AN UNCOMFORTABLE PARADISE, a history of dispossession and slavery in Simon's Town

256pp., b/w & colour illus., maps, paperback, Cape Town, 2023

A  history of slavery in Simon's Town, a suburb situated along the False Bay coast, Cape Town.

"While it is the narrative of the oppression and resistance of enslaved people that attracts Young’s primary attention, she makes sure to weave into her stories the experiences of the indigenous people of the area. She does so in a way that many historical narratives miss, either dwelling on slavery’s brutality or on the colonial machinations of dispossession of the indigenous people. Young has brilliantly captured the commonality of experiences shared by peoples oppressed by the workings of colonial empire.  This is a particular strength of this account." Leslie London, The Heritage Portal Newspaper

Joline Young is a social historian and heritage consultant with a Master’s degree in historical studies with distinction (UCT), who has recently commenced a PhD at UCT on the subject of “Multilingual Worlds – Neglected Histories: Uncovering their emergence, continuity and loss in past and present societies,” for which she was awarded an ERC scholarship.