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## Colonisation at the Cape in the 17th and 18th Centuries ### Indigenous inhabitants of the Cape in the 17th Century In Grade 5 we learnt about the San hunter-gatherers. These were the first people to live at Cape. They lived in small groups and were nomadic. They moved from place to place at dif...

## Colonisation at the Cape in the 17th and 18th Centuries ### Indigenous inhabitants of the Cape in the 17th Century In Grade 5 we learnt about the San hunter-gatherers. These were the first people to live at Cape. They lived in small groups and were nomadic. They moved from place to place at different times of the year to find different foods such as nuts, plants, berries, mushrooms etc. as well as good water resources. They hunted animals for meat using bows and arrows coated in poisons obtained from snakes, plants, beetles and scorpions. They believed that the land belonged to the community. These hunter-gatherers lived all over southern Africa for hundreds of years and we know this because of the San rock paintings that show us how they lived. When the Dutch arrived at the Cape they called the San, Bushmen as they lived in the bush. This term is also no longer used and they are referred to as the San people. The San people of southern Africa. The oldest population of humans on Earth According to analysis of African DNA. The Khoikhoi were also inhabitants of southern Africa and were similar to the San. However, they were pastoralists which means that they kept cattle. They measured their wealth in these sheep and cattle. They lived along the coastal regions of the Cape. The San and the Khoikhoi also had conflicts between each other over land. The Dutch referred to the Khoikhoi as Hottentots because of the sound of the language they spoke. This word is now considered to be insulting and is no longer used. The San and the Khoikhoi people often lived in the same areas, and sometimes joined each other's groups, for example in marriage. They are described together as the Khoisan people.