THE TRUTH ABOUT CAPE SLAVERY, the foundations of colonial South Africa

271pp., paperback, Cape Town, 2024

Patric Tariq Mellet argues that chattel slavery, a crucial feature of maritime capitalism, became the cornerstone of the Cape’s agricultural economy and is at the heart of the inequality that persists in South Africa today.

Culture and heritage activist Patric Tariq Mellet was born and raised in District Six, Woodstock and Salt River districts of Cape Town. An MK veteran, he established the ANC ‘liberation printing press’ in exile to disseminate information. He returned from exile in 1990 and lives in Cape Town. A member of the Governance Council of the South African Heritage Resources Agency, he is the author of The Lie of 1652, a decolonised history of land and the autobiography Cleaner's Boy, a resistance road to a liberated life.