stupidity and indolence of the burghers.l'P
Formal authority over the colony was virtually a monopoly of the Dutch
officials. The governor and Council of Policy, consisting exclusively of
senior officials, ruled the Cape, subject to instructions from the Council of
Seventeen in Amsterdam and the governor-general in Batavia. Officials also
had a majority in the judiciary (the Court ofJustice) and the other admin-
istrative bodies, and the governor nominated the burgher members of those
bodies. Even the religious establishment was controlled by the company.
The ministers were salaried officials; the Church Council was nominated
by the governor and Council of Policy, and it, too, consisted largely of
officials.
The creation of a settler community led to conflicts. Competition took
place between two classes of producers: the senior officials and the most
successful settlers. As was common practice among servants of the Dutch
East India Company, the Cape governors Simon van der Stel (1679-99),
his son Willem Adriaan van der Stel (1699-17°7),
and their cronies used
their opportunities
to enrich themselves. They got possession of large
blocks of the 'best arable land, numerous cattle ranches, and many slaves
and exploited their official positions to control access to shipping and