• Krotoa’s Place

  • Back
3 December 2024 by 
Kroata’s Place (corner St George’s Mall & Castle Street)

This square was renamed ‘Krotoa’s Place’ in 2012, in honour of the Khoekhoe woman Krotoa who lived in the seventeenth century. She was born around 1642 and as a child was placed in the household of Jan van Riebeeck. Krotoa was fluent in Dutch, English and Portuguese and played an important role in the negotiations for the end of the first war between the Dutch and the Khoekhoe on the Cape. When she was baptized, she was given the name Eve. She was married off to Pieter van Meerhoff, a Danish surgeon. After being killed during a so-called slave hunt in Madagascar, Krotoa returned to the Dutch colony to claim its status. She was exiled to Robben Island, where she died, while her children were sent to Mauritius. The square was decorated in 2012 with a special bench in memory of Krotoa. Representatives of Khoekhoe organizations, unhappy with this tribute to their ancestor, vandalized the bank in 2015.

Sources
  • Etheridge, Jenna. (2015). “Khoisan leaders in court for allegedly vandalising ‘disgraceful’ tribute bench”. News24. [online] https://www.news24.com/news24/khoisan-leaders-in-court-for-allegedly-vandalising-disgraceful-tribute-bench-20150925.

Category: - Comments: Comments Off on Krotoa’s Place