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| Title: | Eva's Men: Gender and Power in the Establishment of the Cape of Good Hope, 1652-74 |
| Author: | Wells, Julia C. |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Periodical: | The Journal of African History |
| Volume: | 39 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Pages: | 416-437 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | South Africa The Cape |
| Subjects: | Khoikhoi trading companies biographies (form) History and Exploration Women's Issues Historical/Biographical |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/183361 |
| Abstract: | This article offers a fresh interpretation of the life of Krotoa/Eva, the famous Khoena (or Khoikhoi) interpreter of Jan Van Riebeeck, whose gender gave her a unique position in relation to both Dutch and Khoena society. The article examines how Eva came to the Dutch soon after their arrival at the Cape (South Africa) in 1652, how she developed a persona in the records, not only as 'Van Riebeeck's favourite maid', but as a highly valued interpreter, her alienation from the Khoena, her activities as an intermediary between the Dutch and the Cochoqua, her intimate relationship with the surgeon Pieter Van Meerhoff and their role in the Dutch Namaqua quest, and her downhill slide after Pieter's death in 1666. Eva's story exemplifies how an African woman in an early colonial encounter could manipulate a variety of gender roles. Eva exploited gender stereotypes which cast her as a 'safe' person to be entrusted with full access to the Van Riebeeck household. Her life reflects both high levels of acceptance within Dutch society, as well as the frustrations and limitations a transcultural person faces. Further, Eva's story highlights the extraordinary influence that women could command in Khoena society and the ambivalence of Khoena feelings about the Dutch presence in their first decade at the Cape. Notes, ref., sum. |
