Historical Organization
Khoikhoi communities
Khoikhoi communities
Details
Organization Timeline
Van Riebeeck’s expedition establishes a VOC station
đź“… 6 April 1652Jan van Riebeeck came ashore at Table Bay to establish a refreshment station for VOC ships. The Cape was not empty: Khoikhoi and San communities had their own economies, territories, and political...
Autsumao takes cattle amid colonial land pressure
đź“… 19 October 1653Cape records report that Autsumao (Herry) killed a cattle herder and took livestock. In a decolonial reading, this action belongs to a wider contest over grazing, livestock, and land as Dutch settlers...
VOC officials banish Herry to Robben Island
đź“… 10 July 1658Autsumao (Herry), a Khoikhoi leader who resisted Dutch expansion, was banished to Robben Island. Colonial punishment sought to suppress opposition to settler land and livestock claims. His actions and...
Khoikhoi communities begin open resistance to VOC settlers
đź“… 19 May 1659Khoikhoi groups raided settler herds, beginning a period of open conflict. The action opposed the loss of grazing land and colonial restrictions on livestock and movement. Dutch records called such...
Wagenaer succeeds Van Riebeeck as Cape commander
📅 6 May 1662Zacharias Wagenaer took over the Cape station as Van Riebeeck’s successor. The change in leadership came as VOC settlement and agricultural expansion increasingly constrained Khoikhoi land and...
Van Riebeeck departs the Cape
đź“… 7 May 1662Jan van Riebeeck left the Cape for Batavia after directing the VOC station for a decade. The settlement outlasted its founding commander and continued its expansion into Khoikhoi territory, with...
The first large group of Huguenots arrives at the Cape
đź“… 13 April 1688About 180 Huguenots arrived aboard the Voorschoten. Their settlement added to the European population and agricultural footprint of the VOC colony. The Cape was not vacant: Khoikhoi and San...