contents

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


VOC governing structures at the Cape

The Council of Policy

The Council of Policy [Raad van Politie; politie means ‘management’] being the highest authority at the Cape of Good Hope settlement, was subject to the instructions of the Lords Seventeen (directors of the VOC in the Netherlands) and the Governor-General and Council of India in Batavia, as well as the legislature stipulated in the “Statuten van Batavia” [Statutes of Batavia] (1648). The Council consisted of the functionaries who were responsible for ruling the Company’s settlement, namely the “opperhoofd” [head] of the settlement, his secunde, administrative officials (e.g. accountant, warehouseman, cellar-master and harbour-master), the military commander of the garrison, and the fiscal who was responsible for maintaining law and order. The Council’s secretary (also called “geheimschrijver” [confidential secretary]) had no vote, unless he had at the same time been promoted to Councillor.

When there were ships in Table Bay , the captains and other high-ranking officials of the fleet also had seats on the Council. These sessions were referred to as sessions of the Broad Council. The chairman at meetings of the Broad Council was not necessarily the commander/governor himself, since he had to relinquish his chair to his senior in rank in the service, usually a commissioner who had instructions to compile a report on affairs at the Cape.

The VOC officials carried out a large number of functions. There were actually three groups of hierarchies: from soldier to general, from young sailor to sea captain, and from scribe to governor-general. The Company also distinguished between various ranks referring to a combination of function, salary and status. For example, the senior merchant Jan van Riebeeck was head of the Cape settlement, and his rank as senior merchant indicated his place in the Company’s commercial/administrative hierarchy and salary category. His promotion to commander implied more status but neither more authority nor a higher salary. From 1691 the title of the head of the Cape settlement was that of Governor.

In 1676 Commissioner Nicolaes Verburg decided that the Council of Policy, in addition to the commander as the highest official, should consist of six councillors/council members. In 1685 Commissioner Hendrik Adriaan van Reede tot Drakenstein determined that the number of members would be increased to eight. In the same year a separation was made between the Council of Policy and the Court of Justice when it was decided that the Council of Policy would function as the Court of Justice. Whenever a case of a burgher was heard by the Court of Justice, two burgher councillors had a seat in this court.

The Council of Policy met quite frequently. It mostly depended on the commander, as convener, how regularly and how many meetings would be held. Some chairmen convened the Council once a week, while others only convened a meeting when urgent matters necessitated a meeting. Sometimes the agenda was so long that the meeting, which commenced in the morning, also had afternoon and evening sessions. It could even happen that the previous day’s sessions continued the following day. In case of an unforeseen crisis the Council would meet on a Sunday, public holy day or day of festivity.

All letters from the Lords Seventeen and the High Government of Batavia had to be opened, read and discussed at the Council meetings. The letters of response were written by the Council and signed by all the members. All written work was done under the Council’s supervision. Not only had copies of the long letters to be sent to the authorities in Amsterdam and Batavia , but also copies of the journals, resolutions, “placcaten” [proclamations] and instructions. Court proceedings, contracts and reports also had to be written up. The officials were responsible for collecting taxes and had to supervise outposts, warehouses, leases, as well as supplying victuals to ships, officials and the hospital. They also had to protect the settlement against possible attacks from the interior or from the sea. The Council of Policy discussed all these tasks and the Councillors often delegated the responsibilities to other officials.

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