contents

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


The Resolutions

Situated at the southern point of Africa , the Cape of Good Hope was strategically very well placed along the trade route between the Netherlands and Asia for the supply of fresh water and food to ships.

In order to secure this advantage to itself the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) established a settlement in 1652 and built a fort. The initially small settlement experienced a gradual growth in both its population and the land it occupied until, when the VOC rule came to an end in 1795, it had become a large colony.

The Council of Policy was the highest authority of the VOC at the Cape of Good Hope. The Council discussed all problems that arose and took decisions on governing the settlement. The minutes, which include reports and decisions taken, are called the Resolutions of the Council of Policy.

For nearly one and a half centuries the Council of Policy wrote millions of word on thousands of folio pages about matters concerning everyday life at the Cape . The Resolutions cover nearly every subject, for example administration, justice, law and order, education, religion, inhabitants, slaves, visitors, ships and their cargo, the military, health services, food, labour, trade (imports, exports and trading with the indigenous peoples), diplomatic relations, expeditions, weather conditions on and off shore, agricultural activities, livestock, nature conservation, land issues, loan-farms and fiscal and financial matters. The Resolutions are the main source of written accounts of pre-modern South Africa.

Before you start browsing for information that could interest you as an historian, geneticist, genealogist, linguist, naval expert, shipbuilder, natural scientist, meteorologist, medical doctor or other specialist, you may like to look at an example of a Council meeting and an explanation of the structure of Council meeting minutes. The origin of the text and the language of the Resolutions are also discussed. Should you come across unfamiliar words in the 17th and 18th century Dutch texts you can consult the glossary.

Because of the exceptional information content of the Resolutions, part of the series (1651-1743) was published at an earlier stage. Now the support of the TANAP programme has made it possible to transcribe the remaining volumes of the Resolutions (1744-1795) and to digitise them along with the already printed Resolutions in order to make them available on the Internet. The transcription and editing rules that were followed during the second transcription phase (1744-1795) differ largely from that of the already printed editions of the Resolutions (1651-1743).

The printed Resolutions are provided with footnotes, which are also included in the digital presentation. However, due to a lack of financial means, it was not possible to annotate the remaining text (1744-1795). Note that the document inventory numbers referred to in these footnotes are no longer those used in the Cape Town Archives Repository. Please consult the archival inventory of the Council of Policy for a complete table of comparison for the past and present serial numbers.

If you wish to do further research on the history of the VOC at the Cape of Good Hope, the Resolutions or other archival sources, you may also consult the list of references.

Top


previous Contents of the introduction next

Site by Hic et Nunc