Slaves were soon sent to the Cape from various parts of the world. Back then, travelling by ship was horribly cramped and unhygienic but it was also the only way to travel across the ocean. The conditions were even worse for slaves who were kept confined and chained. And although the slave traders did not care about the slaves enough to feed them, they had to. The main objective, after all, was to deliver the slaves to the Cape alive and ready to be sold and worked. The cost for food alone, no matter how inadequate, was expensive.
We know next to nothing about each individual slave except maybe their gender and where they came from. Slave owners often gave their slaves new names according to their place of origin or names that were biblical
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One of the few ‘victories’ for slaves was the right to marriage once their owner’s approval and permission was gained. Also, in 1823, limitations were legally laid about the punishments slave-owners were allowed to enforce upon slaves. Another one was the ‘abolishment’ of slavery in 1834. However, slaves were forced to do a four-year ‘apprenticeship’ before being allowed to leave with their freedom. On the 1st December 1838 the first set of apprenticeships ended and the second set ended on 1st August 1840. Finally, slaves were free and allowed to live for themselves as they wish and not for anyone else any longer.
The abolition of slavery bankrupted many slave owners and traders as they had no one left to do the work or sell. After being freed, many started their own businesses or became proper paid employees. Most freed slaves however joined the groups of wandering Hottentots .
Besides the obvious economic contribution made to the Cape, the slaves impacted many other sectors of life as well. For example, those slaves brought from Malaya brought along Islam, one of the most prominent religions in South Africa today and is still growing at a considerable rate. The inter-racial relationships between Dutch sailors and slaves in the origin of South Africa’s well-known coloured