Lydia Williams - friend of slaves

Lydia Williams who features in my book Nick North: Into Africa is actually an historical figure. She was an emancipated slave, born in 1820 and died in 1910 (aged 90 years).  Slavery was abolished in 1834 when Lydia was 14 but slaves had to carry out a post Emancipation apprenticeship and she was finally freed when she was 18.

District Six in 1964

lived in District 6, one of the most infamous areas of Cape Town. It is situated near to the Central Business District (CBD) and the docks. The view over Cape Town, the sea and the docks is beautiful. By the beginning of 20th century it was a lively, bustling community made up of former slaves, artisans, merchants and other immigrants.  The 60,000 inhabitants were mainly coloured – a South African accepted term for people of mixed race, many descended from slaves. However there were also black and both Afrikaans and English speaking white people as well as some Indians.

It wasn’t a rich area but the community got along really well and were happy to celebrate each others religious festivals as Christians, Muslims and Hindus lived there. After the Second World War, the national government started to pursue policies which eventually led to apartheid being established in 1948. All people were classified by race and given an area to live in. People needing to work or go to another area on legitimate business had to have a pass.

Forcible removals

the light of this, the government decided that interracial areas, such as District Six, bred conflict. They considered it was a slum with all manner of crimes being committed but many thought that the government actually wanted the area because of it closeness to the CBD and the commercial value of redevelopment.  District Six was declared a whites only area and the residents were forcibly removed to the cheerless Cape flats, far away from their places of work and the community they loved. The whole area was bulldozed apart from places of worship. However international pressure meant re-development was practically impossible and now over 50 years later, much of District Six is still barren land. A few old residents have now been re-housed in the area. 

District Six today

I try and cover all this complex history in Nick North: Into Africa. As part of my research I came across Lydia Williams also known as Saint Lydia for the work she did amongst the emancipated slaves. She was an extraordinary woman who still bore the scars on her body from whipping when she went in search for her daughter who was forcibly taken from her. She taught and held prayer meetings to help former slaves recover from the trauma of slavery. On December 1, Emancipation Day, each year she held a celebration at her house with treats and memories shared.

Here is an excerpt from Nick North: Into Africa where Nick and his two cousins Marieka and Johan find themselves in District Six.

At the bottom of the alley, it widened out into a junction of roads and alleys. On one corner was a small cottage tucked in the grounds of a church. Its small front garden was decorated with flowers festooned around the scraggly bushes.

‘I think this is our destination,’ Nick said. 

‘How do you know?’ Johan sniffed. 

‘House decorated and standing out from all the others. Next to a church. This is it.’ 

The three of them hovered on what passed for a pavement staring at the cottage and the flowers. As they looked closely they could see sweets hung amongst the flowers.

‘Do you think I could have a sweet or two?’ Johan asked.

‘No,’ Nick and Marieka said and Nick grabbed Johan’s arm in case he was tempted. 

Sitting on the doorstep of the cottage, on a low wooden chair, was a plump lady with short frizzy grey hair and a pale brown skin.  She was looking very closely at them but smiling.

‘Come on you three.  You look a bit lost and out of place, but I think this is where you were making for.  Am I right?’

‘Yes. I think so. The Shepherd sent us but we don’t really know why.’

The lady smiled. ‘The Shepherd told me to look out for strangers today. It’s our special day. And here you are.’

The lady beckoned them in. ‘My name is Lydia Williams but most people call me Sister Lydia. And who are you?’

The three of them walked up the path to the tiny cottage. ‘I’m Nick and these are my sort of cousins, Marieka and Johan.’

‘Welcome. All of you.

Genius or villain?

When writing my books, I do like to be as historically accurate as I can be. I research the region, the history and the people. Sometimes knowledge comes from my own experience and sometimes from the Internet. 

I always like to include historical people if at all possible. This may be alluded to as in Nick North: Cross Wires where I based the character Yvette, Nick’s great grandmother, on Eileen Neame a real life SOE operative in World War 2.  You can read about this in my blog: 'The Amazing women of SOE'  published in February 2018. 

However in Nick North: Into Africa I actually used two historical figures – first Governor Willem van der Stel and Lydia Williams. 

Governor Willem van der Stel 1664 - 1733

He was the son of Simon van der Stel, the first Governor of the Cape in South Africa, and later became Governor himself. In those days the Cape was little more than a watering station for the wealthy Dutch East India Company, who traded between the East Indies and Europe. 

Vergelegen

In 1700, Governor Willem established his residence at Vergelegen which literally means Far Away as it was a day’s ride from Cape Town. He transformed the uncultivated land into a paradise, planting vines, fruit orchards and olive groves and he kept thousands of sheep and cattle.  He was gifted in the whole area of horticulture and agriculture and experimented to improve yields and investigated and explored the many species of plants that flourish in southern Africa. He built a beautiful homestead and a hexagonal garden. He planted camphor trees and irrigated his paradise by digging channels from the nearby Lourens River.

The hexagonal garden today

Today, part of the house remains as does the hexagonal garden, a place of great quiet and beauty and the camphor trees stand majestically towering over the homestead. It is a beautiful location and I would recommend a visit there should you ever be in Cape Town.

However Governor Willem fell out with the other free burghers in the Cape as he used Company money to expand and develop his estate giving him an unfair advantage over the others. They complained to the Company and eventually Governor Willem was recalled to the Netherlands and the estate was divided into four.

Many however consider him to be a genius due to his knowledge of plants and horticulture and feel his great vision contributed to the development of the Cape. 

In my book, he makes a brief appearance right at the start. His manager, Master Anton, has whipped a slave to death.

At that moment, a man strode out from the homestead and across the lawns to where Master Anton stood over Jacob. He was wearing black britches, a long, black tunic, a white shirt with a cravat tied at his throat, and he had a grey wig.

‘What’s happening here, Anton? Did you do this?’ he asked, looking at Jacob’s battered and bloody body.

‘Yes, Governor Willem. I caught him stealing.’

‘Bit extreme, wouldn’t you say? Meant to be a couple of lashes, not an execution. You’d better be careful or your temper will get the better of you one day.’

With that, he strode back to the homestead and turned away his son, who had come out to see what had been going on, not realising that his careless actions had cost someone their life.

Next time: Lydia Williams

 

Nick North: Into Africa

We spend part of every year near Cape Town in South Africa. Anyone who has visited the city will know it is a fantastic place to go especially when the cold and wet weather is bombarding UK. 

Apart from the sunshine and blue skies, there is Table Mountain, Robben Island, the penguins at Boulders Beach, Cape Point, the Waterfront and many other wonderful attractions and places to see. Outside the actual city there are literally thousands of wine estates and not only are they delightful places to visit to sample the delicious South African wines, many of them are beautiful in their own right.

The old manor house at Vergelegen 

One of my favourite wine estates is Vergelegen (meaning situated far away) which is nowadays about an hour from Cape Town.  The whole estate is very attractive with the historic, old manor house in the centre, with rooms furnished with period furniture, surrounded by amazing gardens. It is possible to spend a few hours wandering the extensive grounds overlooked by towering mountains. It truly is a spectacular place.

The gardens with the towering mountains surrounding the estate

On one of our first visits there, the seed for Nick North: Into Africa was planted. In the grounds there is a roped off area with a board stating Site of the Slave House.  This piqued my interest but then inside the manor house, there are extensive display boards outlining the history of the estate including the use of many slaves.  It was from these things that the story was birthed.

Vergelegen was founded in 1700 by Willem Adriaan, son of the first governor of the Cape Simon van der Stel, when he succeeded his father as governor. He was a great entrepreneur building an extensive estate with over half a million vine stocks, orchards, cattle and sheep as well as the manor house. However his enthusiasm knew no bounds and he overstepped many boundaries and in the end the other local burghers (estate owners) informed the Dutch East Indies Company bosses in Holland of his corrupt practices, including having many more slaves than was permitted. In 1706 he was ordered to return to the Netherlands and the estate was divided into four lots.  Nevertheless Willem Adriaan was considered a genius for his knowledge of farming and his visionary mind contributed greatly to the agricultural development of the Cape. 

In recent years, Vergelegen is now open to the public but many world leaders, presidents and our Queen and the Prince of Wales have visited Vergelegen, owned and run by the Anglo American oil company.  

I decided to place the beginning of Nick North: Into Africa at Vergelegen where a slave is murdered, setting off a chain of events lasting hundreds of years until the Shepherd invited Nick, on holiday with his family in South Africa, to change the course of history. Before he left, Nick dreamt …

‘Oi you! Slave Jacob! Stop! I want to talk to you,’ Master Anton shouted.

Jacob stopped and tried to look up as the slave master approached, but the setting sun burned in his eyes and made his head hurt. He waited for the master to dismount. 

‘Did you take an apple from the orchard on your way to work?’ Master Anton’s eyes blazed angrily at him.

‘No Master Anton. I wouldn’t do that. That’s stealing.’ Jacob held out his hands, his palms facing upwards in a gesture of submission.

‘You’re dead right it’s stealing. So why is there a large apple core right where you’ve been working?’ Master Anton’s face twisted with disgust.

‘I don’t know Master Anton. It wasn’t me.’ Jacob’s voice trembled…

‘Well who was it? You know what we do with liars and thieves?’ Master Anton yelled, his face bright red.

‘Yes, Master Anton. You beat them.’ 

Jacob buried his face in his hands as the first lash of the horse’s whip landed on his bare shoulder, splitting his skin. He could feel the trickle of warm blood start to ooze out of the wound. The next lash fell on exactly the same spot, causing him to scream out in anguish. 

‘Please stop, Master. Please stop.’ 

He fell to his knees…

‘Why should I do that, you revolting slave?’ Master Anton’s voice rose to a scream as he continued the beating. Lash upon lash followed as Master Anton lost all control while the blood flowed. He went berserk, bawling and whipping.

Jacob felt a red haze pour over his eyes as he slipped into unconsciousness. He never regained his senses as his lifeblood poured out. He died with Master Anton still yelling and cursing him.