Colonialism 8

 Brother and Captain Maharero! We would like to hear what your actual thoughts are on Palgrave’s intentions and his request that we enter into an alliance with him. We were pleased to hear that you too were completely opposed to entering into such an alliance with him. Now see, it is our firm resolve that we will keep our country and people, let it go as it will. (…) They try to keep us apart.

Heinrich Vedder (1931): Maharero und seine Zeit im Lichte der Dokumente seines Nachlasses. Windhoek: Veröffentlichungen der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft für S.W. Afrika. Band V., p. 18.

Moses Witbooi or ǀGâbeb ǃA-ǁîmab (c. 1807-1888) was a Nama captain in present-day Namibia. The quote is from a letter to the Ovaherero Captain Maharero ua Tjamuaha.

The Roman strategy of divide and rule was used by the Germans in Namibia to ensure they would not face a united anti-colonial army. The Witbooi family led the Nama in the resistance against German colonial power. The Nama were attacked by the Germans in 1893, in what became known as the Hornkranz Massacre, in which most of their women and children were slaughtered, while male warriors escaped. Henrik Witbooi, Moose's son, then led a guerrilla war. After several attempts, which the exchange of letters also bears witness to, from 1904 onwards, the Herero and Nama united their forces in resistance. They then succumbed to the colonial power and were interned in camps where most of the remaining Nama and Herero perished. Overall, it is estimated that between 1904 and 1908, up to 70,000 Nama and Herero died in what was the first genocide of the 20th century (Jorgensen & Markusen 1999: 288).

*Reinhard Koesseler (2007): Genocide, Apology and Reparation – the linkage between images of the past in Namibia and Germany. *is3w (2007): Altlasten – Namibias langer Weg in die Unabhängigkeit. *Torben Jorgensen & Eric Markusen (1999): The Genocide of the Hereros. In: Israel W. Charny (Hrsg.): Encyclopedia of Genocide. Band 1, S. 288.

1878