The Early history of South Africa part 1

The Early history of South Africa  part 1

In the year of our Lord 1510 AD a small force of Portuguese ships arrived in Table bay they intended to claim this land for the King of Portugal in accordance with the edict of his holiness the Pope. Unfortunately the Pope had neglected to inform the locals that there land was to be annexed and brought into the realm of Christendom very inconvenient but never the less that is how matter stood on one fine April morning in that year when the Portuguese stepped ashore the drums beat the trumpet sounded the commanded stepped forward and planted the flag of Portugal.

This strange behavior the locals at first found strange and even funny however when they were informed that they were now subjects of the King of Spain they rebelled and reacted with anger rushing down on to the beach where the peace loving Portuguese had began collecting sea shells for the King of Portugal (He wanted to send them as a present to the Pope). The attack was so sudden that the unsuspecting Portuguese were taken totally by surprise and hardly had time to grab there pikes and cross bows before they were under attack  said one to a friend Fernando get your cross bow out of my ribs”

In an event the Portuguese were driven back the greater number of them dyeing on the beach there blood staining the shore was to be the first blood of many Europeans which was to be lost in South Africa.

It should be noted that the locals that attacked this first failed invasion force were not people the Engoni ** group as commonly believed they were another type of invader that would come much later. The peace loving locals who drove off the Portuguese was known as the Strand loopers (Beach walkers/dwellers) They were a group who was loosely related to the original Bush man who had lived in Sub Saharan Africa for thousands of years.

Been soundly beaten by the locals the Portuguese commander decided to return to Lisbon and tell the King about the Popes failure to inform the locals. The King no doubt sent a strongly worded letter of protest tot the Pope “Ouch so no gift not even a sea shell then inquired?” the Pope.

In the mean time the Southern shores of Africa was to remain inhabited by the Strand loopers for another hundred and forty six years before any thing major happened.

In the early part of the 1600's it was time for the English to try there luck at settling the Cape never one to waste resources James I of England And 6^th of Scotland cast his eyes about and asked cant we use some of those convicts who robbed the stage coach last week when looking around for settlers “Great idea cried his first minster who then set about finding convicts to send to the Cape.

Ner a group of roughs more fitting of been hanged until they were dead, was found to come to the cape when they arrived the captain of the ship a wise man knowing a little of what had gone before ( he must have been a good Catholic decided to abandon the mottly crew of convicts on Roben ***Island at that time it was not known by that name it was just an island South would have to wait for the Dutch to name it half a century later.

It was not long before the local population of Strand loopers was visiting the Island a character known as Herry a minor chief caused them a lot of problems he would later cause the Dutch more problems. So much so that when the next ship called from England the remaining convicts pleaded to be taken back and hanged in England because they had had enough of Herry the Strand looper and his band of merry men. When they got to England some of the convicts escaped and ran away only to be caught an hanged at Kings cross the present site of Kings cross station London England

**Engoni = the tribes and peoples from whom Nelson Mandela, is descended this group includes the Zulu, Xhosa and the other black triable groups of South Africa)

***Roben island = Ryban island Dutch for the Island of the seals they loved to hunt the and kill them for there pelts