Genadendal was a village with its own economy, mixing gardens, crafts, trade, and wage work [MS]. It was also a place where money and land ownership were kept apart: residents could live on the land and work it, but not own it [IC]. This page describes how people made a living at the mission. See Money and Land.
What the letters in square brackets mean
Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.
- [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by at least two sources that do not depend on each other, or by an official record.
- [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from the institution’s own records, histories, or statements, or from one community’s own sources. It has not been checked against sources that do not depend on them.
- [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.
At a glance
| 1738 | Georg Schmidt pays for work in supplies [IC] |
| 1797 | A forge and a water mill; Genadendal knives sold across the Cape [IC] |
| 1837 to 1859 | The printing press, and De Bode van Genadendal [IC] |
| 1838 | Freed people are given plots and taught trades [MS] |
| 1860s | Factory goods undercut the mission’s crafts [TBV] |
| 1909 | Residents may live on the land but not own it [IC] |
Supplies, gardens, and crafts
At Baviaanskloof, Georg Schmidt exchanged work for supplies [IC]. His students planted gardens, dug a water furrow, and grew wheat, which a neighbouring farmer ground for them [IC]. It was an economy of work and goods, without money.
After the missionaries of 1792 reopened the mission, it grew into a craft village. The missionaries were themselves a tailor, a shoemaker, and a knife-maker [MS]. In 1797 they built a forge and a water mill [IC]. The forge made Genadendal knives, which were sold across the Cape [MS]. The mill let the village grind its own grain [MS]. The mission’s crafts also included furniture and other goods made by hand [MS]. From 1837 the printing press added printing to the village’s trades [IC].
Wages
Many Khoekhoe in the colony worked on farms. In the early 1800s their wages were paid mostly in kind, above all in sheep. In one district, about four-fifths of wages were paid in kind in 1801, and the share paid in cash grew over the following decade [IC]. Farmers in the Overberg saw the mission as competition for workers, and opposed it for that reason [IC]. Residents of Genadendal also worked for wages on nearby farms, at harvest and at other times [TBV].
Freed people
After slavery ended in 1838, many freed people came to Genadendal [IC]. Its population grew from 1,446 in 1837 to 2,187 in 1840 [MS]. Newcomers were given a plot to build on, some help to start, and training in a trade, as Khoekhoe families had been [MS].
Land without title
Residents held plots, gardens, and grazing, but the land was not theirs to own. In 1858 it was granted to the Moravian Church in trust for residents [MS], and in 1909 a law confirmed that residents could live on it but not own it [IC]. Forum research describes this as the start of a deep rift between the missionaries and residents [MS]. Without title deeds, residents could not sell their land on the open market or borrow against it [TBV]. See Land as Property.
Decline
In the second half of the 1800s, factory-made goods arriving by steamship undercut the mission’s knives, furniture, and other crafts, and many people left to find work in towns and on farms [TBV]. The printing works lasted until 2003 [MS].
What is still open
- How residents were paid for mission work, and when money came into everyday use in the village.
- Whether the mission ran a shop, and on what terms.
- What Genadendal knives sold for, and where.
- How many residents worked on farms, and for what wages.
Related
References
- Wikipedia. Genadendal. The forge, the mill, and Kühnel’s knives.
- Genadendal Project. History of Genadendal and Surrounds. Schmidt’s first years and the buildings of 1739.
- Links, C. and Green, E. (2025). “Wages, Gender, and Coercion”. International Review of Social History. Khoe wages in kind and in cash, 1801 to 1810.
- Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae. “I Will Gather All Nations and Tongues”. Genadendal’s population from 1837 to 1840, and farmers’ hostility to the missions.
- Viljoen, R. (1995). “Moravian Missionaries, Khoisan Labour and the Overberg Colonists at the End of the VOC Era, 1792 to 1795.” In Bredekamp and Ross (eds), Missions and Christianity in South African History. Witwatersrand University Press. Not yet read.
- TRANCRAA and Farm 39, and the sources listed there. The 1858 grant and the 1909 Act.