Editing History of Namibia (section)

== German South West Africa ==
{{main|German South West Africa}}
[[File:Flag of the German Empire.svg|thumb|200px|left|Flag of German South West Africa]]
Soon after declaring Lüderitz and a vast area along the Atlantic coast a German protectorate, German troops were deployed as conflicts with the native tribes flared up, most significantly with the [[Nama people|Nama]]. Under the leadership of the tribal chief [[Hendrik Witbooi (Nama chief)|Hendrik Witbooi]], the Nama put up a fierce resistance to the German occupation. Contemporary media called the conflict "The Hottentot Uprising".

[[File:Hendrik Witbooi.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Nama chief Hendrik Witbooi]]

The Nama's resistance proved to be unsuccessful, however, and in 1894 Witbooi was forced to sign a "protection treaty" with the Germans. The treaty allowed the Nama to keep their arms, and Witbooi was released having given his word of honour not to continue with the Hottentot uprising.

In 1894 major [[Theodor Leutwein]] was appointed governor of German South West Africa. He tried without great success to apply the principle of "colonialism without bloodshed". The protection treaty did have the effect of stabilising the situation but pockets of rebellion persisted, and were put down by an elite German regiment [[Schutztruppe]], while real peace was never achieved between the colonialists and the natives.  The introduction of a veterinary pest-exclusion fence called the [[Red Line (Namibia)|Red Line]], which separated the north from the rest of the territory, led to more direct colonial rule south of the line and indirect control north of the line, leading to different political and economic outcomes for example between the northern [[Ovambo people]] compared to the more centrally located [[Herero people]].

[[File:Rough diamond.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A diamond]]

Being the only German colony in Africa considered suitable for white settlement at the time,<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=German South-West Africa |volume=11 |page=800}}</ref> Namibia attracted an influx of German settlers. In 1903 there were 3,700 Germans living in the area, and by 1910 their number had increased to 13,000. Another reason for German settlement was the discovery of [[diamonds]] in 1908. Diamond production continues to be a very important part of Namibia's economy.

The settlers were encouraged by the government to expropriate land from the natives, and forced labour – hard to distinguish from slavery – was used. As a result, relations between the German settlers and the natives deteriorated.

[[File:hererowars.jpg|thumb|300px|right|German troops in combat with the Herero in a painting by [[Richard Knötel]].]]

=== The Herero and Nama wars ===
{{Main|Herero and Nama genocide}}
The ongoing local rebellions escalated in 1904 into the [[Herero and Nama genocide|Herero and Nama Wars]] when the Herero attacked remote farms on the countryside, killing approximately 150 Germans.

The outbreak of rebellion was considered to be a result of Theodor Leutwein's softer tactics, and he was replaced by the more notorious General [[Lothar von Trotha]].

In the beginning of the war the Herero, under the leadership of chief [[Samuel Maharero]], had the upper hand. With good knowledge of the terrain they had little problem in defending themselves against the Schutztruppe (initially numbering only 766). Soon the Nama people joined the war, again under the leadership of [[Hendrik Witbooi (Nama chief)|Hendrik Witbooi]].

[[File:Herero chained.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Herero people|Herero]] chained during 1904 rebellion.]]

To cope with the situation, Germany sent 14,000 additional troops who soon crushed the rebellion in the [[Battle of Waterberg]] in 1904. Earlier von Trotha issued an ultimatum to the Herero, denying them citizenship rights and ordering them to leave the country or be killed. To escape, the Herero retreated into the waterless [[Omaheke]] region, a western arm of the [[Kalahari Desert]], where many of them died of thirst. The German forces guarded every water source and were given orders to shoot any adult male Herero on sight; later orders included killing all Herero and Nama, including children.<ref name="genocide">{{Cite web |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/it-s-as-if-we-never-existed-namibia-continues-seeking-justice-for-germany-s-colonial-era-genocide-a-57e3dbc5-8f51-476a-a692-bf2b036fcfc0 |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=2022-11-10 |accessdate=2022-11-10 |language=en |last1=Popp |first1=Maximilian |last2=Riedmann |first2=Bernhard |title=Namibia Continues Seeking Justice for Germany's Colonial-Era Genocide |archive-date=11 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111020951/https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/it-s-as-if-we-never-existed-namibia-continues-seeking-justice-for-germany-s-colonial-era-genocide-a-57e3dbc5-8f51-476a-a692-bf2b036fcfc0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Only a few of them managed to escape into neighbouring British territories. These tragic events, known as the ''Herero and Nama Genocide'', resulted in the death of between 24,000 and 65,000 Herero (estimated at 50% to 70% of the total Herero population) and 10,000 Nama (50% of the total Nama population). The genocide was characterized by widespread death by starvation and from consumption of well water which had been poisoned by the Germans in the [[Namib Desert]].<ref>Samuel Totten, William S. Parsons, Israel W. Charny, "Century of genocide: critical essays and eyewitness accounts", Routledge, 2004, pg. 51 [https://books.google.com/books?id=5Ef8Hrx8Cd0C&pg=PA51&dq=Herero+Poisoned+wells]</ref><ref>Marie-Aude Baronian, Stephan Besser, Yolande Jansen, "Diaspora and memory: figures of displacement in contemporary literature, arts and politics", Rodopi, 2007, pg. 33, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LItBN2keNpQC&pg=PA33&dq=Herero+starvation]</ref><ref name=kroll>Dan Kroll, "Securing our water supply: protecting a vulnerable resource", PennWell Corp/University of Michigan Press, pg. 22</ref>

Descendants of Lothar von Trotha apologized to six chiefs of Herero royal houses for the actions of their ancestor on 7 October 2007.