21 November 1757
Swellendam Khoekhoe herders report armed cattle seizures
Khoekhoe herders complained that armed trekboers had entered their kraals and taken or forcibly extorted cattle.
On 21 November 1757, Khoekhoe herders in the Swellendam district formally complained that armed trekboers had entered their kraals and taken or forcibly extorted their cattle.
The complaint is one of the clearest dated records of direct livestock seizure in the historical Hessequa region. It concerns Swellendam Khoekhoe generally, however, and should not be attributed exclusively to the Hessequa without further evidence.
Why it matters
The complaint provides direct archival evidence of livestock seizure during colonial expansion into the Overberg.
Perspective notes
The record concerns Khoekhoe herders in the Swellendam district generally and is not attributed exclusively to the earlier Hessequa polity.