A Tapestry of Women's Lives

This collection of portraits of women at the Cape brings to life some extraordinary personalities from the early day of the settlement. Cape Town was a wild ofrontier towno, attracting the most desperate, hopeful and intrepid adventurers from the Old World u who both clashed and mingled with the local people. Women had to have extraordinary strength of character to survive at the Cape, facing war, wild animals, slavery, and the stern laws and punishments of the powerful VOC. But women also found opportunity at the Cape: vastly outnumbered by men, they were in great demand u many went through several husbands, as their menfolk succumbed to lion attacks, Khoekhoe assegais or ill health. Although historical background is given, what makes this book different is that it focuses on individual personalities and life stories. These portraits are what make A Tapestry of Women Lives sparkle and distinguish it from more conventional historical texts. We meet familiar figures such as the Khoekhoe Krotoa and her mistress, Maria de Queilleirie, as well as lesser-known characters: Maria Mouton, who had an affair with her slave and suffered terrible punishment; the shadow Nico