Seen as a safe intermediary by both Africans and Europeans, she built herself a unique career and formed a durable liaison with a spirited young man. Eva's story exemplifies how an African woman in an early colonial encounter could manipulate a variety of gender roles. She died in 1674, accused of having become a drunken pest and prostitute. When Pieter was killed in 1666, heading up a trading mission to Mauritius, Eva's life sharply deteriorated. Their decision to conform to the norms of Dutch society disappointed Oedasoa who had offered them enough livestock to establish an independent lifestyle but brought both much higher levels of respect from the Dutch, including significant promotions for Pieter. Eva and Pieter married only after Van Riebeeck left the Cape. Eva continued as an interpreter, intermediary with Oedasoa and the couple had two children together. Pieter became actively involved in northern expeditions of exploration and prided himself on his sensitivity and capacity to get on well with various Khoena chiefs.

Her unique position attracted the attention of a bright young employee of the Company, Pieter Van Meerhoff, who became her lover soon after his arrival at the Cape in 1659. Her direct mediation enabled the Dutch to open up a profitable new trading enterprise with Oedasoa, who in turn used Eva as his personal agent within the Dutch community. When military conflicts left Eva identified as a Dutch collaborator, she contacted her sister's husband, chief Oedasoa. The evidence also hints at an especially close and sensitive, possibly sexual, relationship between her and Van Riebeeck.

When Eva learned Dutch expertly, she quickly became their most trusted interpreter. The Dutch received her comfortably as a servant, child minder and companion for Van Riebeeck's young nieces. It appears that her own people sent her to work for the Dutch as a young girl, both to serve as a token of goodwill, to gain prestige as the protégée of the household of a powerful leader and to become familiar with Dutch ways. This article offers a fresh interpretation of the life of Krotoa/Eva, the famous Khoena interpreter of Jan Van Riebeeck, whose gender gave her a unique position in relation to both Dutch and Khoena society.

Krotoa-Eva by Trudie Bloem