Battle of Salt River

Battle of Salt River
Date1 March 1510
Location
Observatory and Salt River, Western Cape, South Africa
33°55′36″S 18°28′19″E / 33.92667°S 18.47194°E / -33.92667; 18.47194
Result ǃUriǁʼaekua victory
Belligerents
Portuguese Empire ǃUriǁʼaekua
Commanders and leaders
Francisco de Almeida  unknown
Strength
~150 ~170
Casualties and losses
64 unknown

The Battle of Salt River was a small[1] military engagement between the crew of a Portuguese fleet led by Francisco de Almeida and the indigenous ǃUriǁʼaekua "Goringhaiqua" in Dutch approximate spelling[2]), notable for being the first military encounter between Europeans and indigenous people in what would later become South Africa. The battle resulted in a massacre of Portuguese forces and a victory for the ǃUriǁʼaekua.

  1. ^ Steenkamp, Willem (2012). Assegais, Drums & Dragoons: A Military And Social History Of The Cape. Cape Town: Jonathan Ball Publishers. pp. 2, 3 & 4. ISBN 9781868424795.
  2. ^ Goodwin, A. J. H. (1952). "Jan van Riebeeck and the Hottentots 1652–1662". The South African Archaeological Bulletin. 7 (25): 2–6. doi:10.2307/3887530. ISSN 0038-1969. JSTOR 3887530.