusMaraisandAbraham Leroe (sic). Two of thesemenhad givenevidenceagainstElizabeth'sson Gerrit fiveyearsbefore. Shouldwe conclude,then,thatthehouseholdandfamilyofJacobusCoetzee was embracedand acceptedbyhis neighbours? Or,if 'embraced'be too stronga ofthe tobe fullmembers and tolerated were word, acknowledged grudgingly they the and Had in whichtheylived? close knitruralcommunity passageof marriage timeerasedthescandalwhichhadonceattachedto them?Was Gerrit'sbehaviour oftheCouncilofPolicy,2 1 November1719. 2 19 TANAP Project,C 5 1, Resolutions ofJacobusKoetse,26 Apnl 1738. The kamerandvoorhuijsgoedeMOOC 8/6.11b, Inventory 220 TEPC ProjectandSentrum, ofJacobusCoetze,8 May 1738). renwerelaterrevaluedat/50 (MOOC 8/6.1la, Inventory incivilcases,22 July1762. 22 1 CJ856, Minutesofproceedings 222 MOOC 12/2,Bewijzen,1738-1756,no. 6; CJ 1083,Documentsincivilcases, 12July1762. 223 CJ 1083,Documentsincivilcases, 12July1762. accountofElisabethLowice(1764). to liquidation 224 MOOC 14/26,part1, annexures 42 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions andhisdramatic (indeed,theatrical) expulsionfromthecommunity justa terrible thatGerrit'sfatewas somehowlinkedto Or am I rightin suspecting aberration? toliveouttheircommitment thetrajectories ofhisparents'lives,as theystruggled inthefaceofsocialdisapproval? WasGerrit's lifeinsomesensethe tooneanother intothefreeburgher community? pricetheyhadtopayforfullintegration We cannotanswerthesequestionsconclusively.But it may be usefulto call to mindtheworkof Hans Heese and thecarefulcommentsmadeby Karel vandie Kaap. Schoemanas he summedup hischapteron freeblacksinArmosyn The extentto whichfreeblackswereacceptedin thesocial and economiclife oftheCape duringthefirst decades[oftheDutchoccupation]is startling', wrote swartvoor1700 bekleehet,hetgrootliks van Heese in 1984.'Die statuswat 'n vry die individu en nie van ras nie.'225 afgehang noodwendig sy ofetniesegroepering ButbothHeese and Schoemanhave pointedto a turnfortheworsein thestatus of freeblacksduringthefirst Schoemanwrites quarterof theeighteenth century. in theCape community or stratification of 'a processof "sifting" whichbecame noticeablearound1700' and was associatedwith'moreand moresignsof direct andindirect colourdiscrimination.'226 'Duringthe1720s',writesSchoeman,'one beginsto noticea wholeseriesof isolatedincidents ofwhichno singleoneis perhapsparticularly butwhich striking, indicatea distinctly newcontourandshowhowthegroundwas beginning together In 1722,forexample,a separatemilitiacompanywas establishedin to shift.'227 - 'so thattheyshould Cape Townforfreeblacks- the'Compagniedervrijzwarteiï notbe leftidleandthusbe givenopportunity foruncivilbehaviour.'228 Theywould serveunderofficers fromamongtheirownranksand,unliketheircompatriots in theburgher infantry, theywouldnotbeararms,butwouldratherbe expectedto in theburgher fightfiresand preventthelootingof shipwrecks.229 Participation had free blacks a cherished sense ofbelongingandinclusionin the infantry given freecommunity; thecreationof a separatemilitiacorpswas thusa real blow to self-esteem and a threatto whatupwardmobility theymayhave enjoyed.Moredistinctions this of based thanrace over, sort,thoughostensibly uponstatusrather as Schoeman has could, observed,easilyshadeintoracialdiscrimination. therewere signsthat Alreadyin theearlyyearsof theeighteenth century an uglyracism'smoulderedbeneaththe surface',to use Schoeman's evocative drawnup by AdamTas phrase.It burstintotheopen in a documentapparently to the widow HansJürgen ofDirkCoetzeeat (married Grimpandthusa neighbour in 1706anddirectedagainsttheGovernor, WillemAdriaanvan der Coetsenburg) Stel.The document had 15 signatories, of theCape and mostlyfromthedistricts and their fear and of their coloured Drakenstein, theyexpressed loathing compatriotsin vividterms.Theirslaveswerenottobe trusted, theywrote 225 226 227 228 Heese,Groepsondergrense,28. 670. Schoeman,Armosyn, Ibid.,67 1. Mytranslation. M.K. Jeffreys and S.D. Naudé (eds), Die Kaapse Plaakaatboek,1652-1806,vol. 2 (Cape Town:Cape Times,1948),93, citedinIbid.,671. 229 RobertRoss, Statusand respectability in theCape Colony,1750-1870:a tragedyof manners(Cambridge:Cambridge Press,1999),34. University 43 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions En vrij minder...de CaffersyMoulattos,Mestiços,Castigos en al dat swartgebroeijdselonder ons woonende,en metEuropeaanse en AfricaanseChristenendoor huwelijkenen andere vermengingen dewelkein vermoogen, vermaagdschapt, getal en hoogmoet(pride)f onseruijterste de Christenen verwonderingen aangegroeijd,en neffens en krijgsoeffening totallerhandewapenhandeling tougelaten,geven te ons metduijsterlijk[?] daar haar trotsebejegeningen(treatment) weldenvoetop datseonsyhaar slaag (success)waarnemende, kennen, wantdat Chamsbloedis niette de neksondenkönnenen willensetteny betrouwen.230 atthepridewithwhichpeople thememorialists' One notesparticularly indignation with (readmen)of colourborearmsalongside'theChristians'and participated exercises.Wherewould thisend? theywondered. themin the annualmilitary '? Wouldtherebe a reversalof roles,'wantdat Chamsbloed is niette betrouwen as one ofthewell-springs ofracism. has longbeenrecognised Fearofcompetition - was a source The rightto beararms- and publiclyto displayone's masculinity and some,itseems,werevehemently ofgreatprideamongmalefreeburghers opdescent,well posed to sharingthishonourwithmenof Eurasianor Eurafrican oftheseparatefreeblackmilitiacorpsin 1722. beforetheestablishment in themind Was thisthesentiment 'Dat Chamsbloed is niette betrouwen'. inthe Coetzeeinhisslavequarters ofAndriesduToitwhenhe foundyoungGerrit summerof 1733? 'Whatare you doinghere?'he asked. 'Did yourparentssend you?Did youcometo steal?' AndwhatofthetwoyoungmenwhoespiedGerritCoetzeeon theotherside of CharlesMarais'quincehedge,actingsuspiciouslywithLeendertvan Saxen's thesame wereroughly Louw Pretorius greymare?Abrahamle RouxandJohannes the ofadultmales on all three were as Gerrit Coetzee; cusp youngfreeburgher age of small wives from the for be soon would hood.231 pool availcompeting They havebeen well Gerrit In this able and sociallyapprovedfemales.232 context, may andsubjectedtounusualsurveillance. markedoutas 'different' Andwhenhe was seento stumbleandfall,howdidhis 'Christian' peersconIt was believed was a sin of excess. as we have struehisbehaviour? seen, Sodomy, 'mad of the to surrender and from to stemfroma lackof self-control, pull unsubuncleanandplacedhissoul theperpetrator desire'.Itspracticerendered ordinated Was this(fromtheviewpoint death.233 this side of reach of the redemption beyond the of thosewho watchedhimand thosewho spreadnewsof his transgression) 1 bloed' 'dat Chams destinyof half-anticipated Andwas Gerrit, onlydoingwhatwas expectedofhim? perversely, denHaag,VOC 4057, 1035,citedin Heese,Groepsondergrense,28. 230 NasionaalArgief, was lo. Louw Pretorius 231 Abrahamle Rouxwas 24 in 1733andJohannes in 1730 was 232 AccordingElphickand Shell,theratioof mento womenin theadultfreeburgher populationof Drakenstein 160:100.('Intergroup relations',196.) 'A shortpaperabouta dog'. 'In 1051 PeterDamiánhad gone so faras to suggestthatsodomy,alone 233 S. Newton-King, at leastnotthissideofdeath.' amongthesinsoftheflesh,was a sinwhichcouldnotbe repented, 44 This content downloaded from 196.11.235.237 on Mon, 29 Sep 2014 07:02:07 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions