Guilliam Visagie
Guilliam Visagie (fl. 1751-1793) was a trekboer who settled in southern Namibia in circa 1786.[1] He is considered to have been the first person of European ancestry to have settled in the country.
Visagie was born about 1751 in the Dutch Cape Colony, and he became a farmer in the area near the Olifants River. In 1780, he was found guilty of killing a Nama and wounding two others. To escape punishment by the authorities, he and his wife moved north of the Orange River.[2]
In 1785, Guilliam and his wife Elsab Visagie settled in an area which he named Modderfontein (mud fountain), becoming the first Europeans to establish a permanent settlement in Namibia.[3]
In 1791 he was living at Swartmodder (modern Keetmanshoop), where he farmed and traded firearms to the Namas for cattle.[2]
In 1793, he withdrew from his farm after a clash with Afrikaner Oorlams commandos, who were apparently acting on orders from the VOC.[1]
References
- ^ a b Tilman Dedering (1997). Hate the Old and Follow the New: Khoekhoe and Missionaries in Early Nineteenth-century Namibia. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 48. ISBN 978-3-515-06872-7. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
- ^ a b Victor L. Tonchi; William A. Lindeke; John J. Grotpeter (2012-08-31). Historical Dictionary of Namibia. Scarecrow Press. p. 454. ISBN 978-0-8108-7990-4. Retrieved 2013-09-11.
- ^ "Keetmanshoop". Namibia Tourism on tourbrief.com. Retrieved 10 September 2013.