The Cape becomes a recurrent provisioning node on the route to Asia

By the end of the century, Cape anchorages were becoming practical stopping points on voyages between Europe and Asia. At Table Bay, crews obtained water and attempted to secure livestock; Lancaster’s 1591 journal records a prolonged search for provisions, followed by barter for oxen and sheep. At São Brás, present-day Mossel Bay, de Houtman’s fleet found a sheltered anchorage and sought fresh meat after sickness and shortage had weakened the crews.

The provisioning was varied. Lancaster’s men killed cranes and geese, gathered mussels and other shellfish, and later brought penguins and seals from an offshore island before livestock became available. The Table Bay calls also involved exchanges of livestock for imported metal or manufactured goods. These encounters depended on Khoekhoe control of herds, local knowledge of water and grazing, and decisions about what goods were acceptable in exchange. The surviving European accounts concentrate on what visiting crews needed and obtained; they give only partial information about local production, seasonal movement and the terms of each negotiation.

During the 1590s, Table Bay became a repeated place of contact and provisioning for English and Dutch ships. Local communities continued to control the bay’s herds, water sources and access to shore resources, while European crews used it as a visiting anchorage. The linked Lancaster and de Houtman records provide specific dated examples.

Significance

The pattern made Cape anchorages increasingly useful to long-distance shipping and connected local livestock and coastal resources to the provisioning demands of the Europe–Asia route.