» View our adventures to Namibia
The San were the earliest people to inhabit southern Africa. These nomadic hunter-gatherers were hardy and could quickly adapt to the region’s severe terrain and climate. DNA evidence suggests that the San, sometimes referred to as “Bushmen”,were in fact the oldest people in the world—and southern Africa was their Eden.
In the third or fourth century BC, the first Bantus brought a tribal structure to south-central Namibia’s plateaus. Around the fifth century AD, tribal Khoi-Khoi groups came into the region from Botswana, settling here to raise livestock. Descendants of all these tribes remain in Namibia today, but most have been assimilated into modern society.
It was not until the late 1800s that Namibia became the object of imperial affections, when Germany annexed it. The enclave of Walvis Bay, ignored by Germany, was taken by the British in 1878 for the Cape Colony.
After World War I, the League of Nations mandated that South Africa rule what had become known as South-West Africa. After World War II, the mandate stood, but the UN didn’t go so far as to grant South Africa annexation. Still, the South African government granted Namibian whites representation in their parliament in 1949. As a result, Namibia’s farmland was doled out to white settlers, and black workers were legally relegated as “reserves.”
Nationalism rose during the following decade, giving birth to the militaristic South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). A war for independence ignited. Still, SWAPO pursued a more peaceful avenue, presenting their case to the International Court of Justice in 1966. Despite an inconclusive outcome, the UN General Assembly terminated the mandate of 50 years ago and got to work administering the region with the creation of the Council for South West Africa. But the council failed to create any internal government, so South Africa easily inserted itself, refusing to officially let go of Namibia unless Cuban troops left Angola.
It wasn’t until 20 years later that a resolution was brokered in the form of a 1988 UN-sponsored deal that ensured Cuban troops would leave Angola if South African troops withdrew from Namibia. With all that said and done, SWAPO won the 1989 elections, a constitution was created, and independence began under the presidency of SWAPO leader Sam Nujoma.
But peace would be short-lived. In 1999, Namibia welcomed Angolan troops onto its soil so they could attack the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) from a more strategic position. Namibia was once again embroiled in conflict, even if as its own nation.
Namibia’s President Nujoma took a more conciliatory approach to land reform than his colleague Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. While the latter took forcible possession of white farms, Nujoma condemned illegal land seizures. By 2003, he had averted 15 farm invasions and played a role in a crucial agreement between a black farmhands’ union and white farmers.
Today, Namibia is at peace. It maintains productive relationships with its neighbors, as do its internal ethnic groups and tribes.