Nama (Khoisan tribe)
Nation | Active
1 CE to 2057 CE
Nama (in older sources also called Namaqua) are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
They traditionally speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi (Central Khoisan) language family, although many Nama also speak Afrikaans.
The Nama are the largest group of the Khoikhoi people, most of whom have largely disappeared as a group, except for the Namas.
Many of the Nama clans live in Central Namibia and the other smaller groups lives Namaqualand, which today straddles the Namibian border with South Africa.
Related Events
Active Filters
Refine Results
Showing 10 events out of 14 total
Oorlam people had emerged from populations of Khoikhoi servants raised on Boer farms, many of them having been orphaned and captured in Dutch commando raids.
Oorlams primarily speak a version of Dutch or proto-Afrikaans and are much influenced by Cape Dutch colonial ways of life, including adoption of horses and guns, European clothing, and Christianity.
Oorlams from Cape Colony had crossed the Orange River and moved north into the area that is today Namaqualand in southern Namibia from the late eighteenth century onward, settling places earlier occupied by the Nama.
Their encounters with the nomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful.
They received the missionaries accompanying the Oorlam very well, granting them the right to use waterholes and grazing against an annual payment.
The Oorlam had come partly to escape Dutch colonial conscription, partly to raid and trade, and partly to obtain herding lands.
Some of these emigrant Oorlams (including the band led by the outlaw Jager Afrikaner and his son Jonker Afrikaner in the Transgariep) retain links to Oorlam communities in or close to the borders of the Cape Colony.
In the face of gradual Boer expansion, then large-scale Boer migrations away from British rule at the Cape, Jonker Afrikaner brings his people into Namaqualand by the mid-nineteenth century, becoming a formidable force for Oorlam domination over the Nama and against the Bantu-speaking Hereros for a period.
Oorlams primarily speak a version of Dutch or proto-Afrikaans and are much influenced by Cape Dutch colonial ways of life, including adoption of horses and guns, European clothing, and Christianity.
Oorlams from Cape Colony had crossed the Orange River and moved north into the area that is today Namaqualand in southern Namibia from the late eighteenth century onward, settling places earlier occupied by the Nama.
Their encounters with the nomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful.
They received the missionaries accompanying the Oorlam very well, granting them the right to use waterholes and grazing against an annual payment.
The Oorlam had come partly to escape Dutch colonial conscription, partly to raid and trade, and partly to obtain herding lands.
Some of these emigrant Oorlams (including the band led by the outlaw Jager Afrikaner and his son Jonker Afrikaner in the Transgariep) retain links to Oorlam communities in or close to the borders of the Cape Colony.
In the face of gradual Boer expansion, then large-scale Boer migrations away from British rule at the Cape, Jonker Afrikaner brings his people into Namaqualand by the mid-nineteenth century, becoming a formidable force for Oorlam domination over the Nama and against the Bantu-speaking Hereros for a period.
Initial European contact with the areas that will become German South West Africa had come from traders and sailors, starting in January 1486 when Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão, possibly accompanied by Martin Behaim, landed at Cape Cross.
However, for several centuries, European settlement has remained limited and temporary.
In February 1805 the London Missionary Society had established a small mission in Blydeverwacht, but the efforts of this group had met with little success.
In 1840 the London Missionary Society transferrs all of its activities to the German Rhenish Missionary Society.
Some of the first representatives of this organization are Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt (who arrives in October 1842) and Carl Hugo Hahn (who arrives in December 1842).
They begin founding churches throughout the territory.
The Rhenish missionaries have a significant impact initially on culture and dress, then later on politics.
During the same time that the Rhenish missionaries are active, merchants and farmers are establishing outposts.
However, for several centuries, European settlement has remained limited and temporary.
In February 1805 the London Missionary Society had established a small mission in Blydeverwacht, but the efforts of this group had met with little success.
In 1840 the London Missionary Society transferrs all of its activities to the German Rhenish Missionary Society.
Some of the first representatives of this organization are Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt (who arrives in October 1842) and Carl Hugo Hahn (who arrives in December 1842).
They begin founding churches throughout the territory.
The Rhenish missionaries have a significant impact initially on culture and dress, then later on politics.
During the same time that the Rhenish missionaries are active, merchants and farmers are establishing outposts.
The Oorlam, moving further north from Namaqualand, encounter clans of the OvaHerero at Windhoek, Gobabis, and Okahandja, who resist their encroachment.
The Oorlam's captain, Jonker Afrikaner, establishes a settlement around 1840 at Windhoek, where he builds a church for a congregation of between five hundred and six hundred in the area of the present-day Klein Windhoek suburb.
He is further known for his road building activities in central and southern Namibia, particularly the one over the Auas Mountains to the south and the northern Bay Road from Windhoek to Walvis Bay.
The Oorlam's captain, Jonker Afrikaner, establishes a settlement around 1840 at Windhoek, where he builds a church for a congregation of between five hundred and six hundred in the area of the present-day Klein Windhoek suburb.
He is further known for his road building activities in central and southern Namibia, particularly the one over the Auas Mountains to the south and the northern Bay Road from Windhoek to Walvis Bay.
The Nama-Herero War breaks out in present Namibia in 1880, with hostilities ebbing only after the German Empire deploys troops to the contested places and cements the status quo among the Nama, Oorlam, and Herero.
Namibia becomes a German colony in 1884 under Otto von Bismarck to forestall perceived British encroachment and is known as German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika).
The Palgrave Commission by the British governor in Cape Town determines that only the natural deep-water harbor of Walvis Bay is worth occupying and thus annexes it to the Cape province of British South Africa.
Namibia becomes a German colony in 1884 under Otto von Bismarck to forestall perceived British encroachment and is known as German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika).
The Palgrave Commission by the British governor in Cape Town determines that only the natural deep-water harbor of Walvis Bay is worth occupying and thus annexes it to the Cape province of British South Africa.
Adolf Lüderitz, a German merchant from Bremen, had requested protection on November 16, 1882, for a station that he plans to build in South West Africa, from Chancellor Bismarck.
Once this was granted, his employee Heinrich Vogelsang had purchased land from a native chief and established a city at Angra Pequena which has been renamed Lüderitz.
On April 24, 1884, he places the area under the protection of Imperial Germany to deter British encroachment.
In early 1884, the gunboat SMS Nautilus visits to review the situation.
A favorable report from the government, and acquiescence from the British, results in a visit from the corvettes Leipzig and Elisabeth.
The German flag is finally raised in South West Africa on August 7, 1884.
The German claims on this land are confirmed during the Conference of Berlin.
In October, the newly appointed Commissioner for West Africa, Gustav Nachtigal, arrives on the Möwe.
Once this was granted, his employee Heinrich Vogelsang had purchased land from a native chief and established a city at Angra Pequena which has been renamed Lüderitz.
On April 24, 1884, he places the area under the protection of Imperial Germany to deter British encroachment.
In early 1884, the gunboat SMS Nautilus visits to review the situation.
A favorable report from the government, and acquiescence from the British, results in a visit from the corvettes Leipzig and Elisabeth.
The German flag is finally raised in South West Africa on August 7, 1884.
The German claims on this land are confirmed during the Conference of Berlin.
In October, the newly appointed Commissioner for West Africa, Gustav Nachtigal, arrives on the Möwe.
The first Europeans began entering present Namibia to permanently settle the land during the late nineteenth century.
German settlers acquire land from the Herero in order to establish farms, primarily in Damaraland.
The merchant Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz had entered into a contract with the native elders in 1883.
The exchange will later become the basis of German colonial rule.
Namibia itself becomes a German colony, German Southwest Africa.
German settlers begin expropriating African lands and assigning Africans to reservations.
The Herero had migrated to what is today Namibia from the east and established themselves as herdsmen during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The Nama from South Africa, who already possessed some firearms, had entered the land in the beginning of the nineteenth century and were followed, in turn, by white merchants and German missionaries.
At first, the Nama began displacing the Herero, leading to bitter warfare between the two groups which had lasted the greater part of the nineteenth century.
Later the two peoples entered into a period of cultural exchange.
The Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft für Südwest-Afrika (German Colonial Society for Southwest Africa, known as DKGSWA) is founded in April 1885, with the support of German bankers (Gerson von Bleichröder, Adolph von Hansemann), industrialists (Count Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck) and politicians (Frankfurt mayor Johannes von Miquel).
DKGSWA is granted monopoly rights to exploit mineral deposits.
The new Society will soon buy the assets of Lüderitz's failing enterprises.
Later, in 1908, diamonds will be discovered.
Thus along with gold, copper, platinum, and other minerals, diamonds will become a major investment.
DKGSWA is granted monopoly rights to exploit mineral deposits.
The new Society will soon buy the assets of Lüderitz's failing enterprises.
Later, in 1908, diamonds will be discovered.
Thus along with gold, copper, platinum, and other minerals, diamonds will become a major investment.
Lüderitz drowns in 1886 while on an expedition to the Orange River
The company buys all of Lüderitz' land and mining rights, following Bismarck's policy that private rather than public money should be used to develop the colonies.
In May, Heinrich Ernst Göring is appointed Commissioner and establishes his administration at Otjimbingwe.
On April 17, 1886, a law creating the legal system of the colony is passed, creating a dual system with laws for Europeans and different laws for natives.
The company buys all of Lüderitz' land and mining rights, following Bismarck's policy that private rather than public money should be used to develop the colonies.
In May, Heinrich Ernst Göring is appointed Commissioner and establishes his administration at Otjimbingwe.
On April 17, 1886, a law creating the legal system of the colony is passed, creating a dual system with laws for Europeans and different laws for natives.
Relations between the German settlers and the indigenous peoples in German South West Africa have continued to worsen.
Additionally, the British settlement at Walvis Bay, a coastal enclave within South West Africa, has continued to develop, and many small farmers and missionaries have moved into the region.
A complex web of treaties, agreements, and vendettas increases the unrest
In 1888 the first group of Schutztruppen—colonial protectorate troops—arrive, sent to protect the military base at Otjimbingue.
Additionally, the British settlement at Walvis Bay, a coastal enclave within South West Africa, has continued to develop, and many small farmers and missionaries have moved into the region.
A complex web of treaties, agreements, and vendettas increases the unrest
In 1888 the first group of Schutztruppen—colonial protectorate troops—arrive, sent to protect the military base at Otjimbingue.
The colony of South West Africa is declared a German Crown Colony in 1890, and more troops are sent.
In July of the same year, as part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890 between Britain and Germany, the colony grows in size through the acquisition of the Caprivi Strip in the northeast, promising new trade routes into the interior.
The Caprivi Strip, or Caprivi, is named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi (in office 1890–1894), who negotiates the acquisition of the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom.
Caprivi had arranged for the Caprivi strip to be annexed to German South West Africa in order to give Germany access to the Zambezi River and a route to Africa's east coast, where the colony of German East Africa (now part of Tanzania) is situated.
The river will later prove unnavigable and inaccessible to the Indian Ocean due to the Victoria Falls.
In July of the same year, as part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890 between Britain and Germany, the colony grows in size through the acquisition of the Caprivi Strip in the northeast, promising new trade routes into the interior.
The Caprivi Strip, or Caprivi, is named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi (in office 1890–1894), who negotiates the acquisition of the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom.
Caprivi had arranged for the Caprivi strip to be annexed to German South West Africa in order to give Germany access to the Zambezi River and a route to Africa's east coast, where the colony of German East Africa (now part of Tanzania) is situated.
The river will later prove unnavigable and inaccessible to the Indian Ocean due to the Victoria Falls.
Loading...