31 January 1661
Pieter Cruythoff reaches Namaqua territory
Pieter Cruythoff led a VOC expedition north that reached Namaqua communities and recorded livestock, clothing and metal ornaments.
View in timelineOn 31 January 1661, Pieter Cruythoff and a VOC party reached Namaqua territory after travelling north from the Cape. The expedition recorded livestock and the clothing and metal ornaments of people encountered there, and gathered information through trade and conversation. The journey followed earlier unsuccessful searches for the Namaqua and formed part of the VOC's effort to connect Cape commerce with northern pastoral networks.
The journal's descriptions record what the expedition party observed and valued as information or trade goods. Its route, observations and exchanges became part of the Company's growing geographic and commercial knowledge of Namaqualand.
Significance
The journey was an early documented VOC encounter with Namaqua political and trading networks and supplied information used by later northern expeditions.
Why it matters
The journey gave the VOC direct information about Namaqua political and trading networks and strengthened the Cape's northward reconnaissance route.
Perspective notes
The expedition journal presents the encounter through the observations and trading objectives of the VOC party.