In 1866, 186 enslaved African(s) were “liberated” in a state-run scheme usually resulting in involuntary indentures, conscription, or re-enslavement. Under the jurisdiction of 18, Case ID LA-E-5316 occurred via the Inboekstelsel
| RegID | LA-E-5316 |
|---|---|
| Case Name | Commando v. BaKekana/Zoutpansberg |
| Year | 1866 |
| Government Department | Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek |
| Court | Inboekstelsel |
| Trial Outcome | Condemned |
| Enslaved Total | 186 |
| Liberated Africans Total | 186 |
| Registered Total | 0 |
| Notes | Between 1840 and 1870 in what became Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek, inboekselings were children captured and apprenticed to Boer settlers. These children were deemed to be orphans and the law required that they be registered or "ingeboek." Inboekstelsel, or "registration regime," has a historical origin dating back to the early eighteenth century. These children were indentured until the age of 25 if they were male, and 21 if they were female. There is, however, no evidence of the emancipation of the inboekselings at their coming of age. Fred Morton can only provide a "crude estimate and one likely well below the actual sum." His estimates are largely based on an average of 186 people seized per raid and about two raids per year. According to Morton, "the most unmistakable characteristic of the data is the extremely high rate of reported captive children." The population of these forced labourers numbered about 4,000 people in 1866, nearly one for every ten members of the settler population. Case names are based on Morton's Table 10.1, which provide best estimates and plausible clues as to where inboekselings were initially captured. It is also difficult to assign where these children ended up as they were handed over to the landrost (magistrate). While more research is needed into these data, Bloemfontein is used as the arrival location and then Pretorius after its foundation in 1855. |
| Sources | Peter Delius, and Stanley Trapido, "Inboekselings and Oorlams: The Creation and Transformation of a Servile Class," Journal of Southern African Studies 8, no. 2 (1982): 214-242; Stanley Trapido, "Aspects in the Transition from Slavery to Serfdom, the South African Republic 1842-1902," Collected Seminar Papers: Institute of Commonwealth Studies 20 (1976); 24-31; Fred Morton, "Slave-Raiding and Slavery in the Western Transvaal after the Sand River Convention," African Economic History 20 (1992): 99-118; Fred Morton, "Slavery in South Africa," in Elizabeth A. Eldredge, and Fred Morton, eds., Slavery in South Africa: Captive Labor on the Dutch Frontier (Boulder: Westview Press, 1994), 252-269; Charles H. Feinstein, An Economic History of South Africa: Conaquest, Discrimination and Development (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005); Keith Breckenridge, "Power Without Knowledge: Three Nineteenth Century Colonialisms in South Africa," Journal of Natal and Zulu History 26 (2008): 3-30. |
| Cite as |
| X Capture | |
|---|---|
| Y Capture | |
| Ship Status | Unknown |
| Date of departure from a place or port in Africa generally following the purchase of enslaved people. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Region of departure from Africa. Required entry. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. | South Central Africa |
| Place or port of departure from Africa, if known. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | |
| Capture date at sea or on land, if known. Date of the sentence. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Location | |
| Navy | |
| Ship | |
| Captain | |
| Supporting Ships | |
| Sentence Date | |
| Date of arrival to the place where the trial, purchase, or asylum occurred, resulting in "liberation" and indenture. Includes YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Region of arrival around the world. Required field. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. Other regions outside of Africa include, Western Europe, East Coast of North America, etc. | South Central Africa |
| Place or port of arrival around the world. Required field. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | Pretoria |