De Kaapkolonie: van VOC-verversingsstation naar exploitatie- en strafkolonie

Abstract

This research concerns the role of the Cape Colony in the VOC empire in the eighteenth century, in particular patterns of trade and forced migration are researched. In the framework of this research, I am looking not only at the well-known role of the Cape as a refresh station for passing VOC ships to and from Asia, but also at the exports from the Cape to the empire of the VOC in the Indian Ocean region. Migration flow of slaves and exiles from the Indian Ocean region to the Cape Colony are examined as well. Sources for this project can be found both in Cape Town archives and in the VOC-archives in The Hague. I demonstrate that the Cape Colony in the eighteenth century – next to its continued function as a refresh station – increasingly assumed an important function in the VOC empire as a provider for European food staples and a place of exile for political and criminal prisoners.