This Day in History: April 17, 1658
Additional Date: April 17, 1658
Jan van Riebeeck, commander at the Cape, wrote in his diary that a school for slaves has been started. Sick-comforter Pieter van der Stael was the first teacher. To reward pupils (mainly adults) for their presence, they each daily received a glass of brandy and two inches of tobacco. The aim of the school was to increase the usefulness of the slaves to their owners. This school was founded by Commander Jan van Riebeeck for the slave children brought to the Cape in the Dutch ship, the Amersfoort, which had captured them off a Portuguese slaver. A second school, attended by 12 White children, four slaves and one Khoi-Khoi, was opened in 1661.