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Who, Where, and When were the Cape Gentry?

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  • Gavin Williams

Abstract

The "Cape gentry" has come to be conventional in descriptions and in analyses of the south-western Cape during the rule of the VOC ( Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie ). Implicit in the idea of a "Cape gentry" are ownership of land and of slaves, degrees of inequalities, tenure and exercise of political office, and recognition of status honour, which were perpetuated over generations in networks of intermarried kin. This paper emphasizes the relevance of published statistics for interpreting changes over time in economic inequalities and social relations among the districts of the Colony. It sets out Mentzel's account of the four "classes" of rural society and ends by bringing into question the deployment of the idea of "Cape gentry" in analyses of the social structure in the Cape for lacking geographic and historical specificity.

Suggested Citation

  • Gavin Williams, 2013. "Who, Where, and When were the Cape Gentry?," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 83-111, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rehdxx:v:28:y:2013:i:2:p:83-111
    DOI: 10.1080/20780389.2013.866383
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Johan Fourie & Dieter von Fintel, 2010. "The Fruit of the Vine? An Augmented Endowments-Inequality Hypothesis and the Rise of an Elite in the Cape Colony," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2010-112, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Fourie, Johan & von Fintel, Dieter, 2010. "The Fruit of the Vine? An Augmented Endowments-Inequality Hypothesis and the Rise of an Elite in the Cape Colony," WIDER Working Paper Series 112, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
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