Slavery is at the core of the glaring inequality which persists in South Africa to this day. Yet slavery is but a subscript in our national consciousness. As a ‘storyteller who asks new questions’, Patric Tariq Mellet sets out rectify this.
In the Truth about Cape Slavery, Mellet shows that modern South Africa – its economy and politics – is shaped by slavery in the same way that it has shaped the United States of America, and that it deserves the same scrutiny. Cape slavery was a crucial feature of maritime capitalism and became the cornerstone of the Cape’s agricultural economy. This book challenges the Netherlands to improve on the weak apology offered in 2023 by its king and the lack of reparations offered by its government.
An incisive, timely look into the realities of Cape slavery and why its legacy endures in South Africa.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patric Tariq Mellet is the author of the bestselling book, The Lie of 1652. In 2009, his work on the intangible heritage of the Cape received a Western Cape Provincial Honours award and he serves on the Governance Council of the South African Heritage Resources Agency. He lives in Cape Town.
‘The Truth About Cape Slavery: The Foundations of Colonial South Africa’ is published by Tafelberg an imprint of NB Publishers
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