2. South Africa, 18th century
The Khoikhoi are a nomadic cattle-herding tribe that lived in a large area of southern Africa at the time of Dutch colonization. The Dutch named the tribe the Hottentots due to their inability to understand or speak the Khoekhoe language. Had the Dutch been able to speak the language, they would have realized that Khoekoe includes at least two words that specifically refer to homosexual activity. The word koetsire, in Khoekhoe, means a man who is sexually receptive to the advances of other men. The term soregus referred to a special same-sex friendship in which mutual masturbation occurred.
The more recent history of the Khoikhoi is tragically similar to that of many other tribes. The hostile Dutch, upon arrival, immediately began enslaving the Khoikhoi, seizing their cattle, and putting the Khoikhoi men to work for Dutch industries. The Dutch also worked hard to eradicate the Khoikhoi’s cultural practices, including their traditional religion and their acceptance of homosexual behavior. Through several wars, in which the Khoikhoi were forced to defend themselves against fighters with advanced weapons on horseback, they were eventually defeated and forced to give up most of their land to the Dutch. While South Africa is now one of only a handful of African countries that decriminalized homosexuality, it is in no part thanks to the Dutch, as it was decriminalized after Apartheid ended.
