The first of three volumes by Mentzel on conditions at the Cape as he found them in the mid-18th century. Mentzel intended to correct the errors perpetrated by such earlier travellers as Kolb. This volume contains an historical background, a description of the physical features of the Cape and accounts of the administration and finances of the colony.
This report by De Mist, prepared and completed in January 1802 in Amsterdam, recommends changes to be made to the government of the Cape during the critical years between the two British occupations. It also ranges widely over social, economic and political conditions of the Cape at the end of the 18th century.
This 'biography' of Allemann is, in fact, an entertaining account of social life at the Cape during the mid-18th century. The topics range from the structure of the military forces to the life of slaves, and the revolt of Etienne Barbier to shipwrecks and the financial prospects of young women.
Written in Dutch, with translations in English, according to John X Merriman, one of the founders of the society, these documents deal 'with matters that Dr Theal characterized as, probably, of the greatest importance to the European Settlement in this country'. They are official reports on conditions at the Cape.
