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Namibian history

Namibia, a country in Southern Africa has a rich and complex history. Its story is one of colonization, resistance, struggle, and liberation. Understanding its history is essential for comprehending its politics, cultures and societies.

Precolonial and Colonial Period

Before the arrival of European colonizers, Namibia was home to various ethnic groups, including the San, Damara, Herero and Nama. These groups lived as hunter gathers, and pastoralists and had their own political systems, languages and beliefs.

In the late 1800s, Namibia became a German colony called German South West Africa. The Germans established a colonial administration that dispossessed and exploited the indigenous populations, treated them as inferior and subjected them to forced labour, and expropriated their lands and resources.

The Germans also waged wars and extermination against the Herero and Nama peoples, killing tens of thousands of them and driving them into the desert where many perished. These wars, which are known as the Herero and Namaqua genocide, represent one of the darkest chapters in Namibia's history and have left deep scars on its society.

Namibian Resistance and Liberation Movements

During the colonial period, Namibians resisted and fought against the German and later the South African occupiers. Several rebellions and uprising took place, including the Bondelswarts Rebellion of 1922, the Herero and Nama Revolts of 1923-24, and the Owambo Rebellion of 1932. These Rebellion were often brutally crushed by colonial forces and resulted in the killing and exilling of man Namibian leaders and activities.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Namibia witnessed the emergence of nationalists and liberation movements that aimed to end the colonial occupation and attain political independence. the major liberation movements were the South West Africa people's Organization (SWAPO), the South West African National Union (SWANU), and the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA).