But, of course, there have been changes, most notably around the seafront of Table Bay. In the early nineteenth century it boasted just a single rickety jetty; today it has been extensively reclaimed to produce a world-class harbour. The battlefield at Blaauwberg is now near a pleasant beach town with a stunning view of Table Mountain. Simon’s Town was much developed for the Navy and later became famous during the Second World War convoy battles.
As always in my books, I follow the historical record and take pains neither to distort nor exaggerate history. For instance, some readers may be sceptical about the French frigate I have sailing in unsuspectingly into Cape Town harbour to be taken by the British without a single gun fired, but this did actually happen, as did the bizarre scenes at the sinking of Britannia when the madman vowed he would die rich at last.
South Africa today is a vibrant multi-cultural society. Soon after the period in which I set this book, the Xhosa increased their warlike activity on the Eastern Frontier and later fought several wars before they in turn were pressed from the east, this time by the Zulus. The Xhosa eventually displaced the Khoikhoi to become the most prominent population group in Cape Colony, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu among them. At the entrance to the Cape Town public library I was delighted to come across a poster in isiXhosa: Ngabafundi abafundayo abaziikokeli – ‘Leaders are always readers’!
This book is dedicated to the Lady Anne Barnard, whose warm and delightful letters, journals and drawings informed much of my research on colonial Cape Town. I feel some degree of guilt in not being able to acknowledge everyone I consulted in the process of writing this book but they all have my deep thanks. Special mention, however, must be made of the assistance provided by the staff of the National Library of South Africa, the Cape Town Archives, the Simon’s Town Museum and the South African Maritime Museum. And, of course, I would be remiss in not expressing heartfelt appreciation to my wife and literary partner, Kathy, my agent Carole Blake, and my editor Anne Clarke.
Glossary
ahoo
awry
assegai
light spear designed for throwing
ayont
beyond
belfry
protective canopy over a ship’s bell
bicorne
two-cornered officer’s hat; originally worn across until Napoleon adopted the style, then worn fore ’n’ aft
Billy Roarer
sailors’ nickname for
L’Aurore
bobotie
baked spicy minced-meat dish, topped with a savoury custard
bredie
spicy slow-cooked stew, usually containing mutton
British East India Company
English chartered company formed for trade with East and South East Asia and India; ‘John Company’
broadsides
opening fire with the battery of guns on each deck the entire length of one side of the ship
calesa
small horse-driven carriage
carronade
short-barrelled, large-calibre gun for use at close range
castellan
administrator/keeper of a castle
’Change
the Royal Exchange in the City of London
cobbs
sailor’s term for Spanish coins
coxswain
in charge of a boat; captain’s coxswain – in charge of the captain’s barge
cuddy
small cabin or compartment
Dutch East India Company
English for the VOC, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie
field cornet
subordinate to the
landdrost
fo’c’sle
the foremost part of the main deck
gimcrack
cheap, showy object
goose-winged
running with one corner of the sail clewed up to give half the area drawing
Great Karoo
vast semi-desert area in southern Africa beyond the Swartberg range, north of Mossel Bay
gunroom
wardroom of a frigate
howitzer
a gun that lobs an explosive shot in a parabola
Jonkheer
honorific for a person of note or high birth
Khoikhoi
original peoples met by the Dutch in the Western Cape
koeksister
spiced syrup-coated small cake
landdrost
local magistrate, responsible for order and collection of revenues
lee
side opposite to that from which wind is blowing
lobsterbacks
nickname for soldiers, from their red uniforms
loon
slang for lunatic
louring
dark, threatening
Mevrouw
Mrs
Ox-eye
large-scale wind-squall associated with north-east monsoon
pens en pootjies
casserole of beans and trotters
pickets
soldiers detached from the main body to act as lookouts
pinnace
one of the smaller of the ship’s boats
plain sail
when the ship sails with all sail set except extras, such as stuns’ls
quarterdeck brace
authority position adopted by officer-of-the-watch; legs apart, arms thrust down behind
Quarters
after the ship is cleared for battle, the hands go to quarters for action
rijksdaalder
‘royal dollar’, rixdollar, main Cape currency
rooibos
native red bush, leaves of which are used to make a herbal tea
rutter
old term for pilot book in navigational use
Seringapatam, battle of
4 May 1799; final confrontation of the fourth Anglo-Mysore war
shageerijen
pot house frequented largely by sailors
swallowtail
distinctive v-shaped cut in a flag
tarpaulin
officer who has risen from before the mast and doesn’t care who knows it
tie-mate
special friend, helped plait each other’s pig-tail
umngqusho
savoury porridge, a traditional Xhosa dish
vrouw
housewife, woman
Zuurveld
buffer area between the Great Fish river and Sundays river to separate Boers and Xhosa