GDP in the D utch C ape C olony: The National Accounts of a Slave‐Based Society

New estimates of the gross domestic product of the D utch C ape C olony (1652‐1795) suggest that the C ape was one of the most prosperous regions during the eighteenth century. This stands in sharp contrast to the perceived view that the C ape was an “economic and social backwater,” a slave economy with slow growth and little progress. Following a national accounts framework, we find that C ape settlers' per capita income is similar to the most prosperous countries of the time – H olland and E ngland. We trace the roots of this result, showing that it is partly explained by a highly skewed population structure and very low dependency ratio of slavery, and attempt to link the eighteenth‐century C ape C olony experience to twentieth‐century S outh A frican income levels.