Autshumato banished to Robben Island

Autshumato had long acted as an interpreter and cattle-trade intermediary at Table Bay. He was associated with the Goringhaicona and had earlier travelled between local communities and visiting European ships. VOC officials accused him in 1653 of taking Company cattle and involvement in the death of a Dutch herder; he was later restored as an interpreter, showing the Company's dependence on his knowledge and connections.

In 1658 several enslaved people escaped from the VOC settlement. Van Riebeeck detained Autshumato and sought to make his release conditional on his followers pursuing and returning the escapees. When they did not return them, Autshumato and two companions, Jan Cou and Boubo, were transferred to Robben Island on 10 July.

Autshumato escaped from the island in a small boat in 1659 and returned to the mainland. His later involvement in negotiations demonstrates that relations between local leaders and the VOC could alternate between conflict, dependence and diplomacy.

Significance

The confinement brought an established intermediary into the Company's system of island detention. Autshumato escaped in 1659 and later returned to dealings with VOC officials, while the Company continued to require local knowledge and negotiation.