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Muster Rolls introduction

The Muster Rolls (monsterrollen), preserved in the form of transcripts in the Cape Archives as VC 39-55 and 103, were apparently yearly lists of the inhabitants at the Cape, drawn up by Dutch East India Company (VOC) officials, and sent to the authorities in the Netherlands where they were preserved.

These are copies done by hand at the end of the 19th Century. to judge from the handwriting, presumably from the records preserved in the VOC archives at The Hague, Netherlands. So far I have been able to find no information on the transcriber or the circumstances.

In VC 39 part 3 of these transcripts there are lists for the years 1660 to 1666/7 for each year, 1670 to 1675 for each year, 1677, 1679, 1682, 1685, 1686, 1688, 1690, 1691, 1692, 1693, 1695, 1696, 1698 and 1700.

These records in the VOC archives are likewise copies, which were preserved in the archives of the Amsterdam Chamber of VOC. The originals must have been compiled at the Cape each year. Several copies were then made and forwarded to Batavia in Indonesia, headquarters of the VOC abroad, and the authority in charge of the Cape branch of the VOC. Other copies were presumably forwarded to the several Chambers of the VOC in the Netherlands. The originals, if they were kept at the Cape, did not survive.

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Title Author Hits
Cape Muster Roll 1657 transcribed by Richard Ball 13165
Cape Muster Roll 1658 transcribed by Richard Ball 11767
Cape Muster Roll 1660 transcribed by Richard Ball 16079
Cape Muster Roll 1661 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 11671
Cape Muster Roll 1662 - Free Men and transcribed by Corney Keller 16619
Cape Muster Roll 1663 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 13665
Cape Muster Roll 1664 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 9977
Cape Muster Roll 1665 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 10315
Cape Muster Roll 1666-67 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 9949
Cape Muster Roll 1667 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 10637
Cape Muster Roll 1670 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 11925
Cape Muster Roll 1671 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 11084
Cape Muster Roll 1672 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 10049
Cape Muster Roll 1673 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 10149
Cape Muster Roll 1674 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 10214
Cape Muster Roll 1675 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 9879
Cape Muster Roll 1677 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 11012
Cape Muster Roll 1678 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 10422
Cape Muster Roll 1679 transcribed by Richard Ball 10646
Cape Muster Roll 1682 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 10678
Cape Muster Roll 1685 transcribed by Richard Ball 12982
Cape Muster Roll 1686 transcribed by Richard Ball 11722
Cape Muster Roll 1688 transcribed by Richard Ball 12509
Cape Muster Roll 1690 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 11528
Cape Muster Roll 1691 - free men transcribed by Richard Ball 12169
Cape Muster Roll 1692 - Free Men and transcribed by Corney Keller 16563
Cape Muster Roll 1693 - Free Men and transcribed by Corney Keller 14926
Cape Muster Roll 1695 transcribed by Richard Ball 22490
Cape Muster Roll 1695 - Knechts transcribed by Corney Keller 12542
Cape Muster Roll 1696 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 14733
Cape Muster Roll 1698 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 15899
Cape Muster Roll 1700 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 11622
Cape Muster Roll of 1702 [for 1701] transcribed by Richard Ball 17126
Cape Muster Roll 1703 [for 1702] - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 8952
Cape Muster Roll 1703 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 7857
Cape Muster Roll 1704 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 8003
Cape Muster Roll 1705 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 7837
Cape Muster Roll 1706 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 8131
Cape Muster Roll 1707 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 7363
Cape Muster Roll 1708 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 7168
Cape Muster Roll 1709 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 4877
Cape Muster Roll 1711 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 5436
Cape Muster Roll of 1712 transcribed by Richard Ball 33826
Cape Muster Roll of 1713 transcribed by Richard Ball 22582
Cape Muster Roll 1714 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 8492
Cape Muster Roll 1715/16 - Free Men transcribed by Corney Keller 10225