In the last chapter of Islands, Dan Sleigh's epic historical novel about the Cape settlement in South Africa, the nexus between the Dutch economy and its colonial enterprises is made clear:

Every Dutchman who supported the great adventure in the East knew what role the Cape played in the economy of his waterlogged country. They could all recite it like a nursery rhyme: The key to the Dutch economy was the Company, the key to the Company's success was control of the Eastern trade, the key to the Eastern trade was successful shipping, the key to shipping was the Cape replenishment station. (p.695)

But, far away from the Cape in their waterlogged country, those Dutchmen did not know what amateur historian Secretary de Grevenbroek has learned in his long years of service: the key to the Cape replenishment stations was its outposts. And on these outposts were living people, mostly convicts and slaves, who fulfilled the various functions of the refreshment service for the Dutch East India Company.

One provided thatch, another shell lime; one guarded a frontier, another provided transport, or gathered salt, chopped firewood or planted vegetables; another caught fish, yet another transmitted signals. There were a great number of them. [...] They really carried the Company, because without outposts the Cape could not function, without the Cape Batavia could not function, without Batavia the Company was powerless, and so on all the way to the top, where the prince and his advisory council in Holland were carried on a shaky shield. (p.706)

Dan Sleigh, an Afrikaans researcher in the National Archives of South Africa, tells the story of these 17th century island outposts. Covering the Cape's early history in the years 1652 to 1690 and presented in seven long and densely written chapters, seven different voices (all male) are linked together by the tragic story of the first mixed-race child, Eva, whose Koina name was Krotoa, and by her daughter Pieternella. The novel is cited in 1001 Books as a vastly ambitious novel of origins and empire, which explores the clash between colonisers and indigenous populations.

[Pieternella's] life is inextricably linked with the developing Dutch presence at the Cape and the mechanics of the Dutch East India Company, the VOC. Her hybrid experience in the emerging colony, neither entirely African nor Dutch, offers a series of perspectives, and her ultimate fate becomes a powerful metaphor for the fate of the colony itself.

The many characters, all superbly realised, are dwarfed by forces beyond their comprehension or control, taking place across the early modern world.
(1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, Edited by Peter Boxall, ABC Books, 2006 Edition, ISBN 0780733321214, p 933)

The early chapters depict First Contact not unlike what happened in Australia. On arrival, the strangers seemed benign, and the Koina people were generous and helpful. There were exchanges of goods, though these could not be characterised as barter or trade since the goods were not of equal value. Before long there was unwelcome encroachment, and resistance was dealt with through a combination of violence, imprisonment, forced labour, and toxic gifts of alcohol and tobacco.

Fiscal Deneyn enters the story about half way through. Young, ambitious, and breathtakingly cruel, he soon learns that his education in Holland doesn't seem to be very useful. Because (as in Australia) the legal status of the Indigenous people was a matter of pragmatism, not human rights.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/11/05/islands-by-dan-sleigh-translated-by-andre-br... ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2005/04/36-islands-dan-sleigh.html ( )