She was the Pocahontas of South Africa. From a young age, Krotoa acted as a Khoisan interpreter for Cape Colony founder Jan van Riebeeck. She married a Danish ship surgeon, Pieter van Meerhoff and adopted the Christian faith. Still, despite the important role she played as a mediator between Dutch settlers and her people, the Khoisan, original inhabitants of the area today known as Cape Town, her life story is filled with alienation and sadness.
Krotoa and the Dutch Colonists
Her uncle Autshumato, better known as Harry, had acted as Khoisan interpreter for ship captains from Europe even before the Dutch arrived in 1652. He most probably arranged for Krotoa to be taken up in the household of Jan van Riebeeck, first commander of the Cape Colony, from the age of about ten or eleven. Here, she learned Dutch, wore European clothes and was baptised Eva. Soon she took over Harry's translation duties.
She might have missed Jan van Riebeeck and his family, when they left after ten years at the Cape. Zacharius Wagenaar, the new commander proved to be less sympathetic towards her. Between two worlds, she sometimes seemed to belong to neither. Krotoa's restlessness caused her to disappear for periods of time, much to the frustration of the Dutch. Among her people, the Khoisan, she made a serious enemy in Doman, a rival translator, who accused her of being too friendly with the Dutch. Intelligent and a quick learner, Krotoa reputedly spoke Dutch, English, French and Portuguese.
Krotoa Married
Krotoa's role as interpreter probably saw her accompanying the Danish surgeon Pieter van Meerhoff on several expeditions inland to the Namakwaland region. Soon love blossomed between the white colonist and the young Khoisan girl. When he was appointed Postholder of Robben Island, Krotoa married Van Meerhoff. They had three children, two boys and a girl.
The duties on Robben Island included lighting beacon fires for incoming Dutch ships, preventing foreign ships from landing, gathering shells for lime-burning and overseeing the herd of sheep kept on the island. It was a lonely existence. Soon Krotoa began to abuse alcohol. Then her husband Pieter van Meerhoff was killed in a slaving expedition in Madagascar and his wife returned to the mainland.
Krotoa's Alcoholism and Death
After Pieter Van Meerhoff's death, Krotoa's alcoholism escalated. There were several embarrassing incidents of drunkenness. She allegedly engaged in prostitution and neglected her children. They were removed from her care. The colonial government sent her back to Robben Island, this time as a prisoner. In 1674, she died of alcoholism. Yet many Afrikaners count among her descendents, including Paul Kruger, the last president of the Transvaal republic before the Boer War.
More about Krotoa's Robben Island years can be read in the book, 'The Island' by Harriet Deacon and 'The First People of the Cape' by Allan Mountain gives a good glimpse of who Krotoa's people were and how they lived. A detailed study of the effects of colonialism on the Cape Province of South Africa and its people can be read in 'Frontiers' written by Noel Mostert.
