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Cape Colony · Early European observer

A Geographical and Topographical Description of the Cape of Good Hope

O.F. Mentzel, 1921 [c.1785]

Summary

Written in the 1780s by a German who spent years at the Cape, Mentzel's description covers every aspect of VOC Cape society — agriculture, trade, the slave population, Khoikhoi servants, and domestic arrangements — in encyclopaedic detail. Translated and published by the Van Riebeeck Society, it is the fullest account of VOC Cape society from an insider perspective.

Topics

Cape Colony, Dutch East India Company, Khoikhoi, VOC, Pre-colonial, Colonial society, Slavery

Bibliographic Information

Author
O.F. Mentzel
Year
1921 [c.1785]
Language(s)
English, German
Period
Cape Colony
Perspective
Early European observer
Access
Full view

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