contents

Introduction to the Resolutions
of the Council of Policy of Cape of Good Hope


Making the Resolutions available in printed format

The first edition of a part of the Resolutions was prepared by the Rev. Leibbrandt and printed in 1898. Contrary to what is implied by the title, namely “Resolutiën van den Commandeur en Raden van Het Fort de Goede Hoop, 1652-1662” [Resolutions of the Commandor and Council Members of the Fort of Good Hope, 1652-1662], the publication ends with the Resolution of 20 April 1658 and no explanation was provided for the discrepancy between what was stated in the foreword and what was actually printed.

The only other publication that contained some of the Resolutions was the Kaapse Archiefstukken, 1778-1782 by Miss M.K. Jeffreys who acted as editor, and was published by the Union Archives during 1926 and 1938. In this series of publications, the Cape Resolutions from 1778 to 1783 were included along with some other document series.

Because the Resolutions of the Council of Policy were regarded as such an important historical source, it was deemed necessary to introduce them to a larger audience. The South African State Archives Service therefore decided in the 1950s to publish the Resolutions in full as part of their programme to publish original archival sources. Consequently ten volumes of the Resolutions of the Council of Policy (1651-1743) under editorship of Dr. A.J. Böeseken and Dr. G.C. de Wet respectively were printed between 1957 and 1984 but the work was then terminated due to a lack of funds.

Copies of the printed series were not only distributed among the main archives repositories and libraries in South Africa and other countries in Southern Africa , but may also be consulted at the Library of Congress in Washington and the Public Record Office in London . In the Netherlands the printed volumes are kept at the National Archives of the Netherlands in The Hague , the Suid-Afrikaanse Instituut [South African Institute] in Amsterdam and a number of university libraries.

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