Little commercial development had occurred on the…

Little commercial development had occurred on the site of Walvis Bay, which the Herero called Ezorongondo, until the late nineteenth century when, during the scramble for Africa, the United Kingdom had occupied Walvis Bay and a small area surrounding the territory, and permits the Cape Colony to annex it in 1878, both to forestall German ambitions in the region and to ensure safe passage of British ships around the Cape (Walvis Bay is the only known natural harbor on the Namibian coast).

The Cape government, correctly predicting a German invasion of the region and desiring protection for its Griqualand diamond fields, had originally requested permission to incorporate the whole of South West Africa, but this had been blocked by Britain.

Consequently, when the Germans later colonize the region, only Walvis Bay will remain as an enclave out of its control.