Slave Lodge school established on a more permanent basis

A more permanent school was organised after Company-owned enslaved people were moved into the Slave Lodge. Children younger than twelve attended regularly, while those aged twelve to sixteen received religious instruction on two afternoons each week. Boys and girls were taught separately; a freed woman named Margaret taught girls, while Jan Pasqual taught boys.

Reading and writing Dutch and Christian doctrine formed the core curriculum. Instruction also promoted obedience and respect as understood by slaveholders. The school continued in various forms for roughly 110 years, and formal attendance among children in the Lodge was considerably broader than among enslaved children in private households.

Significance

The school provided literacy and religious education within the constraints of slavery. Attendance, language and doctrine were organised by the Company and church authorities, while instruction reinforced conduct expected by slaveholders.