Uniquely among VOC slave holdings, many of the VOC-owned slaves in Cape Town lived in the Slave Lodge. Located in the social centre of the town, next to the church and company gardens, in 1776, the Slave Lodge could hold around 600 slaves. As the number of enslaved people continued to increase, the Lodge saw several renovations, eventually holding up to 1000 people. Conditions in the Lodge were terrible. It was so dark that in 1803, a building inspector complained of needing a lantern to move around in the day. Slaves were required to be chained here overnight. Notably for the male-dominated Cape, many slave women lived in the Slave Lodge, and several contemporary visitors to the Cape commented on the Lodge’s use as an unofficial brothel.
Privately-owned slaves had radically different experiences. They often worked in individual households, or on private farms, and slept there. Since large-scale manufacturing was outlawed at the Cape, slaves with skills such as smithing were prized, and worked in small-scale workshops for small scale manufacturing. Other slaves might work in retail, the majority as street hawkers. These slaves were forced to earn their master a certain amount of money every week, known as koeli geld, by selling goods.
Though it had been a great naval power in the early 18th century, in 1776 the VOC, and the Dutch Republic generally, was on the decline. At the same time, relations with the British were beginning to strain. The two powers had enjoyed a strong relationship for much of the 18th century, joined in their opposition to the Portuguese, but the British grew increasingly suspicious of the Dutch as they failed to help the British in successive conflicts, despite agreements to do so. When the British asked for aid in quelling the American Revolution, the Dutch first refused (citing a non-aggression pact), and were then the first nation to salute the new American flag. For their part, the Dutch were concerned about the growing naval dominance of the British. This increase in tension culminated in the Anglo-Dutch wars, in which Britain achieved dominance in global waters.