History of Namibia: From the Beginning to 1990

by Marion Wallace

In 1990 Namibia gained its independence after a decades-long struggle against South African rule--and, before that, against German colonialism. This book, the first new scholarly general history of Namibia in two decades, provides a fresh synthesis of these events, and of the much longer pre-colonial period. A History of Namibia opens with a chapter by John Kinahan covering the evidence of human activity in Namibia from the earliest times to the nineteenth century, and for the first time making a synthesis of current archaeological research widely available to non-specialists. In subsequent chapters, Marion Wallace weaves together the most up-to-date academic research (in English and German) on Namibian history, from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. She explores histories of migration, production and power in the pre-colonial period, the changes triggered by European expansion, and the dynamics of the period of formal colonialism. The coverage of German rule includes a
full chapter on the genocide of 1904-8. Here, Wallace outlines the history and historiography of the wars fought in central and southern Namibia, and the subsequent mass imprisonment of defeated Africans in concentration camps. The final two chapters analyse the period of African nationalism, apartheid and war between 1946 and 1990. The book's conclusion looks briefly at the development of Namibia in the two decades since independence. A History of Namibia provides an invaluable introduction and reference source to the past of a country that is often neglected, despite its significance in the history of the region and, indeed, for that of European colonialism and international relations. It makes accessible the latest research on the country, illuminates current controversies, puts forward new insights, and suggests future directions for research. The book's extensive bibliography adds to its usefulness for scholar and general reader alike.

Genres: Africa, History, Namibia, Nonfiction

451 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[Ronda Coleman]

Dense reading, but an excellent, exhaustive history of Namibia.

[Monty Milne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because it tells a fascinating story well, and it has lots of information which is not easily found elsewhere. I also liked it because it sets out - dispassionately, but clearly - the full horror of the evil that was the German colonial period, with its Nazi-inspiring genocide.

I also liked it because it is pretty even handed about the evils of SWAPO too - not glossing over the war crimes and terrorism they committed - not least against their own people.

The maps are not always that clear. Much is made of the importance of the "Police Zone" (started by the Germans, continued by the South Africans) and the very different experiences people had depending on which side of it they lived - and yet nowhere is there a map showing where this line actually was.

Another mild annoyance is the constant intrusion of gender politics - clearly an obsession of the author's - on almost every page. The war between the Germans and the indigenous inhabitants is difficult to understand or visualise in the absence of information about tactics, weapons or uniforms. (To be fair, the chapters on the struggle with South Africa are much more detailed).

I don't mean to denigrate the importance of gender studies and feminist theory in the writing of history, but it would have been nice if we got more about battles than "the insurgents lost over 100 men and the Germans six" (why the disparity?) when we get a great deal of stuff - much of it seemingly speculative - on how and why different employment policies might or might not have empowered/disempowered women….

But on balance, a well written book dealing with a fascinating subject in a generally even handed manner.

[Dylan Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is the only book i could find on this subject, so it is good that it didn't stink.

three takeaways:

1 - current ethnic categories in namibia (herero, owambo, himba) are the generally the product of political negotiation between indigenous namibians, south africans and german colonists in the 1800's.

2 - many the key differences between namibia north and south of the veterinary line (infrastructure development, racial divides, political cohesion) can be traced to the difference between direct colonial rule south of the line and indirect rule in the north.

3 - namibia is among the most unequal countries in the world, and current political and economic institutions are not well positioned to deal with the grinding poverty experienced by rural farmers in the communal areas

[James Empson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a difficult history to put together given the lack of data in earlier periods and continued political spin in the colonial and post colonial path to independence. Result is more of a scholarly tome than a riveting history, but the authors acknowledge as much both in the introduction and conclusion.

[Oscar Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Namibian History reviewed

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the history of Namibia from the first human settlements up to the independence from South Africa in 1990 and has a small conclusion in which the author gives some comments on the first 20 post independence years. The book is a good introduction into Namibia, and is very well researched. Unfortunately, many parts are still hard to follow and many vacuums remains due to the lack of further investigation.

Unfortunately, as written history did not arrive to the region until after European colonization, the history before the those years is told only in the first chapter (until around the XVIII century ) through the use of archeology. Here, the little know about hunt and gatherers and the Bantu expansion from central Africa is summarized, in which the different dynamics of pastoralist and agriculturist societies are also summarized. Unfortunately, most of the archeology studies have been done only in the regions outside the agriculture heartlands (north and northeast) and many things remain to be investigated. This beginning is a very heavy chapter and unfortunately, very incomplete.

18th and 19thy century descripción of central, southern and northern Namibia is really interesting. I didn’t know that the actual Ethnic groups were mostly shaped during the modern times, seeing the whole balance of power between Nara, Herero, Owambo, kaoko, kavango, etc. peoples; their Afrikaans overloards (in central and southern Namibia) and the kingdoms in the north was very interesting. It is nonetheless very hard to follow the amount of different leaders, tribes and names under each page, making the reading very hard to follow.

The next chapters are focused on the colonial times, first under the German and then under the South Africans government, which turned with time ever more repressive and violent, instigating guerrilla conflict for the independence on Namibia. The author always separates the southern, central and northern communities, as these experience the colonial times in different ways, but always suffering from the racial discrimination of the white administrations and embroiled in the Cold War geopolitics up until before independence (right after the fall of the Soviet Union). The book also states the demons from the Namibia side of the fight towards the end of the colonial years under SWAPO, what gives a very interesting perspective into the reality of the region, in which there were atrocities committed by both sides and only the normal people would always suffer.

The Namibian war is one if the saddest parts of German/Namibian history that does not seem to come often in the knowledge of world history or even in the memory of the Germans. The debate over the genocide of Herero people should be broadened and accepted as the autor says, considering the attroicities committed to subdue the Herero and nama peoples.



Namibia has been independent for about only 30 years and the author laments how the conditions in the country haven’t improved over the years, keeping the mostly black population still in poverty.

[Erik Champenois · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent history of Namibia, though on the dry and academic side. Starts off with a chapter on Namibia's archaeology, providing an overview of what we know about pre-18th century Namibian history, and then moves on to the 1700s and 1800s, the German period, the South African period, and independence in 1990. The afterword very briefly describes the state of Namibia since independence.

Namibia has quite the history - from tribal and political connections to South Africa in the pre-colonial period, to the atrocities and genocide suffered under German colonialism, to being incorporated into/taken over by South Africa after World War I including experiencing apartheid under South African domination, to liberation struggles led by SWAPO and the inauguration of a new more democratic (albeit imperfectly so) regime, to regional dynamics vis-à-vis Angola. Namibia remains today a highly unequal society that has not broken with the land and wealth inequality produced by colonialism. It also remains a one party dominant state, making further social and democratic progress difficult.