Iziko Slave Lodge

Slave Lodge was built in 1679 to house people enslaved by the Dutch East India Company.

Over the following 132 years, researchers estimate that between 7,000 and 9,000 people from Africa, Madagascar, India and Southeast Asia passed through the building.

But the later life of the building matters just as much.

After 1811, it became colonial government offices. It later operated as a museum that for many years focused largely on the history of European settlers.

So a building created around enslaved people gradually lost much of that story from the way it presented itself.

Only in 1998 was the name Slave Lodge restored, with the museum beginning to rebuild its interpretation around slavery, resistance and human rights.

That is why the building itself remains the most powerful exhibit. It tells not only what happened here centuries ago, but also how institutions later chose which parts of their own history to name.

In short: 🕰️ Building from 1679 · ⛓️ History of slavery · 🌍 People from Africa and Asia · 🏛️ Former government offices · 📖 Reframed as Slave Lodge from 1998 · 📍 Central Cape Town