The Cape Jij Rebellion of 1808

The generally harsh conditions experienced by slaves and labourers on Western Cape farms, combined with news of the recent abolition of the slave trade on the high seas and uprisings by slaves in America, Ireland and the Caribbean, no doubt inspired the first uprising by slaves and servants at the Cape. The leaders were an ethnically mixed band: a slave tailor by the name of Louis van Mauritius; two Irishmen, James Hooper and Michael Kelly; another slave, Jeptha van Batavia; as well as two more slaves, Abraham and Adonis. An Indian slave and two Khoekhoe men later joined them.

Their plan was to march from the rural districts, gathering slaves along the way, and then to enter Cape Town, seize the Amsterdam Battery, turn the guns on the Castle, and then negotiate a peace which would involve establishing a free state and freedom for all slaves.

On the evening of 27 October 1808, on the farm Vogelgezang (Birdsong), just north of Malmesbury, which was owned by Gerhardus Louw, Louis arrived on horseback, dressed as a visiting Spanish sea captain. Hooper and Kelly rode up by his side, wearing uniforms that had been discarded at the Battle of Blaauwberg two years earlier. They managed to convince the absentee farmer’s wife to hand over all their slaves into the hands of the “military” party. They even charmed the farmer’s wife into supplying them with a good meal and a place to rest for the night. The next morning the party proceeded from farm to farm, persuading slaves and Khoekhoe servants to join them. Only in one instance did the march encounter any resistance. The rebellion is now known as the Jij Rebellion because slaves and servants were told that, once liberated, they would be able to address their masters informally as "jij" (Dutch for "you") instead of having to use the more formal "u".

The slaves en route to Cape Town, led by Louis van Mauritius, Michael Kelly, James Hooper (all on horseback) and Jeptha van Batavia (on foot). Painting by the author.

In fact, overall, there was surprisingly little violence, given the magnitude of the insurrection. Even though all appeared to be going according to plan, a march of some 300 mutinous slaves and servants is a difficult secret to keep. News soon reached the Governor of the Cape, who ordered infantry and cavalry to lie in wait for the insurrectionists at Salt River, just outside the city. Here the trap was sprung. The participants scattered in the face of superior forces. The dragoons rounded up and captured 326 of the marchers. Of these 47 were put on trial, including the leadership group of Hooper, Kelly, Louis and the two Khoekhoe leaders. Nine were found guilty of treason and sentenced to be hanged, including Louis van Mauritius and James Hooper. Another 11 were sentenced to death as well, for “active participation”. Many others were given lesser sentences, including imprisonment on Robben Island.

Louis van Mauritius (sculpture by Barry Jackson)

In response to this uprising, the British Governor in 1809 introduced a code, known as the Hottentot Proclamation, to regulate and satisfy the labour needs of white farmers. This code curtailed the freedom of movement of Khoesan and ‘coloured’ labourers to seek work, with a pass system being introduced as the regulatory tool. Furthermore, in 1812, the Apprentice Ordinance was promulgated, giving any white farmer the right to apprentice the children of his labourers for a period of ten years from the age of eight.

On the other hand, the British authorities at the Cape also implemented measures to protect slaves and labourers. Between 1811 and 1813, circuit courts and circuit commissions were introduced, enabling black employees to lodge formal complaints of ill-treatment against their white employers. Although many of the charges could not be substantiated, these proceedings did lead to the conviction and punishment of the worst offenders and succeeded in exposing the violence endemic to the master-servant relationship. The circuit courts and the support they enjoyed from some missionaries increased tensions between the white settlers on the one hand and their labourers and the missionaries on the other.

In 1823, the Cape government introduced a series of so-called ameliorative laws which aimed to improve the relationship between slave-owner and slave by determining the nature of punishment that slave-owners were permitted to mete out, regulating working hours, and enforcing the provision of food and clothing for slaves. The legislation outlawed public flogging, particularly of female slaves. 

Then, in 1826, the Cape Parliament passed Ordinance 19, which provided for the appointment of a Guardian of Slaves to ensure that slave-owners adhered to the regulations regarding punishment of slaves. Slaves could lodge complaints of violations to the Guardian of Slaves or his assistants, who were required to investigate the accusations and act against the perpetrators. Ordinance 19 also provided for slaves to have their freedom bought for them by family members. Slave-owners rose up in protest against Ordinance 19. 

Finally, in 1834, slavery was officially outlawed. Although legally emancipated, Cape slaves were still indentured as apprentices to their owners for a period of four years. Despite the system of apprenticeship, numerous slaves deserted their owners, while those who remained to serve out their apprenticeship increasingly adopted a less subservient attitude towards their masters. Desertion and insubordination hence became characteristic of the slave-master relation after Emancipation. This was the major cause of the migration out of the Cape Colony by groups of farmers (Boers) in what was to go down in South African history as the Great Trek.

In 1835, the Cape government promulgated Ordinance 1, which stipulated the number of hours that an apprentice was required to work in gardens or in the fields. This did not apply to domestic service. Most provisions of this Ordinance proved to be unenforceable, however. Ordinance 1 forbade employers from meting out corporal punishment. A judicial and magisterial system was introduced to implement punishment in an attempt to establish the rule of law in the Cape Colony.  

In 1838, the apprenticeship of slaves, formally emancipated in 1834, came to an end. This marked the factual end of slavery in the Cape.

Celebrations to mark the abolition of slavery at the Cape in 1834