Gonnema was a

Khoekhoe 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 ...

chieftain of the Cochoqua people in 17th century

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He was the primary antagonist of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

in the Second Khoikhoi–Dutch War. Despite the Company's opposition to war with the Khoekhoe, individual soldiers aroused the ire of the Cochoqua by looting their cattle. By the early 1670s, Gonnema and his people were sufficiently incensed to take up arms.Wilmot, Alexander; ''History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope: From its discovery to the year 1819''; Longmans, 1869 In 1673, Gonnema murdered a hunting party of eight burghers.Theal, George McCall; ''History and Ethnography of Africa South of the Zambesi, from the Settlement of the Portuguese at Sofala in September 1505 to the Conquest of the Cape Colony by the British in September 1795'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2 Dec 2010 p484 A commando (militia) unit led by Ensign Hieronymous Cruse was sent against him,Moodie, D; ''The Record: Or, a Series of Official Papers Relative to the Condition and Treatment of the Native Tribes of South Africa''

, 22 Dec 2011 which failed to capture the Cochoqua's

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...

. However, they were successful in taking prisoners, who were subsequently executed. Gonnema's men also attacked and plundered the Company's fort at

Saldanha Bay Saldanha Bay () is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, Western Cape, Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay ...

. Beyond these attacks, Gonnema waged a primarily defensive strategy for the remainder of the hostilities. The following year a combined force of Europeans, burghers and Khoekhoe (the Goringhaiqua and Gorochouqua peoples) was sent against Gonnema, but again failed to capture him. Rather than retaliating immediately, Gonnema responded by preventing the local Khoekhoe peoples from trading with the Europeans,Muller, C.F.J. ''Five hundred years: a history of South Africa'',

Academica Press Academica Press is a scholarly and trade publisher of non-fiction, particularly research in the social sciences, humanities, education, law, public policy, international relations, and other disciplines. Long managed by the late Robert Redfern-We ...

, 1986, p56 although in November 1674 he raided the Europeans' Khoekhoe allies. He attacked the Goringhaiquas and Gorochouquas again at

Tygerberg Tygerberg is a district in the northern suburbs of Cape Town in South Africa. It is also the name of the range of hills in the area. The main Tygerberg farms were Pampoenkraal (became Durbanville), Stellenburgh (became part of Bellville), Eve ...

in early 1675, where fifteen Cochoqua people were killed by Dutch East India Company reinforcements. Gonnema himself, however, escaped once again. Another commando unit was sent against the Cochoqua in 1676, but again they failed to capture Gonnema, returning instead with a handful of prisoners and several hundred head of cattle. By 1677, Gonnema was willing to sue for peace, an act which was well received by the Dutch. A settlement was reached whereby Gonnema's people would pay the Dutch a tribute of 30 head of cattle each year.

References

{{reflist Khoekhoe South African chiefs