At the peak of her career as an interpreter, 'Krotoa' held the belief that Dutch presence could bring benefits for both sides. Many Khoi people saw their arrival as an opportunity for personal gain as middlemen in the livestock trade others saw them as potential allies against preexisting enemies. The initial arrival of the Dutch in April 1652 was not viewed as negative. Her story exemplifies the initial dependency of the Dutch newcomers on the natives, who were able to provide reasonably reliable information about the local inhabitants. Unlike her uncle, however, '!Oroǀõas' was able to obtain a higher position within the Dutch hierarchy as she additionally served as a trading agent, ambassador for a high ranking chief and peace negotiator in time of war. In exchange, when she visited her family her Dutch masters expected her to return with cattle, horses, seed pearls, amber, tusks, and hides. '!Oroǀõas' received goods such as tobacco, brandy, bread, beads, copper, and iron for her services. 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. At the age of twelve, she was taken to work in the household of Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape colony. She was the niece of Autshumao, a Khoi chieftain and trader. 'Krotoa' was born in 1643 as a member of the !Uriǁ’aeǀona ( Strandlopers) people. The name 'Krotoa' was most likely not a name but a Dutch spelling of the designation !Oroǀõas (Khoekhoegowab spelling: !Goroǀgôas), referring to the fact that she was put under guardianship, either of her uncle Autshumato (also known as Kx'aothumathub) or of Jan van Riebeeck and Maria de la Quellerie.

She was the first woman mentioned by her Khoi name in early European records of the settlement at ǁHuiǃgaeb ( Cape Town).

She is one of the most well written about women in South African history, with her name appearing in the journals of the United East India Company (VOC) from as early as 1652. 1643 – 29 July 1674), was a !Uriǁ'aeǀona translator who worked for the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) during the founding of the Cape Colony. The '!Oroǀõas' (' Ward-girl'), spelled in Dutch as Krotoa, otherwise known by her Christian name Eva (c.

Krotoa-Eva by Trudie Bloem