Helena van Malabar, SM/PROG

First Fifty Years Project

Helena van Malabar was born circa 1675 in Malabar, India.

More information will perhaps surface as the project progresses.

She was a slave.

Helena van Malabar ..... Vosloo connection Helena van Malabar (today this area in India is known as Kerala) came from the west coast of India as a slave. The main Dutch port was Cochin, pepper was the trading commodity here. There were also a Roman Catholic presence amongst the people here since it used to be a Portuguese trading station. In 1716 there were 336 households in Cochin, 232 were European or Indo-European. There were 116 European men, twelve of them were married to European women, whereas 80 of these men had indo-european wives, and twelve had Indian wives refer to FS Gaastra, De Geschiedenis van de VOC, p 78. The Dutch operated in four regions in India: 1. Bengal 2. Mallabar Coast (South west coast of India) 3. Coromandel Coast (East coast of India) 4. Gujarat.

The reason why Portuguese was so widely used was due to the slaves from Malabar and Coromandel Coast who had Portuguese contact previously. Bengal was textile country, Coromandel Coast was piece good material, and Malabar was pepper country.

The social system of the Nayars was based on what is called "taraurad", where the family is established on the basis of the female ancestor (refer to KM Panikkar, Malabar and the Dutch, p x )

Innocent children were kidnapped by the Mohammedans and sold at Cochin to the Dutch, then they were send to Batavia or the Cape, reference Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair in his book Slavery in Kerala, p 16.

Helena van Malabar was set free as a slave with her little boy 20 Nov 1696 at the Cape. She had a relationship with Johannes Vosloo. Jan Vosloo was the Companies 'baashoutkapper' and his slave Helena helped him in the forest. In his Testament of 1732 he mentions that he never had children. Yet in his Testament which was made before 1718, he mentions the names of Caspar, Johannes and Helena as his inheritors. We can suspect that he was thus the father. Greater evidence is found when he requested to have these three children set free from slavery. On 11 November 1707 he requested to have an eleven year old slave girl set free. This little girl must have been Helena Vosloo who would thus have been born 1696. Johannes Volsoo mentions that their mother has brought this child into the world, in his home. He also states that he has taken care of them and was bringing them up and would like to continue to do this. He offers to pay the required 25 Rds to the VOC for Helena. Helena Vosloo was thus set free on 10 April 1708. The Political Council made him responsible to provide for her until her wedding day. Thus the Council of Policy ascribed to him the duties of a father. (refer to JL Hattingh "Beleid en Praktyk, die Doop van Slawekinders en die sluit van gemengde verhoudings aan die Kaap voor 1720" Kronos 1982, Vol 5, p 37 ff and also the article by JL Hattingh "Slawevrystelling aan die Kaap tussen 1700 en 1720", Kronos, 1981 Vol IV, p 31).

Their daughter called Helena Vosloo who was born c1696, got married to b3 Johannes Pretorius. This information was obtained from: http://www.oocities.org/athens/rhodes/1266/genetic2.htm See also: http://www.e-family.co.za/ffy/g8/p8648.htm INDIAN SLAVE Helena van Malabar ..... Vosloo connection Helena van Malabar (today this area in India is known as Kerala) came from the west coast of India as a slave. The main Dutch port was Cochin, pepper was the trading commodity here. There were also a Roman Catholic presence amongst the people here since it used to be a Portuguese trading station. In 1716 there were 336 households in Cochin, 232 were European or Indo-European. There were 116 European men, twelve of them were married to European women, whereas 80 of these men had indo-european wives, and twelve had Indian wives refer to FS Gaastra, De Geschiedenis van de VOC, p 78. The Dutch operated in four regions in India: 1. Bengal 2. Mallabar Coast (South west coast of India) 3. Coromandel Coast (East coast of India) 4. Gujarat.

The reason why Portuguese was so widely used was due to the slaves from Malabar and Coromandel Coast who had Portuguese contact previously. Bengal was textile country, Coromandel Coast was piece good material, and Malabar was pepper country.

The social system of the Nayars was based on what is called "taraurad", where the family is established on the basis of the female ancestor (refer to KM Panikkar, Malabar and the Dutch, p x )

Innocent children were kidnapped by the Mohammedans and sold at Cochin to the Dutch, then they were send to Batavia or the Cape, reference Adoor KK Ramachandran Nair in his book Slavery in Kerala, p 16.

Helena van Malabar was set free as a slave with her little boy 20 Nov 1696 at the Cape. She had a relationship with Johannes Vosloo. Jan Vosloo was the Companies 'baashoutkapper' and his slave Helena helped him in the forest. In his Testament of 1732 he mentions that he never had children. Yet in his Testament which was made before 1718, he mentions the names of Caspar, Johannes and Helena as his inheritors. We can suspect that he was thus the father. Greater evidence is found when he requested to have these three children set free from slavery. On 11 November 1707 he requested to have an eleven year old slave girl set free. This little girl must have been Helena Vosloo who would thus have been born 1696. Johannes Volsoo mentions that their mother has brought this child into the world, in his home. He also states that he has taken care of them and was bringing them up and would like to continue to do this. He offers to pay the required 25 Rds to the VOC for Helena. Helena Vosloo was thus set free on 10 April 1708. The Political Council made him responsible to provide for her until her wedding day. Thus the Council of Policy ascribed to him the duties of a father. (refer to JL Hattingh "Beleid en Praktyk, die Doop van Slawekinders en die sluit van gemengde verhoudings aan die Kaap voor 1720" Kronos 1982, Vol 5, p 37 ff and also the article by JL Hattingh "Slawevrystelling aan die Kaap tussen 1700 en 1720", Kronos, 1981 Vol IV, p 31).

Their daughter called Helena Vosloo who was born c1696, got married to b3 Johannes Pretorius:

Helena van Malabar => Helena Vosloo b3 => b3c1 Johannes Pretorius => b3c1d3 Gerrit Pieter Pretorius => b3c1d3e1 Johannes Lodewyk Pretorius => b3c1d3e1f6 Jan Christoffel Pretorius => b3c1d3e1f6g4 Anna Elisabeth Pretorius => b4c2d5e4f11 Lodevicus Johannes Combrinck => b4c2d5e4f11g3 Jacobus Johannes Burger Combrinck => my mother => me

Helena van Malabar => Helena Vosloo b3 => b3c3 Anna Pretorius => b5c3 Anna Elisabeth de Beer => b2c3d2 Zacharias Albertus van Jaarsveldt => b2c3d2e2 Adriaan Johannes Frederik Gustaaf van Jaarsveldt => b2c3d2e2f2 Hendrik Johannes van Jaarsveldt => b2c3d2e2f2g3 David Johannes van Jaarsveldt => b2c3d2e2f2g3h4 Anna Elisabeth Sophia van Jaarsveldt => b4c2d5e4f11g3 Jacobus Johannes Burger Combrinck => my mother => me

Helena van Malabar => Helena Vosloo b3 => b3c1 Johannes Pretorius => b3c1d8 Anna Dorethea Pretorius => b2c4d4Anna Catharina Jacomina du Buisson => b10c6d3 Lasya Claudina Buys => b2 Magdalena Alida Petronella Latsky => b6c3d1e7f6 Mattheus Willem Johannes Kuhn => b6c3d1e7f6g? Mattheus Willem Johannes Kuhn => b6c3d1e7f6g?h1 Johanna Elisabeth Kuhn => my father => me

Check document CJ 2649 no 117 p 606

Akteskantoor, Transporten en Schepenkennise, 1708, fol 163 10 April 1708. J Hoge, Personalia of the Germans at the Cape 1652 - 1806 (Argiefjaarboek vir Suid-Afrikaanse Geskiedenis, 1946, p 442. Anna Böeseken book Slaves and Free Blacks at the Cape 1658 - 1700

• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Jun 2 2021, 18:22:44 UTC