Namibia – from ancient rock art through colonial rule to independence in 1990
Namibia holds some of the oldest traces of human life in southern Africa, including the rock engravings of Twyfelfontein. San hunter-gatherers lived here for thousands of years and were later joined by Nama, Damara, Herero, Ovambo and other peoples, who herded cattle, farmed and traded across the arid land.
In 1884 the territory became the German colony of German South West Africa. Land seizures and harsh rule led to uprisings by the Herero and Nama from 1904, which the colonial army crushed with extreme brutality. Tens of thousands of people died in what is regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century; Germany officially acknowledged it as genocide in 2021. During the First World War South African troops occupied the colony, and South Africa then administered it under a League of Nations mandate.
South Africa later extended apartheid to the territory and refused to give up control despite United Nations resolutions. From 1966 SWAPO fought an armed struggle for independence. After UN-supervised elections, Namibia became independent on 21 March 1990, with Sam Nujoma as its first president; Walvis Bay followed in 1994.
Today Namibia is shaped by its vast deserts and wildlife, its many languages and cultures, a stable democracy and the ongoing work of coming to terms with colonial injustice and unequal land ownership.
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