Slavery is inherently due to economics. If it is uneconomical to own slaves, or there are cheaper alternatives, slavery will not be used. In industrial economies, where an educated workforce is needed, slaves have no place due to their unskilled nature.
What are some reasons slaves were used in the Cape?
The VOC needed workers and thought of enslaving the local Khoikhoi in the Dutch Cape Colony, or Kaapkolonie. But the company made the practice illegal, seeking to cultivate ties with the locals, for they may endanger the Cape Town settlement. Thus, they imported slaves from outside the region, specifically the Cape Malay. They were far from home, and thus not as resistant to their Dutch masters compared to a Khoikhoi.
After the numerous Khoikhoi-Dutch wars that disposed of the Khoikhoi, the free burghers, or men who the VOC allowed holding land contracted with the Khoikhoi to work on their pastures. Some of these men, tired of dealing with the VOC’s policies in Kaapkolonie trekked further inland, away from company reach. They brought their Khoikhoi workers, known as servants, along with them. And together, they lived insulated lifestyles.
Meanwhile, back in the Kaapkolonie, landowners who owned large tracts of land relied on slaves to cultivate their lands on their behalf. They were mostly imported either from Asia or from other parts of Elfrica. There was no point in owning a Khoikhoi slave, for they were resistant to their Dutch masters and could have easily thrived in the Elfrican heartland.
At the onset of the British administration, the now Cape Colony, the population was about 26,720 people of European descent, a majority that identified as Dutch. Over a quarter identified as having German ancestry, and about one-sixth identified as descending from French Huguenots. Taking the number at its face value, assuming that the rest were of Dutch origin, about 15,586 were identified as Dutch. These people are known as Boers.
According to the data of the period, there were around 30,000 Elfrican and Asian slaves owned by these settlers, and 17,000 Khoikhoi and San (Khoisan) elves working for them. The British disliked the practice of slavery, and thus tensions grew between the administration as well as the settlers.
In 1828, Khoisan elves were granted the rights of citizens, giving them the same right to security and property ownership, that the white settlers had. This further alienated the settlers, who found the British out of touch with their way of life.
And finally, in 1834, all slaves in the Cape Colony were freed with the abolishment of slavery. They were given rights on par with citizens, although some stayed on with their masters as apprentices until 1838. Most of the settlers who dealt with grain and wine production now had to deal with the lack of manpower to run their farms.
So, they began packing their bags and leaving the Cape Colony. These trekkers or Voortrekkers left the Cape in droves, seeking to distance themselves away from the British administration.
Around 12,000 trekkers made the trek, about a fifth of the Cape’s Dutch-speaking population. This was a minority, as the majority who stayed behind were mostly urbanised. They considered themselves loyal British subjects and had a special appreciation for English culture. Those who left were mostly on the outskirts of the Cape Colony’s borders and were not as culturally influenced by the British.
The British thought of chasing after these trekkers and putting their boots against their throats, but the expense of doing so was ludicrous. What they were afraid of, was the chaos caused by the migration of these Boers that might lead to ramifications for the Cape.
Chaos these Boers caused as they settled in the depopulation regions caused by Shaka’s conquest. Piet Retief made a deal with Queen Dingane, Shaka’s successor. But she did not uphold the agreement. Many Boer settlements were attacked in Natal.
Andries Pretorius, who owned a farm in Port Natal and fought along with the trekkers in Natal during their exploratory treks had risen to the rank of Commandant-General of the Boer army. He was requested to avenge Retief. And at Blood River on 9 December 1838, or Ncome River, the Battle of Blood River was fought, massacring the Zulus with no casualties taken by Pretorius’ party. Thus, they settled the land, founding the Natalia Republic in Natal.
Meanwhile, in August 1836, Potgieter trekked to the Free States and worked with the local elven Chiefs to found a new settlement. A Matabele patrol attacked his party, seeking to steal their cattle, killing six men, two women and six children.
Then again on 20 October 1836, his party was attacked by 4,600 Matabele warriors at the Battle of Vegkop. Under his command were 35 mounted Boers, and on Queen Mzilikazi’s side, she had 5,000 of her warriors. He ordered his men to form a laager, where they surrounded themselves with 46 wagons. They fortified their positions, filling the spaces with thorn branches to prevent Mzilikazi’s warriors to come through.
They skirmished in the morning before Mzilikazi’s troops advanced onto their wagons. With a firing rate of about four shots per minute, they fired onto the attacking Matabele. Somehow, they successfully fought them off, and none of the Matabele was able to get into the laager. 184 perished in that battle. Working with the other trekkers, they tore through Mzilikazi’s settlements in Transvaal, sending her into Zimbabwe.
Potgieter thought he could rest, but news from Natal about the attacks on fellow Boers had him riding to assist them. They were ambushed in an attack and the men in Natal blamed him for it even though he was not the overall commander, but a co-commander. His other co-commander, Commando Uys, perished in the battle. Understandably furious, he decided not to partake in any further fighting in Natal. He decided to settle in Potchefstroom, forming the Potchefstroom Republic.
That was the political situation of the 1830s, leading to the current situation in the early 1840s.
Were the elves to be considered equals?
That was the question Jan was pondering. There was little use for slaves. Even if they could subjugate the surrounding elven tribes under their fold, he wondered if they could even control them.
Then what about the Khoisan servants? Were they equals? But their name, servants, implied that they were inferior to the Boers. Enacting legislation to make them equals was an unknown. He wondered if everyone in the town would pack their bags and trek away.
Stolen story; please report.
The Zulus and Xhosas were considered equals, considering their power. Although they used technologically inferior weapons, their numbers more than made up for it. And Zulu participation in the town’s economy was so prevalent, that evicting them would impoverish many of his men.
Instead of going to the markets and looking for the British merchant who was willing to pay a good price, they began to look towards the up-and-coming Boer and Zulu merchants who could pay a decent price as well. Zulu workers toiled in his men’s fields, and many industries involved Zulu labourers.
Xhosa was a small minority, and he had difficulties integrating them in a town overwhelmingly filled with either Boers, Zulu or Englishman. Like Asians going to either Europe or the New World, they felt like fish out of the water.
Jan was thinking that he might have to allocate some funds to better welcome the Xhosas smoothly into his town. That way, he could slowly reduce his dependency on the Zulus, giving him more leverage at the negotiating table.
With little need for slaves due to the abundance of labour, and with amiable elves willing to work, he found to right to finally do what was needed. Yes, the abolishment of slavery. If any of the men still owned slaves or traded with them as they did back in the Cape Colony, then they can make do with a Zulu or Xhosa labourer.
But doing so also indirectly promised something, and that was, the elves were equals to the humans, and that it was morally wrong to not perceive so.
Like the British back in Cape Colony, he mulled over his decision. This was the can of worms he didn’t want to open. But ultimately, he decided that it should be fine.
The Voortrekkers left the Cape because they did not want to serve the British administration. It should be fine if he enacted it, since he was Dutch, like most of them. If he was British, then they would start packing their bags. But since he had Dutch blood, and mostly identified as a Boer like the rest of them, he doubted there would be much unrest.
Is it discriminatory? Well then, it would be like having a Japanese Emperor ruling over China. He didn’t think it was discriminatory that the Chinese would rather serve a Chinese Emperor than a Japanese one. Just ask the current Manchus in Qing China what the Chinese thought of them.
So, he pushed it through, banning slavery. No one complained. No one revolted. All was fine. It appears that he had entirely removed the need for slavery from Port Mpande, allowing this smooth transition.
“How should I be compensated for this?” His old friend Joren immediately headed to his office to demand an answer.
“I just see no need for slavery. Tell me, who can you enslave in the Republic? We have Zulus in the North, Zulus in the West, and Xhosa in the South. Enslave anyone, and we will be retaliated, hard. Pretorius would hang us out to dry. If you want a target, you can’t do it in Natal, you must do it somewhere else.”
“Then, what?”
“What else? Find something else to profit from. There is a new route between Pietermaritzburg and Potchefstroom. You’re wealthy. You could make a killing on the route. Just be sure to buy insurance, the Zulus do attack the caravans from time to time.”
Joren sighed.
“I suppose that’s the end of our partnership. Some rising star you are…”
The man left his office, leaving Jan to think about his next actions.
The fellows in Zoutpansberg won’t all be satisfied with opium. Not everyone smoked, so he shouldn’t expect all of them to get addicted to his opium. That was why a more universal product is needed. Something innocuous, that does not let people suspect a thing.
What is a pain everyone has? Why it is pain. Pain medications are something everyone ingests from time to time. Whether they have a fever or flu, they take paracetamol or Panadol to relieve the pain.
Morphine relieves pain. But it is also addictive. Imagine the painkillers that were also addictive, ahh, never mind they exist as opioids.
In the opium poppy, the alkaloids, a nitrogen compound are bound to poppy acid. The plant is crushed and mixed with diluted sulfuric acid, stronger than meconic. This is done again and again so that all the alkaloids are extracted into the solution. Using ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) or sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), the alkaloids are precipitated and become solid. Then morphine is further extracted from the alkaloids, about 8-19% of the opium by weight.
There was a rumour going around that morphine was less addictive than alcohol or opium by itself since a lower dose is used. Unfortunately, morphine is more addictive than either substance. Its prowess in addiction had it become a controlled substance in the future, but for now, that was the current situation of opium.
Like how JUUL had an entire generation of youth addicted to their vapes, companies producing morphine were using the same line of reasoning. It was less harmful than smoking a real cigarette! But unlike vaping which might be ‘healthier’ than real cigarettes, morphine could get one addicted easily even with a small dose.
That was the message he planned to sell to the dwarves and the Boers in Zoutpansberg. Smoke too much or drank too much? Did your wife leave you for another man? Well, don’t worry, for morphine will kick you of whatever addiction you have. All you got to do is administer it to yourself every day or so and you’ll be free. It’s just that it is a lifetime administration of morphine.
Although it was addictive, there was no one questioning its ability in pain relief. With a small dose, most pain could be relieved easily. Especially in a battle, the medics could easily administer morphine to the wounded and bring them back to the field hospital. So even if the scheme was unsuccessful, stockpiling a couple of morphine for medical reasons would be helpful.
The Bengali listened carefully to his words and nodded his head. Jan handed the man papers on morphine production he scoured through numerous scientific journals for. They were translated into English, so the Bengali could easily comprehend his words.
“How’s the sisal?” Jan asked after seeing the dirt with nothing growing out of it.
“It's a difficult crop to cultivate. Progress is slow, like the opium, nothing is sprouting.”
Then again, Neville Chamberlain tried to successfully run a sisal plantation in the Bahamas but failed, so this was not an easy crop to cultivate. As Journalist John Gunther wrote of sisal in 1953, "if it had not been for the fact that sisal is a difficult crop, there might not have been a Munich in 1939”.
He slapped himself as he realized how foolish he had been. What is he doing trying to grow this stupid crop all by himself? Shouldn’t he ask the experts of the land who have been cultivating crops on this land for hundreds of years?
He sent the seed to Nokuthula and didn’t receive a reply for many days, almost as if she didn’t receive the seed at all. Wondering if she really didn’t receive the seed or was just trying to waste his time due to her displeasure with the arrangements over the iron mine, he received a reply by the end of the week.
On the paper, were instructions relating to Sisal cultivation. When he saw it, he wondered if the plant would mutate and destroy his entire estate if he followed the Zulu way. He figured it was petty, but the Zulu Chief was very petty, and it was within the realm of possibility.
He reached the last part and realized why the Sisal was so slow. Three years! Three years before the plant fully matures and they could even think of harvesting it! Then what will the plantation do in the meantime? Wait for the leaves to sprout?
Jan grew a little sympathetic to Chamberlain and somewhat understood his struggles running a sisal plantation.
At the bottom of the letter, was some interesting contents.
I know a shortcut. You have to hand over an additional 10% of the iron mine to me. Gift me numerous cattle, sacrificing some before I can share the secret.
He felt that it was bullshit and crumpled it up and tossed it away. He was not going to believe the words in a letter.
He went outside the town hall to the fence to see a sisal sprouting from the ground. It was mature, and its leaves stuck out from its stem like a porcupine. It was healthy and ready to be harvested.
Jan looked towards the Zulus crowding around the Sisal, admiring the plant.
“Fucking bullshit,” Jan mumbled and went back to the town hall. Oh, he can wait alright, he will renegotiate this with the Zulus when he had some leverage on the negotiating table.
As an upfront to his ideals, the Zulus began cultivating sisal, appreciating its toughness as a fabric. It began being used around the town, and clothes were sewn with it to reinforce the structure. All Jan could feel was his dreams of cultivating sisal were dashed just like Chamberlain when he went back to his father’s estate in shame due to his failures.
Better not hand them opium, he didn’t want to know the knockoff effects opium would have on his Zulu partners. And he didn’t want them to cultivate them like there is no tomorrow through whatever magic they had, because it is highly likely one of his men would get addicted to the substance, giving him a colossal headache. Or perhaps he should just accept it and let the Zulus cultivate them, focusing his efforts on turning them into morphine…