Briefwisseling oor Kaapse sake 1778-1792

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XXII Draft of a personal letter written by Swellengrebel to a member of the Government in Dordrecht C. de Gijselaar,
26.6.1783

In answer to a request by De Gijselaar Swellengrebel informs him that the Cape is healthy and has fertile soil and that the population has increased as a result of the arrival of the French refugees and the settling of officials who wished to become Freeburghers. They were soon able to produce enough grain for themselves and for passing ships as well as for the requirements of Batavia and the East. Subsequently they raised more than enough.

During the past 25 years, in the time of Ryk Tulbagh it became clear that the Cape was not able to dispose of its surplus produce. The requirements of French and English ships brought temporary but very fluctuating relief. The Company arranged some exports to Europe, but at prices so low that the farmers received little benefit.

In the Cape district from which transport by road is feasible there is room for a few thousand grain and wine farmers. However, rough and ready farming methods and on extensive terrain which has allowed farms to vary greatly in area, and has permitted unenclosed grazing, together with the requirements of slaves and trek-oxen, means that room can be found for only a limited number.

Farmers in this country have many children and as farming remains primitive, young colonists have crossed the mountains and have become cattle farmers. Some moved into the Roggeveld, so called because the grass grows as high as rye. Others moved along the South-east coast where the grass is lush and the air salubrious. Cattle multiplied. Farmers needed large farms. With time and without veld-management, the natural grazing deteriorated and seasonal migrations developed. Because of the big demand for trek-oxen and because stockfarmers attempted to maintain their income from sheep in the face of lower mutton prices by raising more sheep, those who could, acquired additional farms. Smaller farmers therefore moved further east until they came to the Sneeuwbergen or to live amongst the Caffers. Many farmers remained unmarried for lack of means and made do with Hottentot women. Population figures for 1776 show that the colony was still sparcely populated. Many grainfarmers have also three or four cattle farms on which only one European family lives.

In the far distant districts the way of life is penurious. Civilised standards decrease as the farmers have little connection with Cape Town.

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Stockfarming does not lead to diligence. Driving the cattle into the veld in the morning and bringing the herds back at night constitutes the whole day's work. From time to time the farmer goes hunting, taking a Hottentot with him to carry his gun and shoulder the game that has been shot.

When necessary a party of neighbours goes on a lion hunt. Their indolence goes so far that they do not bother to grow vegetables or fruit. If a garden is to be found, the women have made it. Some young men who no longer live with their parents do nothing at all, but live in a miserable hut amongst the Hottentots. The flesh of a wild buck serves them for bread.

From this short sketch and the appendix it is evident that nowadays the distance from the Cape, low prices, and the uncertainty of the market makes farming a hazardous undertaking. When many foreign ships call at the Cape there is a temporary boom and farmers increase their production. When demand falls again there is a surplus and prices are so low that the farmers who at a heavy cost have expanded their production, cannot make ends meet and are in a worse position than before. When farmers do make a profit, they are unable to invest their money in the Cape except in developing their farms. This turns to their own detriment, by bringing about overproduction. There are no public funds; the Company accepts only a limited amount of money for transmission overseas; and the traders get in first with the purchase of any available bills of exchange. Besides, what careful person would care to speculate in uncertain times?

Moreover even when prices are good, for grain farmers who live far from the Cape no profit is possible. A cattle farmer may need 40 days to carry a load of butter and soap to the market once a year, for which he receives perhaps a hundred rix-dollars. All farmers pay high prices for clothing, farm implements and ox-waggons.

But even supposing the stock-farmer may be able to make a good living now, he cannot continue to do so, because their numbers increase daily and they must find grazing for their livestock. Those who go further into the interior, have already incurred the hostility of the Bushmen- Hottentots and of the Kaffirs who cannot prevent territorial extension, but can make life unsafe. They cannot find grazing in between existing farmers who already complain that their grazing lands are overstocked. The young farmer has a choice between staying at home and trekking further into the interior. If he stays at home he cannot marry, so he may become involved with Hottentot women. Alternatively a large patriarchal family may develop on the ancestral land. It has been put to me that they could still live contentedly if they were less quarrelsome. That is true but

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only on condition that they would be contented to live the simple life. Some variety in the diet would be possible but drink would be limited to water, milk and honey, clothing to a leather jacket. For anything more trade is necessary, for without it how would they get iron to make weapons for the hunt and for protection against wild animals? This kind of life would perhaps suit Rousseau's wild Hottentots, but descendants of a civilized nation need more, or else they will fall back into barbarism.

People living at the Cape are accused of laziness and vainglory. If true, this is the result of lack of opportunities of working. This is observable elsewhere. In Amsterdam people are more active than in small country towns. In the neighbourhood of the Town work is left to slaves and considered unfit for gentlemen. Those who trek into the interior are attracted by a life of liberty among wide open spaces; will not be constrained by laws and readily take to violence when thwarted.

The question is asked, why do young men not work as farm labourers, and so no longer live, as animals, along with the beasts in the veld, but become useful citizens? Agriculture would then be conducted more efficiently than when carried on with slaves. But how could our young Afrikaners be brought to take this step? First slavery would have to be done away with, for if they fulfil the same function they must be on an equal footing. Or must they all be farm-foreman? If so, the farmers themselves will become all the lazier; and the burdens on agriculture will grow. Moreover, supposing that occupation for many young people could be provided in his way, it could hardly be done at one stroke. Would they not have to be assimilated gradually? Some say they could become soldiers or seamen. How large would the military establishment be in that case, to find employment for an appreciable number of young Kaapenaars? What would be the advantage to the Company of maintaining so large a garrison in a refreshment station which has perhaps for some years been costing over 300 000 guilders a year, when they could be doing productive work? I trust they would not be forced to serve as soldiers in the Indies, where the young Afrikaners would be at even greater risk than Europeans of contracting diseases such as small-pox. I myself would prefer to live a hunter's life in the veld than be a common sailor.

The more I reflect on the condition of the Colony, the more convinced I become that it can never be in peace and maintain itself in the long run without a reliable outlet for its products and unless some better employment than cattle-herding can be provided for its otherwise fortunate people. It is of no importance that the dissatisfaction came to a head in prosperous times. The difficulty already existed and the rise in prices,

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which depends on the presence of large numbers of foreign ships, can only be temporary. Moreover, if such a rise in prices occurs at a time when colonists, who are not particularly rich, may already have had to sell their corn and wine at low prices, they cannot take advantage of the rise in the market. This may be why these disturbances have broken out amongst people of only moderate means, not amongst the rich.

Since the contrasting expressions ‘we white Christians’ and ‘they, black Heathen’ are so general, I doubt whether religion alone can bring enough improvement in barbarous morals. On the contrary, I would be concerned lest it be used as a cloak for violence; unless at the same time such lawless characters are brought back into a civilized society. This involves dragging them away from wild life on the open veld and reintroducing them to civilization by means of the bait of profit and the prospect of improving their condition. Two main things are needed: a good market for their produce and a means of obtaining farm implements at a reasonable price.

This raises the question whether the colonists ought not to be allowed freedom of navigation along the East Coast of Africa and onwards to the East Indies, excepting where the Company might wish to reserve the trade in certain commodities or where it would be contrary to treaty obligations. This concession ought markedly to enlarge the opportunities for sales of wines from the Western Cape and grain from the Overberg along the South-East Coast. An objection might come from the Cape itself, that suitable harbours are lacking. This might prove erroneous, if serious efforts were made to chart this coast ...

So far I have considered the Cape Colony solely as a possession of the East India Company. Should not the Republic itself set great store on having a colony that is a source from which the requirements of its shipping can be plentifully supplied at a time when stronger and stronger competition is being experienced from foreigners? Consider the weak state of the Baltic grain trade. But the Colony in the neighbourhood of Cape Town, where corn and wine is produced in excess of the requirements of ships and the East Indian factories, could be a source of supply for the Netherlands, while the Overberg district could be developed as a separate colony and export its produce direct if this were permitted; even if permission was restricted to trade with the Fatherland. Mossel Bay could be developed as the harbour for the trade. It is far enough from the Cape to make collusion in illicit trade difficult. Even though such bulky products do not appear suited to long-distance trade, a colonist would find it worthwhile. At present, when farmers' requisites are at their dearest, he is well enough off if he can sell his wheat at 24 Rds (of 48 stivers) for

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10 muids. Now suppose that he supplies his corn, at the Cape reckoning of 25 muids per last (which he does to the Company), and the rixdollar is valued at 50 stivers, as in the Netherlands, the last costs 150 florins. Cape wheat is heavier than Zeeland wheat, the price of which we can moderately estimate as 150 gold guilders which is 210 florins. Thus 50 florins per last ought to be available for freight, insurance, brokerage, etc. A similar reckoning might be made even for Cape vins ordinaires.

No private ships ought to be allowed into Cape harbours, save in case of necessity. In that case, they should anchor off Robben Island and a guard should be placed on them till they take to sea again. For repairs they could lie in Saldanha Bay or elsewhere, where contact with the East Indian ships is impossible, and other precautions might be taken. The risk of making contact at sea would be no greater than it is at present. Experts say that the number of very profitable articles is small, so that a check to ensure that the Company is not injured in its commerce could easily be made. If this fact were realized many difficulties over illicit trading might be eliminated.

I have put forward some suggestions which I believe would assist the welfare of the Colony, although I know that theoretical projects do not always answer in practice. I foresee that objections may easily be raised. Yet somthing must be done or the Colony will fall into complete disorder. It is all very well to attribute the poor living conditions and discontents to hatred and envy amongst them, laziness, evil passions and secret intrigues. But doing nothing does not help; and as long as the inhabitants do not keep themselves busy farming, dissatisfaction will gradually mount. If they break out into open revolt, let no one imagine it will easily be quelled. Weapons could be obtained in exchange for produce. One foreign country or another would offer them. Indeed they could do without this. It would only be necessary to withdraw into the interior with their livestock - having only a hut to leave behind and able to load all their possessions onto a waggon - and reduce Cape Town to starvation within a short while. For if the nearby grain farmers with enough grazing only for their plough-teams, were to slaughter their oxen for a meat supply, there would soon be a shortage of corn.