1705–1707
Burgher opposition to Willem Adriaan van der Stel intensifies
Free burghers organised petitions and opposition to Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel over official farming, monopoly, patronage and trade practices.
established
political-change
Free burghers organised petitions and opposition to Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel over official farming, monopoly, patronage and trade practices.
Significance
Major political crisis over monopoly, office-holding, land, and trade at the Cape.
Why it matters
Major political crisis over monopoly, office-holding, land, and trade at the Cape.
Disputed interpretations
The chronology is established, but historians differ over whether anti-corruption, status rivalry, class interest or early settler politics best explains the movement.