 "Krotoa" was born in 1643 as a member of the !Uriǁ’aeǀona (Strandlopers) people, and the niece of Autshumao, a Khoe leader and trader.At the age of twelve, she was taken to work in the household of Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape colony.As a teenager, she learned Dutch and Portuguese and, like her uncle, worked as an interpreter for the Dutch who wanted to trade goods for cattle.