Missions and emancipation in the South Western Cape : a case study of Groenekloof (Mamre), 1838-1852

Ludlow, Helen

Missions and emancipation in the South Western Cape : a case study of Groenekloof (Mamre), 1838-1852

Master Thesis

1992

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Historical Studies

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

While the past decade has seen a proliferation of studies of Cape slavery, there has been very little research directed at the immediate post-emancipation period. This study seeks to examine the consequences of emancipation for the former slaves who settled at the Moravian mission at Groenekloof. This was situated in the wheat-producing Malmesbury district of the Cape Colony. The dissertation takes the form of a case study of nearly 700 people and focusses on the period from December 1838 to December 1852. Mission records are used as a way of identifying the origins of newcomers to the mission as well as of the social groups in which they arrived. The structure and ethos of the mission is explored as a context of the new lives constructed by the former slaves, and aspirations of ex-slaves concerning marriage and family life are examined.

Description

Bibliography: pages 238-246.

Keywords

Historical Studies

Reference:

Collections

Masters

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