Queen Bessie

Queen Bessie a.k.a. Gquma. Circa 1730 – 1810. East Coast of South Africa. Served as Queen for approximately 60 years. In 1736 a ship was wrecked in a storm near Port St. John's. Only three survivors were found, two adults and a little girl of 7 years, all of whom were given refuge by the amaMpondo people. It is well documented that the English girl, who called herself Bessie, became a much-loved member of the clan. She was given the name Gquma, meaning ‘The Roar of the Sea’, in memory of how she arrived. Later in life she married Paramount chief Sango, and they had several children who, interestingly, had blue eyes. She won the love and respect of her people for her compassion and generosity, but most notably for her wisdom. In her book “The Sunburnt Queen”, Hazel Crompton records that Bessie was esteemed by the whole clan as the “great woman” or “queen”. Her “ancestral praise-name (was) used as a prayer, a call for help or even a kind of ‘Bless me’ when sneezing, and a century after her death, ‘Gquma ‘ndincede!’ was still used by the Tshomane.”