THE SWISS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 1652-1970 - swissroots-za.ch

learned to love. Only ten are known to have done so: Jakob Marik of Präz GR in 1710,
Joseph Coen of Berne in 1746, Gabriel Jenny of Ennenda GL and Anthony Castelyn in
1757, Heinrich Schwarz of Wülflingen ZH in 1758, Coenraad Roets of Appenzell 1763,
Hans Soeblee of Bougy-Villars VD in 1764, Johan Coenraad Wegelien of Diessenhofen
TG in 1775, Nicolaas Schlaub of Basel in 1785 and Thomas Schoenmaker in 1790.
/ 1 Bruijn: Dutch Asiatic Shipping in the 17 th and 18 th Centuries, gives a detailed
report on every sea voyage undertaken; 2 Thunberg: Travels in Europe, frica & Asia; 3
Boxer: The Dutch East-Indiamen; 4 Herport, Albrecht: Reise nach Java, Vorderindien &
Ceylon 1659-1668.
4.3 Company Servants
The number of Dutch ships sailing around the Cape increased continuously,
transporting increasing numbers of men. During the ninety years from 1610 to 1799 a
total of 1 074 ships called at the Cape, whereas for the next ninety-five years from 1700
to 1794, this number nearly trebled to 2 851. It is estimated that the ships carried one
million men to the Cape mainly en route to the East, but only brought back about three
hundred thousand (30%). This caused an unsustainable drain on Dutch manpower, but
fortunately the Netherlands had a large hinterland extending southward to the Alps and
northward to Scandinavia, from which it could attract men. Mostly these came from
adjoining German states – indeed, there were years when the entire garrison at the Cape
consisted of Germans with a sprinkling of Swiss.
The Directors of the VOC in the Netherlands wished to be fully informed of
everything that happened at their overseas trading stations. The scribes at the Cape were
kept busy writing detailed records. One of the most important was the annual Muster
Roll listing all the Company’s employees and their pay, the Company’s major expense
item. Besides name and salary, these rolls also recorded birthplace, position in which
employed and generally also the name of the ship and the date on which they arrived..
Copies of these rolls had to be sent to the Netherlands. Other records were retained,
ready to be inspected by visiting commissioners. Nearly all this documentation has been
preserved at the Algemeen Rijksarchief, The Hague (ARA) and the Cape Archives, Cape
Town (CA). In addition the CA has Verbatim Copies (VC) and / or microfilm of the
documents kept at the ARA but which are not extant at the Cape.
The annual Muster Rolls (MR) were the main source of information for drawing up
the register of Swiss who came to the Cape as Company servants. Several copies of
these rolls exist but names were sometimes left out or spelt differently. For some
unknown reason many Rolls are missing at the Cape Archives. For instance for the
twenty-three years from 1673 to 1695 only two rolls could be found. (See Table 3, p.
13)
4.4 Swiss Labour Migration to the Netherlands
The Alps were unable to accommodate the growing population and since early times
many young Swiss had to find their living abroad. Mostly the men served as mercenary
soldiers in foreign armies; they were renowned for their military prowess and much
sought after. Those not martially inclined sought work on farms, in households and in
industry. After the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) Germany, with its population
drastically reduced and vast areas ravaged, offered work and cheap land. Large numbers
of Swiss took advantage of the opportunities available there. By the time this vacuum
had been filled, the Netherlands had grown prosperous from the spice trade, and good
work opportunities could be found there. Later America became the promised land. The
first emigrants from Switzerland went there in about 1730 and soon glowing reports
filtered back attracting many more. Emigration across the Atlantic Ocean increased
steadily and peaked in the 1880’s at nearly 1% per annum of the total Swiss population.
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