Jan Christiaan Smit, am 1. Februar 1735 in den Dienst der Niederländischen Ostindien-Kompanie

Am Montag, 20 April schrieb Richard Hagan

Hello! I am an amateur historian and writer and I believe I have the final answer as to what became of Christiaan Smit. He was executed at the Castle of Good Hope on or about the 30th April 1739 for his role in three separate thefts of linen from the VOC. Two at the company Wood Store, and one at Tuynhuys. He was executed alongside another VOC soldier named Michiel Herda, who had carried out the thefts with him. Michiel Herda is correctly listed here on your website as having been executed. I've actually written an article about the thefts and their court case which you can read here: https://medium.com/@haganmediacopy/hanging-the-dirty-laundry-a-true-crime-story-from-18th-century-cape-town-754a6ada0501

This article was based on my final year university history thesis which covered the whole thing in much greater detail.

My information here was collected from the original court records which are kept in the National Archives in Cape Town. The case is contained in the following documents:
Court Rolls CJ 21 (1739)
Sententie CJ 786 (1738/9)
Documents in Criminal Cases DCC CJ 1739 No. 344 Deel

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. This has been a fascinating case for me!