The Battle of Salt River: Khoikhoi Warriors Defeat Portuguese Thieves

The Battle of Salt River: Khoikhoi Warriors Defeat Portuguese Thieves On this day, 1 March 1510, at the mouth of Salt River, on the shore of Table Bay (in Cape Town), a momentous battle took place between Portuguese forces, under the command of Francisco de Almeida, and the local ǃUriǁʼaekua (recorded as “Goringhaiqua”) Khoikhoi people who were herding their cattle alongside the river to protect them from attack. In this conflict, which became known as the Battle of Salt River, the local ǃUriǁʼaekua Khoikhoi people humiliatingly defeated and achieved an eternal victory over the Portuguese. Following his victory in the Battle of Diu in the Indian Ocean, which was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, in the Port of Diu, India, De Almeida began sailing for Portugal in December 1509. The Battle of Diu was between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt and the Zamorin of Calicut, in order to control the spice trade. After this victory, on his way back to Portugal, with a fleet of three ships, the Garcia, Belém and Santa Cruz, De Almeida reached Table Bay, near the Cape of Good Hope, where the fleet dropped anchor in late February 1510, to replenish water. At Table Bay they encountered the local indigenous people, the ǃUriǁʼaekua Khoikhoi abaThwa/Khwe nation. After a friendly trade with the ǃUriǁʼaekua, a group of 12 or 13 of the crew members visited their nearby villag