The French Refugees at the Cape (1919)

viii, 171 pages of text, appendixes and index. An ex-library copy in great condition. Three maps showing the extent of the Colony in 1688, facsimiles of signatures of some of the French Refugees and a map shewing position of farms granted to French and Dutch settlers up to 1700.

Written by the man who became South Africa's chief archivist, this is a concise but invaluable and well-illustrated record of the Huguenots who took refuge at the Cape in the late seventeenth century.

Botha's introduction begins: "The coming of the French Refugees to the Cape is one of the most important and interesting episodes in the history of South Africa. The late Dr George McCall Theal, in his 'History of South Africa', has presented us with a vivid picture of the Refugees, but some additional facts will, it is hoped, prove not uninteresting . . . "Apart from the main text, the book is notable for its bibliography and its reproduction of some of the principal documents relating to the refugees, both in their original languages and in English translations. The two folding maps and the folding sheet of facsimile signatures of some of the French refugees, which are all perfectly preserved in this copy, add considerable value to the book.The grey cloth-boards, with green titling to the spine, are in very good condition."

Chapters on the arrival of the Refugees at the Cape, the Cape at the end of the 17th Century, their settlement, church and language, list of Refugees who arrived from 1688, extract of baptisms in the Drakenstein Church, land grants issued to them and extracts from the principal documents relating to the Refugees.