David Stuurman (c. 1773 – 22 February 1830) was a

Khoi Khoikhoi ( /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa. They are often grouped with the hunter-gatherer San (literally "foragers") peop ...

chief and political activist who fought against

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and British colonial administration. His active career as Khoi leader spanned twenty years (1799-1819) and the three

Xhosa Wars The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers from the Dutch colonial empire in what is now the ...

which fell within this period.

Early life

David Stuurman was a leader of the Khoi people, who fought against Dutch and British colonial rule in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

. Stuurman became involved in political activism during the 18th century when both the Khoi and San people were systematically dispossessed of their lands under “on ordinance by the colonists”. This meant that Stuurman, and other indigenous people, were forced to live and work on their land as labourers. As a teenager, Stuurman went out to work on the farm of the Vermaak family, who owned a farm at Gamtoos. Among numerous incidents reported by the

Bethelsdorp Bethelsdorp is a town in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, 20 km north-west of Port Elizabeth. History The town was established in 1803 by Rev. J.T. van der Kemp on the farm Roodepas ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

concerning the mistreatment of the Khoi and San at the hands of the colonialists, is a report on the poor treatment and physical abuse Johannes “Hannes” Vermaak meted out to Stuurman. The missionaries report details how Stuurman was tied to a wagon and beaten with a

sjambok The sjambok (), or litupa, is a heavy leather Whip (implement), whip. It is traditionally made from adult hippopotamus or rhinoceros hide, but it is also commonly made out of plastic. A strip of the animal's hide is cut and carved into a strip ...

; after the beating salt was rubbed into his wounds and he was left tied to the wagon in the blistering sun. During the 1790s, when the second of the Xhosa Wars broke out, Stuurman, his brother Klaas, the chief and their family abandoned Vermaak's farm along with several other Khoi in the region.

Political career

The Khoi joined forces with the Xhosa tribes and refused to return to the farm lands, thus they were labelled “the rebel captains”. They refused to return to the farms they were

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...

d on and many went to live at the

Mission Station, near

Algoa Bay Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located on the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope. Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour ...

. In August, 1802, in an effort to regain Khoi independence, Stuurman led 700 men and 300 horsemen with 150 firearms, against Uniondale field cornet. In an effort to establish peace after the skirmish, Governor

Francis Dundas General Francis Dundas ( – 15 January 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the acting governor of the Cape Colony from 1798 to 1799 and again from 1801 to 1803. He was the second son of Robert Dundas ...

granted land to Klaas Stuurman and his men. In 1803, Klaas Stuurman died during a buffalo hunting expedition and David succeeded him as the chief. Richard Collins later wrote that David was suspected, even by some Khoi, to be behind his brother’s death; however, contemporary sources do not seem to mention these suspicions. After his brother’s death Stuurman offered refuge to escaped

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

s and other

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

s. They refused to appear before General Jacob Cuyler about the matter of the fugitives and as a result, the authorities bore down on their settlement. Many of the Khoi were bound into service, their livestock and land were confiscated, and David and three others were imprisoned in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in early 1809. On 11 September, David Stuurman was officially charged and sent to Robben Island—he was among the first political prisoners to be jailed on the island. His crime was cited as “Disobedience to the Field Cornet”. Four of Stuurman's children were kept by Cuyler as slaves. By December, Stuurman and others had escaped

Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...

using whaling boats to reach the mainland. Most of them were recaptured, but Stuurman made his way back to the Eastern Cape. He remained uncaptured until the fifth

Xhosa War The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers from the Dutch colonial empire in what is now the Ea ...

when he was captured again and put to hard labour on Robben Island. On the 9th of August 1820, Stuurman escaped from Robben Island again. This time during a prison mutiny orchestrated by Johan Smit, Hans Trompetter and Abraham Leendert. Stuurman was captured when he reached the mainland and was tried for his crimes. He was now a two-time escapee from Robben Island, but at the trial at least one white overseer vouched for him based on a previous incident, saying he owed his life to Stuurman. Whereas Smit and Trompetter were condemned to hang, Stuurman was sentenced to life imprisonment on the penal settlement at

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. On 16 December 1820 he was sent to Robben Island for the third time, where he would wait until a suitable transport ship arrived. In 1823, the convict ship ''Brampton'' arrived in Table Bay, and Stuurman and eleven other convicts (including another Khoikhoi, Jantjie Piet) were moved onto the vessel. On 20 February of that year, the ''Brampton'' set sail for Australia with the convicts on board. Stuurman never saw the continent of Africa again.

Exile

In April 1823, the ''Brampton'' reached

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with Stuurman and the 11 other South Africans on board. After six years in government service, working at military barracks, Stuurman obtained a ticket of leave which allowed him to work for wages. His wife drew up a petition to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

for his freedom but nothing came of it, as Stuurman would die before his release was ordered. On 22 February 1830, David Stuurman died and was buried in the Roman Catholic section of

Devonshire Street Cemetery The Devonshire Street Cemetery (also known as the Brickfield Cemetery or Sandhills Cemetery) was located between Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth Street, Sydney, Elizabeth Street, and between Chalmers Street, Chalmers and Devonshire streets, at Brickfi ...

. This cemetery was later resumed for Central railway station. It is likely that his remains were relocated to Bunnerong Cemetery, which is now part of Botany Cemetery, though this is unclear.

Legacy

In 2015, a statue was erected at the National Heritage Monument in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in honour of Stuurman’s memory. During the same year, protesters called for the removal of 112-year old statue of Queen Victoria which stands outside the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

library and replace it with a statue of David Stuurman. Plans by the National Heritage Council to repatriate the human remains of David Stuurman from Sydney were anticipated to be realised in April 2014, as a part of the events to commemorate and celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa. However, his remains were unable to be precisely located because a train station was built over the cemetery where he was buried. After years-long negotiations between multiple stakeholders, including Australian and South African authorities, traditional spiritual repatriation ceremonies went ahead in 2017. On 13 June 2017, a traditional ceremony was conducted in Sydney to repatriate the spirit of David Stuurman. The spiritual repatriation involved the use of umphafa tree branches to carry Stuurman’s spirit. A second spiritual repatriation was conducted at the

Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789 – 29 December 1815), also spelled Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoekhoe woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under ...

Heritage Centre in Hankey to put Stuurman to rest. On 23 February 2021,

Port Elizabeth Airport Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport is an airport serving Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), a city in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. It was formerly known as H. F. Verwoerd Airport and Port Elizabeth International Airport. The ai ...

was renamed to

Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport is an airport serving Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), a city in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. It was formerly known as H. F. Verwoerd Airport and Port Elizabeth International Airport. The ai ...

in his honour.

References

External links