Namibian history
What this domain tests
The Namibian history section tests precolonial societies, German rule, the South African mandate, the liberation struggle and the transition to independence. You must know dates, institutions and competing interpretations, especially of the 1904–1908 genocide.
Core concepts
- Colonial takeover: Germany annexed South West Africa in 1884; wars against Nama and Herero communities followed.
- Genocide: after the Herero uprising under Samuel Maharero in 1904, Lothar von Trotha’s extermination order, concentration camps such as Shark Island and the Nama war under Hendrik Witbooi produced mass death; the UN Whitaker Report (1985) called it genocide.
- Mandate: South Africa administered the territory under a League of Nations C-mandate from 1920; the UN terminated the mandate in 1966 through Resolution 2145.
- Liberation: SWAPO formed in 1960; PLAN began armed action at Omugulugwombashe in 1966; UN Security Council Resolution 435 (1978) set out elections under UN supervision.
Worked example
Explain why 1989 mattered. A weak answer says “Namibia became independent”. A strong answer notes UNTAG supervised elections, SWAPO won 57% of the vote, the Constituent Assembly wrote the 1990 constitution, and independence came on 21 March 1990. Resolution 435 was agreed in 1978 but implemented only after Cold War-linked agreements, including Cuban withdrawal from Angola.
Traps
Calling the genocide a “rebellion”; mixing 1966, 1978 and 1990; treating SWAPO as identical to PLAN; assuming Resolution 435 was implemented immediately.