The slaves 

In the words of a former slave:  "I was born on Mr M's farm, near Kalabaskraal ... I began to work when I was still very young.  When my baas, through old age, was unable to farm any more, he shared most of his land and goods between his sons, who set up as farmers in the neighbourhood.  I and some cattle were given to baas Nortjé; my mother and some more cattle went to another son at French Hoek.  From that day I never saw my mother again.  I often longed to see her, but my baas always refused my request to visit her.  I think he was afraid I would not return". 

Between 1658 and 1808 63 000 slaves were imported to South Africa from many different parts of the world such as Gambia, Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Madagascar, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Batavia (Djakarta) and the Spice Islands. 

We can learn from the slaves' names where they were born.  Their owners or the slave traders could not pronounce the slaves' real names.  They gave the slaves new names and a "surname" that referred to their place of origin.  Some of the slaves that worked on the farm Simonsvlei were: 

WORK 

The farmers of the Western Cape produced wheat and wine.  They had the most slaves.  From the slave register of 18 December 1816, we learn that the owner of the Paarl farm, Simonsvlei, owned 66 slaves. 

Slaves had to sow, harvest, and thresh the wheat.  On wine farms, they had to harvest and press the grapes.  Slaves also had to load wagons, weed their owner's fields, and look after the farmer's livestock.  The women did housework and in some cases acted as wet nurses for their owner's children.  In the country female slaves also had to work as farm labourers. 

A witness during the Gebhart case testified that the slaves from Simonsvlei had to work on the roads in town.  This was an obligatory service that every Paarl slave owner had to comply with. 

All slaves had to work very long hours.  In 1823 a new law was passed that stated that slaves were not allowed to work for more than 10 hours in winter, and no longer than 12 hours per day, in summer.  Slaves were not paid for their work. 

LIVING CONDITIONS

On the smaller farms slaves had to sleep in the kitchen, the attic, the barn, or if weather permitted, outside.  Only a few of the larger farms had separate slave quarters.  At Labori et Picardie the slave quarters were situated between the stables and chicken-run, near the pigsty and cowshed. 

Mr. H.J. Louw of Labori et Picardie writes in his memoirs that when his grandmother on his father's side was still a little girl, her family owned slaves.  They had to give the slaves all their food.  Her mother frequently had to bake many loaves of bread.  Cattle, sheep, and pigs were slaughtered and the carcasses were equally divided between all the slaves.  Their rations also included milk, vegetables, fish, and wine.  She also remembers the slave bell in the farmyard. 

While the Thatched Roof Church was built, slaves would receive a beer mug of wine with each of their three meals.  At eleven o' clock they would receive another tot of wine.  This "tot system" in some cases led to alcohol abuse and was only recently declared illegal. 

Many slaves were young when they died.  Dysentery and smallpox claimed many victims.  Children often died from exposure.  Injuries, beatings, hard work, and low quality food also claimed the lives of slaves. 

PUNISHMENT 

The slaves working on farms were usually treated more severely than the house servants.   In the case of a severe crime committed by a slave, such as the assault on his owner, the penalty was the death sentence.  Slave owners could sell disobedient slaves.  Slaves were seldom sent to jail because that meant the loss of labour for their owners.  The most common form of punishment was corporal punishment. 

The murder of the slave Joris 

After his first wife died, reverend Johan Wilhelm Gebhart of the Thatched Roof Church, married the rich widow Helena Roux, of the farm Simonsvlei.  His son, Wilhelm, was soon put in charge of the farming and had to supervise the slaves.

On the 10th of September 1922 went to inspect the vineyard and was told that the slave Joris had not been pulling his weight.  Wilhelm ordered the whipping of Joris.  That night, the unfortunate slave died from his wounds.  Bastiaan of the Cape walked to Stellenbosch the next day (most probably without permission) to report the murder to the landdrost. 

Wilhelm Gebhart was given the death sentence and was executed on 15 November 1822 despite many petitions pleading his cause.  His tombstone was discovered on Paarl Mountain where it had been used as a footbridge across a ditch. 

RELIGION

Abraham Bosman (probably), an owner of De Nieuwe Plantatie built a small unbaked brick church behind the farmhouse for his slaves and those of his neighbours. 

Het Gesticht was built in 1813 to provide slaves with a place of worship.  This building was also used for cathechism classes, prayer meetings and as a school.  From 1820, onwards it became known as the Zion Church.  The first members of this congregation to be baptized were Jason Adams and Eva Pauwlse.  They were the slaves of Hermanus Bosman.  Two streets in Paarl East were named after them.  Het Gesticht is the fourth oldest church building in South Africa. 

EMANCIPATION 

Cape Times, 30th of June 1882:  "Coloureds had degenerated since slavery ... had a civilizing influence on the slaves and ensured that they were a boon rather than a bane to society". 

After the slaves were emancipated in 1834, the freed slaves in Paarl received some property in the vicinity of Berg and the later School Streets.  They built simple houses with plain thatched roofs, except for the single jerkin head/hipped end. 

Farmers and other colonists made use of slave labour for almost two centuries.  They still wanted control over the labourers.  Contract labour, the permit system, and legislation were all ways of retaining control of the emancipated slaves. 

Farmers helped to establish the Pniël mission station near Paarl.  This was convenient to them because it meant that they still had access to cheap labour in their immediate vicinity. 

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