The British introduced a number of reforms (changes) upon their second occupation of the Cape on 8th January 1806, which included;
Changes in the economy; Changes in the church; Changes in the language; Changes in the press; Changes in the judiciary and administration
Changes in the Economy:
In 1825 new paper money based on the English Currency known as the English Silver introduced to replace the Dutch Rix dollar, which had fallen in value.
The British government reduced the salaries of the government officials and it stood at £10,000 annually as one of the measures of reducing government expenditure.
The expenditure on public works reduced to control the inflation rate in the Cape colony in order to maintain better standard of living.
The British introduced free trade and trade restrictions were abolished and the Boer farmers free to sell their produce to any buyers at the Cape.
The policy of giving financial assistance to the immigrants stopped as a way of regulating government expenditure.
Changes in the Church /Religion:
Freedom of worship extended to all religious groups and even the Roman Catholic Church allowed to worship.
The British government also became responsible for the payment of salaries to religious leaders and all civil servants from 1826.
Government officials stopped from attending meetings with church members especially the council of the Dutch Reformed Church.
The Africans allowed attending any church of their choice or even practicing their own religion in the public at the Cape.
Changes in the Judiciary:
The British introduced a policy of justice in 1828, which contained judicial reforms and a supreme courts set up under the judicial policy.
The judges appointed by the British Crown and they were to be independent and they could hold offices for as long as they were morally upright.
The Judges were paid salaries by the British Crown government, which appointed them to judicial affairs at the Cape.
The British law replaced the Old Roman Dutch law, which led to the adoption of the British legal system at the Cape.
The Roman Dutch Law (RDL) allowed operating but the English Criminal Law replaced the harsher version of Roman Dutch Criminal Law (RDCL).
Court sessions were made public and trial by the Jury was established in 1828 and made public i.e. people were free to attend court proceedings.
In 1836, only professional lawyers and judges allowed to preside over cases and work in the courts of Law.
Changes in Administration:
Under administrative reforms, between1806-1825, the British Cape colony was ruled by the governor who had a lot of powers.
In 1826, an advisory council set up comprising of the governor, the chief judge and the colonial secretary.
The work of the council was to advice the governor on how to rule the Cape based on the British legal system.
In 1827, the Dutch farmers given two seats on the advisory council and the British government at the Cape nominated these members.
In 1834, the legislative council, consisting of the governor, senior officials and seven nominated citizens formed to debate and pass laws.
The governor had the power to pass the laws without the knowledge of the legislative council.
Black Circuit courts (mobile courts) introduced to deal with harsh Dutch masters and the Africans acted as interpreters in these courts.
Slave working hours were also reduced and Sunday was declared a resting day for the people at the Cape and the slaves were free to worship.
African slaves allowed marriage freely without consulting their Dutch masters and form a family at the Cape under the British administration.
The Africans were encouraged to take up paid jobs and this enabled them to raise income to improve on their standards of living.
Land reforms were carried out i.e. all land within the Cape colony was marked (surveyed) and fenced to avoid land grabbing by the settlers.
The land documented and land titles issued to the rightful owners and the Africans given the right to buy and sell land.
The Africans got back their land grabbed by the Dutch farmers through the land act of 1828 introduced by the British government at the Cape.
The labour reforms put in place and slave masters not allowed giving excess punishments to the slaves who were working for them.
The Africans were encouraged to take up paid employment whenever they wanted and whenever the opportunity arose.
The British encouraged African labour to stop using the passbooks and instead signed contract for their service at least for one year.
English language replaced Dutch language as the official language used in all public places and in administration at the Cape colony in South Africa.
The British encouraged the teaching of English language in schools and English used as the medium of instruction in schools.
The Changes in the Press:
The British put an end to the press censorship practiced by the Dutch administration at the Cape in South Africa.
By 1828, the freedom press instituted at the Cape and newspapers and magazines published without any form of censorship.
General Changes introduced by the British at the Cape:
In 1825 new paper money based on the English currency known as the English silver introduced to replace the Dutch Rix dollar, which had fallen in value.
The British government also reduced the salaries of government officials and it stood at £10,000 annually to reduce expenditure by the government.
The expenditure on public works reduced to control the inflation rate in Cape colony under the administration of the British.
The British government introduced free trade and the Dutch farmers were free to sell their produce to any buyers at the Cape without any form of restrictions.
The policy of giving financial assistance to the prospective immigrants stopped by the British government at the Cape.
Freedom of worship extended to all the different religious groups including the Roman Catholics and the Africans at the Cape.
The government officials were stopped from attending the Church Council meetings.
The Africans allowed to attend any church service and to practice their religion in public without any form of restriction.
The British government introduced the policy of justice in 1828 and it contained the judicial reforms.
The Supreme Court was set up and the judges appointed by the British Crown and the British government at the Cape.
The judges appointed at the Cape were required to be independent and would stay in the office as long as they were morally upright.
The British law replaced the old Roman law and the British legal system adopted at the Cape.
Court sessions at the Cape made public, and trial by Jury was established and people were free to attend the court sessions or proceedings.
In 1826, an advisory council set up and the council was supposed to advise the governor on all the legal matters of the colony.
In 1834, a Legislative Council was established and it consisted of the Governor, four senior officials and seven nominated citizens by the Governor.
The British government charged the Legislative Council with the power to debate and pass laws governing the people of the Cape in South Africa.
Black Circuit courts (Mobile courts) introduced to deal with harsh Dutch masters and the Africans acted as interpreters in these courts.
The African slaves working hours reduced and Sunday was declared a resting day for the people at the Cape and the slaves were free to worship.
The African slaves were allowed to marry freely without consulting their Dutch masters and forming a family at the cape in South Africa.
Africans were encouraged to take up paid jobs whenever they wanted and whenever the opportunity arose and this enabled them to raise income to improve on their standards of living.
Land reforms were carried out i.e. all land within the Cape colony was marked (surveyed) and fenced to avoid land grabbing by the settlers.
Land documented and land titles issued to the rightful owners and the Africans given the right to buy and sell land.
The Africans got back their land grabbed by the Dutch farmers through the land act of 1828 issued by the British government at the Cape.
The labour reforms put in place and slave masters not allowed giving excess punishments to the slaves who were working for them.
The British encouraged African labour to stop using the passbooks and signed contracts for their labour service at least for one year.
English language replaced the Dutch language as the official language, and used in all public places and official functions.
In conclusion, the above are some of the reforms introduced by the British administration at the Cape.
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