HISTORY 244
African History
History 244
Blaise Draper
End of Year exams 2016
, History Notes: (Pages 23-39)
Question 1
By 1820 the social, economic and political structures of the Cape Colony were characterized by
European dominance. Discuss this statement by analyzing the factors and circumstances which
contributed to the status quo.
Changes in Culture (pg: 23-27)
In the beginning...
Cape Culture – borrowed many cultures from numerous cultures and societies around the
world
Settlers came into the cape that had been affected by the moors of the Indisch (Eurasian)
culture . Evidence of this is seen in:
o Wide use of Low Portuguese (the ‘lingua franca’) - a language that is adopted
as a common language between speakers whose native languages are
different.
o Cape Dutch architecture
o Cape cuisine
Cape received influx of people from: Netherlands, Germany, France etc
o These immigrants diluted Indische influences within the Cape Colony – especially
in agriculture regions beyond Cape Town (CT)
Slaves and Europeans
There was never a large concentration of slaves in the Cape with one single heritage, no
ethnic group was intentionally concentrated in one environment and the only common
and visible culture for slaves was that of their masters.
Cape slaves (unlike plantation slaves) were evenly distributed amongst burgher
population: Poorer locales; slaves slept in the same quarters with their masters, some
even having sexual relationships with Europeans.
All these conditions accelerated rural slaves acquiring the hegemonic European culture &
they encouraged the development of Dutch and preservation of Low Portuguese to aid
communication between slaves and masters.
1|Page
African History
History 244
Blaise Draper
End of Year exams 2016
, History Notes: (Pages 23-39)
Question 1
By 1820 the social, economic and political structures of the Cape Colony were characterized by
European dominance. Discuss this statement by analyzing the factors and circumstances which
contributed to the status quo.
Changes in Culture (pg: 23-27)
In the beginning...
Cape Culture – borrowed many cultures from numerous cultures and societies around the
world
Settlers came into the cape that had been affected by the moors of the Indisch (Eurasian)
culture . Evidence of this is seen in:
o Wide use of Low Portuguese (the ‘lingua franca’) - a language that is adopted
as a common language between speakers whose native languages are
different.
o Cape Dutch architecture
o Cape cuisine
Cape received influx of people from: Netherlands, Germany, France etc
o These immigrants diluted Indische influences within the Cape Colony – especially
in agriculture regions beyond Cape Town (CT)
Slaves and Europeans
There was never a large concentration of slaves in the Cape with one single heritage, no
ethnic group was intentionally concentrated in one environment and the only common
and visible culture for slaves was that of their masters.
Cape slaves (unlike plantation slaves) were evenly distributed amongst burgher
population: Poorer locales; slaves slept in the same quarters with their masters, some
even having sexual relationships with Europeans.
All these conditions accelerated rural slaves acquiring the hegemonic European culture &
they encouraged the development of Dutch and preservation of Low Portuguese to aid
communication between slaves and masters.
1|Page
