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 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
 WorldCat |
| Title: | The Onder Bokkeveld Ear Atrocity |
| Author: | Penn, Nigel |
| Year: | 2005 |
| Periodical: | Kronos: Journal of Cape History |
| Issue: | 31 |
| Pages: | 62-106 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | South Africa The Cape |
| Subjects: | legislation forced labour offences Khoikhoi 1810-1819 History and Exploration Military, Defense and Arms colonialism Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Law, Human Rights and Violence Labor and Employment Ethnic and Race Relations |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/41056536 |
| Abstract: | In 1809, the Caledon Code was proclaimed in South Africa. This code was a piece of legislation which acknowledged colonial realities by confirming the status of the Khoikhoi to be that of a class of compulsory labourers. All Khoikhoi were to have a fixed place of abode and be in employment. In exchange for this loss of liberty the Khoikhoi were now considered to be under the protection of a benevolent government which would enforce equitable labour contracts between master and servant and ensure that no cruelty occurred in the work place. By focusing on a particular case study, this paper reexamines the claim of G.M. Theal (1902) that: 'It [the Caledon Code] saved them [the Khoikhoi] from utter destruction'. In the northern Cape frontier district of the Onder Bokkeveld an incident took place in 1812, an 'ordinary atrocity', characteristic of the relationships which existed between Khoikhoi and colonists in the northern Cape. The significance of the incident and the subsequent prosecution of its perpetrators is to be found in what it reveals about the determination of the Cape government, in the era of the Caledon Code, to protect the rights and persons of the Khoikhoi. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |
