Uprising at the Cape

Both of the slave uprisings at the Cape failed.

The first uprising took place in 1808. Two slaves, Louis van Mauritius and Abraham van de Kaap, met a couple of Irish sailors in a Cape Town tavern. The Irish told them that the external or oceanic slave trade was outlawed and that all slaves would soon be set free. They also told Louis and Abraham about countries such as Britain where slavery did not exist. Louis van Mauritius and Abraham van de Kaap decided that it was time to fight for the freedom of all slaves. They persuaded 300 slaves living on farms in the Koeberg region to march to Cape Town and demand their freedom. The slaves attached some of the farms on their way. They were defeated when they reached Salt River.

The second uprising took place in 1825 on a remote farm in the Bokkeveld. A number of slaves and Khoekhoe labourers, led by Galant van der Caab, killed the farmer and some of his family. They threatened to take over the other farms in the region. They believed that emancipation had been promised by the government and that their owners were holding it back from them. The slaves were captured and Galant was executed. This uprising is often referred to as the Galant uprising, named after the leader.

The Houdenbek farmhouse in the Koue Bokkeveld where Galant van der Caab led an uprising killing the farmer and his family.