Abstract
M.A. (Historical Studies)
In recent years, historians of the Cape of Good Hope during the era when it formed part of
the Dutch East India Company or VOC (1652-1795) have studied in detail the importance
and operation of social identity to various groups of this nascent society. In particular, they have demonstrated that there existed close links between identity, status, reputation and the use and display of material goods. This study builds on this historiography, but aims to flesh it out by concentrating on a group of people who have hitherto received less detailed attention, namely women, and focusing on the consumption of one particular set of goods, namely clothing. This thesis aims to uncover the correlation between social identity and the consumption of clothing for women at the VOC Cape. It finds that clothing was used as a way of expressing the identity of an individual according to her perceived social status or the status that she aspired to. This conclusion was reached through a series of case studies which focused on particular segments of Cape society. Various chapters investigate different social groups, ranging from the wives and daughters of VOC officials, the elite members of Cape society, to a broad spectrum of women (both poorer and wealthier) from the free-burgher population, as well as women from the underclass at the Cape, viz. slaves and free blacks. In addition, a chapter is dedicated to sumptuary legislation, investigating how it affected conspicuous consumption among these various groups.