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- He was known as Jan. As was usual in the 17th and 18th century he was Christened on the first Sunday after his birth in the Dutch Reform Church by Petrus Van der Spuy and it was witnessed by Johannes Gysbertus Franke, his mother
s brother. Janspent his youth in Cape Town although his father had bought a farm in Swartland (Malmesbury area - about 100 miles north of Cape Town) in 1754. He had bought Welgelgen at the foot of Devil
s Peak in 1756 as well as owning and leasing many otherproperties. The reason that the family had not moved was presumably because of Jacobs (60) involvement in the meat trade required his presence in Cape Town. In 1767 when Jan was 18 he still lived in Cape Town. It may have been that after 1756
he left Welgelgen whenever visiting ships anchored in Simons Town. It was the nearest harbour for the provision of meat to passing ships. Very little else is known of his youth. He emerged with a thorough knowledge of the interior and of the
stock farmers. In the early 1770s he accompanied a foreign visitor on a hunting expedition to the Sak River. In 1786 the Political Council declared that he had a thorough knowledge of the land from Swellendam to Mossel Bay and PlettenburgBayand also that he knew the inhabitants well. In 1792 he says himself that he knew the areas of the
Nieuweveld, Gawk, and Graaf Reinet and that he knew the inhabitants well. His parents were very strict. In 1772 when he was 23 but not yet ofage (the legal age was 25) he became engaged to the daughter of Johannes Jacobus Le Roux without his parents consent. Shortly afterwards Catherina Maria became pregnant. There was only one solution- to marry immediately. His parents refused andhis father even threatened degredation if the plans proceeded. Jan did not allow this to deter him and went ahead with the marriage arrangements. His parents made an ardent appeal to the Council of Justice to forbid the marriage. As a result itwas. The strictness of the law against youth was merciless and he was sentenced to 14 days in the castle on bread and water only! Further he had pay the legal costs. As a consequence eldest child was christianed illegitimate. One would havethought that this would have caused a distancing between them however it did not. In 1779 his father sent him to attend to their financial matters in Europe. The good relationship did not last because on his return his father asserted that heowed him 996 rix dollars. Jan denied this and to settle it out of court they agreed to appoint 2 arbitraitors to examine the accounts and they agreed to abide by their decision. They unanimously declared that his father
s assertions wereunfounded and that in fact he owed Jan 3496 rix dollars. Jan showed his willingness to resolve the dispute by not demanding the amount. His father would not agree and decided to take the case to court. Two members of the court were sent toreview the case with the arbitratators. Jacob would not accept their findings. The case went on from 1786 to 1793. In the few days before he died Jacob altered his will expecting the judgement against him. Jan was one of 11 heirs. They appealedto the court of Justice in Batavia and in the end the clause excluding Jan was declared void. Jan was an obliging person even though his father hurled the worst insults at him. he was at all times patient and displayed humility and alwayscooperated with the various commissioners that investigated the case. They and the arbitratitors showed great praise for him and had no criticism against him. Jan was a thorough and precise businessman keeping meticulous accounts He was alieutenant in the citizens cavalry. In 1786 there was a severe grain shortage in the Cape and he was appointed by the Governor to investigate grain production in the Swellendam and Mossel Bay areas. In his second will he was sympathetic towardssome of his slaves. David was to have the choice of where he would live after the death of his master and Daniel was allowed freedom and the executors would pay the cost of the process.
Van Reenen Van Renen Vanrenen
Johannes Gysbertus van Reenen, (1749-1827), son of the famous Patriot leader, Jacobus van Reenen, and grandson of the progenitor of the Van Reenen family in South Africa played an important role in various facets of Cape society from about1775 to 1806. Firstly he became well known as a meat contractor to the Company during the periods 1779 to 1784 and 1789 to 1795. In this capacity he was on the one hand directly connected with the monoplistic policy of the Company and, in fact,was one of those who applied this policy to the meat and cattle trades; on the other hand he established close contact with the cattle farmers, even with those who lived on the furthest boundaries of the settlement. The meat trade andconcomitant arrairs were to a considerable degree not only the barometer by which the progress and decline of the Cape economy could be measured but also considerably influenced political activity. In this connection it may be mentioned thatduring the Patriot struggle during the 1780s many complaints were received, while related factors contributed to the dissatisfaction in the interior. This culminated in the Graaf-Reinet rebellion in 1795. Besides his involvement in the meattrade J.G. van Reenen also developed various other economic sources. During the years 1779- 1792 he participated extensively in the illegal private import and export. After the Commissions- General, Nederburgh and Frykenius, had opened privatetrade to Cape burghers in 1792 J.G. van Reenen and two of his brothers jointly bought a French ship which they renamed 'Hoop op Welvaart' for the sole purpose of exporting inland products to the island of St Helena and to Europe. On thepolitical level, J.G. van Reenen was one of the leaders during the Patriot struggle. He was a signatory or joint-signatory of many documents submitted by the Patriots in which they set forth their grievances. After the Cape was taken over bythe British in 1795, he was regarded as a moderate. He co-operated with the British because he believed that the administration should not be left entirely in the hands of foreigners. Because of his willingnes to co-operate with the British andhis specific knoweledge of the Cape economic, agricultural and interior conditions he was appointed a member of the Burgher Senate in 1797. J.G. van Reenen was favourably received by the administration and also made considerable contributionswith his reports and proposals on a variety of matters submitted to the authorities. These reports were on occasion initiated by himself, and, at other times, submitted at the request of the authorities. In this connection, may be made of hispropasals regarding the defence of the Graaf-Reinet colonists against attacks by the Bushmen, the exploitation of the forests in the Plettenburg Bay area, and the development of both the wheat industry in the Southern Cape and the ports atMossel Bay and Plettenburg Bay. Furthermore, on various occasions he was delegated to perform official assignments. From the late 1780' J.G. van Reenen farmed on a large scale on his many estates and loan farms. He especially concentrated onimproving the standard of his Cape sheep and cattle by cross-breeding them with pure-bred imported merino sheep and Friesland cattle. His success in this venture labelled as one of the Cape experts on Merino sheep and Friesland cattle by thebeginning of the nineteenth century. Consequently, during the first British occupation and the Batavian era, he was appointed a member of the commissions, established by the authorities, to place agriculture and cattle breeding on a soundfooting. Johannes Gysbertus van Reenen - Part Played in Cape History until 1806
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1749 - 1827 (~ 78 years)
