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Wednesday, 29 August, 2001, 12:16 GMT 13:16 UK
A bloody history: Namibia's colonisation
![]() The Herero people were systematically wiped out
With calls for colonial reparations being made in the run up to the racism conference in Durban, Martin Plaut looks at the German colonisation of South West Africa - modern-day Namibia
This is a story that could have been drawn from British India, the Japanese conquest of Manchuria, or the Belgian takeover of the Congo. German control of the territory began in 1884, when the Chancellor, Otto von Bismark, annexed all of South West Africa after being petitioned by a trader called Adolf Luderitz.
Stone forts were built across the territory. Their arrival spurred the growth of colonial communities and white farmers moved further and further into the interior. The Herero and Nama resented Germans taking their land and introducing foreign laws and taxation. Rebellion Towards the end of 1903, under the leadership of Hendrik Witbooi, the Nama rebelled.
On 2 October 1904 the German commander, General von Trotha issued the following proclamation: "I, the great general of the German troops, send this letter to the Herero people... All Hereros must leave this land... Any Herero found within the German borders with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I shall no longer receive any women or children; I will drive them back to their people. I will shoot them. This is my decision for the Herero people." Death The general was true to his word.
This was how colonisation began in what is today Namibia. Not all colonisation took place in this way, and many colonial administrators went out of their way to develop their colonies - particularly in the run up to independence that came to Africa in the 1960s. But as delegates gather in Durban, it is an aspect of history worth remembering.
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