Hessequa

The Hessequa were Khoekhoe herders of the southern Cape, east of the Breede River and beyond the country of the Chainouqua. As Dutch traders sought livestock farther from their settlement at the Cape, they encountered the Hessequa and their neighbours. In 1667 Hieronymous Cruse led a Company party through Hessequa country on its way towards the Gouritz River. Later in the century, the Chainouqua leader Dohra acted as an intermediary in livestock dealings between the Hessequa and the Dutch East India Company.