Clearthor
Banned
"Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes (1654–8 September 1724) was governor of the Cape of Good Hope from 1714 till 1721."
Part 1: Free Families From The Fatherland
Three centuries ago, on 24 June 1716, a very important letter arrived from Amsterdam in Cape Town; a letter that would change the future of what would become South Africa. Written by the Board of the Dutch East India Company, the letter requested the Council of Policy in Cape Town to reflect on the economic needs of the still small and fragile colonial settlement. In particular, the Board wanted to know whether the Council of Policy would recommend more European immigration to the Cape or whether an increase in slave arrivals would be preferred.
Seven members of the Council responded. Six members recommended that slavery was the better choice. The reason was simple: slaves could supply cheaper labour than European wage labourers. And because all agricultural output had to be sold to the Company stores in Cape Town, cheap labour meant that the Company could pay farmers less for their produce, allowing the Company to make a very decent return when reselling the produce to passing ships.
One member of the Council of Policy, however, disagreed. Dominique Marius Pasques de Chavonnes, not to be confused with the then governor of the Cape Colony, Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes.
“We should encourage more European immigration.” He half-shouted beneath the agreeing voices of the other six. The forty-one year old seemed to have a slightly annoyed expression spread across his face as the others slowly noticed his singular disapproval.
“The company’s interests come before charity Dominique.” One of them shot back. “We cannot burden ourselves with paying more for produce, managing the burghers and making this port even more of a liability. A man in your position should realise that. Slaves are the logical choice.”
“Oh, I very well do realise that slaves are cost effective as they provide gratis hands to toil in the fields, however, the short-term benefit of the few shall surely be outweighed by the returns of a long-term investment for the many.” Dominique stood up from the wooden table and almost seemed like he wanted to leave the room. Before continuing:
“Free men have an incentive to invent while slaves do not”, he said, pre-empting what Adam Smith would write in his Wealth of Nations half a century later.
One of the men let out an obnoxiously loud sigh to this reasoning and leaned back in his wooden chair. Dominique turned his gaze onto him and with a rather reluctant expression the member felt obliged to voice what was making him uncomfortable. “That may be true Dominique but we don’t need our workers to take any sort of “initiative”, we want them to produce what is expected of them. We already have a serious problem with the free burghers going beyond the borders of the port and avoiding taxes, more free-men will only worsen the situation and raise costs.”
Dominique sank back into his chair and remained silent for a few moments. “Via a foolish counting of heads this council will over-rule reason in favour of frugality. But what is to be expected of the Dutch?” he thought to himself.
He gave each member a panning stare as they sat back in unison against his proposal. The rectangular wooden table felt like a triangle with Dominique at the point and the rest of the council of policy on the adjacent side. Dominique was about to concede and even unknowingly stood up and walked over to the door leading to the fort courtyard.
But he couldn’t get himself to leave the room right away. He turned from the door and faced the council again.
“Go for a walk outside. This “port” is roughly the same size as the Fatherland, yet it is almost empty. Many of the Hottentots have left their heathen ways and have been baptised in the name of Christ. There is much more to be gained from increasing our land assets and importing skilled labour rather than more heathen hands.”
Another interrupted. “Ha!, so instead of slaves you want land is it? I won’t be stopping you from buying yourself a nice cottage back in Holland. You can indulge in your aristocratic fantasies then, but here we’re focused on finance, not artistic delusions. It’s either that or you seem to want to run a charity. In which case, the Church could be your calling!” The council let out chuckles as Dominique left the room.
A few hours later Dominique and another man returned to find the council sipping wine.
“Look, it’s the Governor gentlemen.” One member of the council blurted out at which point everyone realised that Dominique had brought the ageing Governor, a general from the recent war with France, to the council room. Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes.
Everyone greeted him but some were still wondering why he was bothering the council.
“I see the council has now decided on the policy for drinking up the wine!” The old military leader joked to the six seated men. Dominique did not laugh as he stood beside him.
“But in all seriousness, I heard from Dominique that you are having trouble deciding about immigration and labour management.” The general had a twinkle in his eye and a sly aura surrounding his demeanour. The council, save for Dominique, seemed visibly confused.
“We can assure you there is zero trouble. One Councilman said. “We have unanimously decided to import more slaves. “We will prepare a letter to be sent back to Amsterdam in the coming days.”
Maurits had a slight smirk that disappeared when these words were uttered. The old general looked over to Dominique for a few moments. Dominique did not utter a word.
The Governor continued. “I said you’re having trouble because I thought you’d be making the wrong decision, and it seems to be true.” The old general grabbed a glass from the table.
A councilman shot back. “Governor, I must voice my disapproval at you meddling in the council’s affairs after being mislead by a dissenting member. Please understand that anything Dominique has told you about importing more expensive and disobedient burghers will result in a decline in order and economic well-being of this station, which is your duty to uphold.” The councilman had a sharp tone in his voice and was obviously annoyed at the disruption.
The General was not moved. “He told me nothing of the sort, all he explained to me was what you were discussing, that you weren’t all in agreement, and that it would be good to hear my input, my advice.” The general poured himself a glass and took a sip. “I understand your frugality worries but honestly, an army based on discipline and skill rather than sheer cheap manpower is ideal.”
“This is a company, not a regiment.” Someone replied.
“I knew you’d say that, but I plead with you to hear me out. Beyond the Breede river lies more fertile land, very much in fact according to reports from a few months ago. However, slaves cannot build, they can only do what is instructed of them, they are an unruly and irregular regiment, almost useless on the battlefield. Forgive my use of metaphors, but you all get my meaning.”
He waited for an approving silence to allow him to continue.
“The slaves will give us more cheap labour, yes, but we will still produce relatively the same amount of food and wine, even though it may be “cheaper”. The prosperity of the station does not increase, not much more food is produced than before, only more cheaply as we only have so many farms that we can manage at the moment.”
At this remark, Dominique could be seen smiling at how attentively the council was listening.
The general continued. “It’s like having a cannon, no matter how many cannonballs you have, a cannon can only shoot so many balls in a given time span. I would rather be issued more cannons than simply more cannonballs."
“Please stop with the metaphors.” One member moaned.
“Okay, I’ll get to the point.” The general said. “We can expand the amount of farms and increase our food output. The increase in overall output would lower the price of agricultural produce, rather than just needlessly importing cheaper labour with output not really increasing. All you get is the same amount of goods at a cheaper price, while if we were to expand our borders with settlers from the fatherland, output would increase in unison with a decrease in price due to the larger abundance of produce.”
The general’s glass was now empty as he finished explaining. He gestured for a councilman to pour more wine for him. As he poured, the others seemed to have nothing to add except one. Surprisingly, Dominique.
“But with short-run costs in mind, Governor, where would we find more workers at an financially effective rate?” He asked.
The general seemed to light up, almost knocking over his wine. “Easy! What haunts my conscious is the knowledge of those families left without a husband or father since the end of the war. When I lead my men into battle, I lead them with the idea that this was for their families, their King, and that this was a cause worth obediently offering your life for. Their families are without a doubt going through hard times now, absent a working male.”
“Then it is settled” Dominique replied. And the council reluctantly agreed with the Governor’s reasoning. One member of the council leaned over to another and whispered in a cheeky tone. "These Frenchmen will surely lead us to bankruptcy."
Months later a letter found itself at the Board of the VOC, and it was this letter, detailing the need for European immigration, mostly from unemployed soldiers or widowed families for the need of expanding the Cape’s farming output, that would influence Southern Africa’s future for the coming centuries.
"De Tafelbaai by Aernout Smit, 1683"
Do tell me what you think and if I should continue, feel free to advise where you think the story should go. I want to be very engaged with the readers.
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