Qurixaecona

The sheltered waters of Langebaan Lagoon stretch south from Saldanha Bay along the western Cape coast. Khoekhoe and San people lived in this country long before European ships arrived; the lagoon was also a meeting place for Khoekhoe leaders. In 1601 the Dutch navigator Joris van Spilbergen named the bay Saldanha, mistaking it for the anchorage now known as Table Bay. Later Dutch outposts traded with Khoekhoe communities around the bay, though relations also brought conflict.