Answer to Question #207713 in History for Tido

Question

Why was the introduction of slavery to the cape a logical and sensible step for the VOC authorities to take?

Answer 1

Introduction,of slavery to the cape was logical because only a few personal slaves arrived at the Cape during the first four years of the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) presence, primarily by accompanying their owners from Batavia until they were sold at the Cape. The Cape colony had not participated in the worldwide slave trade for four years. . There was a chronic lack of manpower from the start of the settlement; the VOC's hundred and twenty personnel, mostly sailors and soldiers, were insufficient to do all of the physical labor necessary to develop and maintain the colony. The local Khoi people were hesitant to work for the meager compensation offered by the Dutch, therefore sailors and soldiers from passing ships were sometimes called upon to lend a hand while their ships docked in the harbor, but this was not a suitable solution to the labor problem.