German South West Africa (1884–1915)
In 1883, the Bremen merchant Adolf Lüderitz acquired a piece of coast near the present-day town of Lüderitz — a purchase agreement whose fairness is highly questionable from today's perspective. In 1884, Chancellor Bismarck placed the area under German "protection" — German South West Africa was born.
The German colonial rule lasted 30 years and left deep scars:
- Settlers: German farmers settled in the central highlands, established farms, and displaced the Herero and Nama from their grazing lands
- Infrastructure: Railways, churches, administrative buildings — many of which still stand today
- Protection force: The German military secured the colony with increasing brutality
The growing land expropriation and humiliation of the indigenous population led to the Herero uprising in January 1904 — followed by one of the darkest chapters in German history.
