Harry die strandloper

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Harry die Strandloper ("Harry the Beachwalker", also known as Autshumao) was a Khoi Khoi leader whose tribe was forced to live on the shores of what is now Cape Town, when the Dutch occupied it in 1652.

Harry's date of birth is unknown, but it is thought that he lived between about 1625 and 1665. His tribe was not a very powerful one, and they fled to the coast of the Cape of Good Hope where they live on fish to survive. On April 2, 1652, Jan van Riebeeck, a Dutchman, and his crew arrived at the Cape to establish a resting place for ships travelling to the east. Van Riebeeck was employed by a shipping company called Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (V.O.C.).

Harry started trading in livestock for small amounts of alcohol, and tobacco with the foreigners. But after the effect of the alcohol had passed, the Khoi Khoi tribesmen became angry and stole from the Dutchmen who had in fact cheated them. Because of this, Harry was eventually banished to Robben Island, an island just off the coast of Cape Town, later used as a jail for such political prisoners like Nelson Mandela. Harry was the first prisoner there, but he managed to escape, using a little boat.