Autshumato
Strandloper leader
Autshumato (or Autshumao; Herry or Harry de Strandloper) was a chief of the Khoikhoi Gorinhaikonas (or Goringhaicona) who worked as an interpreter for the Europeans in present-day Cape Town, South Africa, both prior to and during the establishment of the Dutch settlement on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.
His date of birth is unknown, but it is thought that he lived between about 1625 and 1663. In 1630, he was taken to Bantam; there he was taught English and Dutch in order to facilitate trade between settlers and his people. As chief and interpreter, he accrued considerable wealth. In 1632, he moved to Robben Island, working as postman and liaison for European ships passing the island. Moving back to the mainland eight years later, Autshumato worked to create trade between the Gorinhaikonas and the Dutch.
On 6 April 1652, Jan van Riebeeck, a Dutchman employed by the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (V.O.C.), arrived at the Cape to take control of the burgeoning settlement that eventually became Cape Town.
In the year 1658, Jan van Riebeeck imprisoned Autshumato on Robben Island. Despite his escape with another prisoner, the Dutch settlers allowed him to resume his work as an interpreter for the rest of his lifetime.
He died in 1663.
The public source identifies “Autshumato” as strandloper leader. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Autshumato, Strandloper and leader.
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This entry incorporates text from “Autshumato” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.