Krotoa married Pieter van Meerhof on 26 April 1664. Their marriage was the first recorded union between an indigenous person and a European settler. She was also the first Khoe person to marry according to Christian customs. (1/7)

#AColouredTapestry

Krotoa’s name appeared in the journals of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) from as early as 1652. Known as Eva to the Dutch and English settlers, Krotoa was the niece of Autshumao, a Khoena leader and interpreter to the Dutch. (2/7)

At the age of 12, Krotoa was taken to work in the household of Jan van Riebeeck. She learned Dutch and Portuguese and worked as an interpreter for the Dutch who wanted to trade goods for cattle. (3/7)

Krotoa was the first figure to possess an intimate knowledge of both Khoena and Dutch culture. In 1662, she became the first indigenous person to be baptised a Christian. Van Meerhof was murdered in Madagascar in 1668 on an expedition. (4/7)

Suffering from alcoholism, Krotoa left the settlement to be with her family in the kraals. In February 1669 she was imprisoned for “immoral behaviour” at the Castle and then banished to Robben Island. (5/7)

In May 1673, she was allowed to baptise a child on the mainland. She died on 29 July 1674 in the Cape and was buried in the Castle grounds. About a hundred years later her bones were removed to an unmarked grave. (6/7)

In 1990, Karen Press wrote a poem entitled "Krotoa’s Story" that reimagined Krotoa’s life, emotions, and conflicting desires. The poem was based on an earlier children’s story by Press entitled Krotoa. (7/7)