Charles Etienne Boniface

Charles Etienne Boniface (2 February 1787 – 10 December 1853) was an early nineteenth century music teacher, playwright, journalist and polyglot who was born in France, but who spent his adult life in Southern Africa. His writings and compositions are amongst the earliest publications of what was then the Cape Colony.

Early years

Boniface was born in Paris in 1787, two years before the outbreak of the French Revolution. At the age of twelve he had a grounding in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Latin, Greek, had written short dramas in the style of Molière, played the guitar and had learned to dance.

In 1798 his father, who was a prison governor was banished from France on suspicion of helping Sir Sidney Smith to escape back to England. Smith assisted the Boniface family to settle in the Seychelles, a former French colony which, since the beginning of the French Revolution, was effectively under the control of its own assembly. Boniface enrolled in as a cadet in the Royal Navy. In 1806 Cape Colony passed back into British hands and the following year Boniface made his way there via Mozambique on board a Portuguese slave ship.

Cape Town

In Cape Town, Boniface learnt German, Dutch and English and set himself up as a language and music teacher, particularly playing the French and Spanish guitars. He was the first person in the Cape Colony known to have noted the local music.