The confluence of the Liesbeek and Swart rivers is simultaneously a site of conflict and one of spirituality. It is the site of the first conflict between European settlers and indigenous Khoi people in South Africa. On this site, on 1 March 1510, Viceroy, 2019-21
colour digital archival print on Hahnemühle Photo rag 308 gsm paper
Twee Rivieren (literally “two rivers”, referring to the Liesbeek and Swart rivers) is at once a site of conflict and one of spirituality. Widely acknowledged as the site of the...
Twee Rivieren (literally “two rivers”, referring to the Liesbeek and Swart rivers) is at once a site of conflict and one of spirituality. Widely acknowledged as the site of the first conflict between European settlers and indigenous Khoi people in South Africa, the actual site of the battle is unknown. However, “the historicity of this site draws significance from the precolonial inhabitation by the Khoi, the hippo, the lion and wildlife that were wiped out by the intrusion of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). It is an area of contact with the Portuguese in 1510 when a great battle was fought between Viceroy Francisco D’Almeida, the first governor and viceroy of the first Portuguese State of India, and the Goringhaiqua. On 1 March, he was defeated in battle by the Khoi.”5 Twee Rivieren is also the site of a present-day contested development project.