When was namibia formed

The country has a population density of 1. Ethnic groups Black Languages English official , Afrikaans common language of most of the population, German, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Damara-Nama.

Capital Windhoek, with a population of estimate , is Namibia's administrative, judicial and legislative capital. Economy - overview The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world's fifth-largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten.

Privatization of several enterprises in coming years may stimulate long-run foreign investment. Mining of zinc, copper, and silver and increased fish production led growth in Industries Meatpacking, fish processing, dairy products; mining diamond, lead, zinc, tin, silver, tungsten, uranium, copper. Welcome to the United Nations.

With the suppression of the rebellion General Louis Botha launched South Africa's troops upon the conquest of the German colony and the British navy captured Luderitz Bay in September , cutting off German supplies.

Heavily outnumbered, the German forces were forced into retreat. The colony surrendered on 9 July , bringing 31 years of German rule to an end. He did not intend this to apply to Germany's African colonies because he hoped to see South West Africa incorporated into South Africa.

The mandate purported to safeguard the rights and interests of the indigenous people. The hopes of the inhabitants of South West Africa for redress of grievances when the Union Government took over the territory were soon dashed. Even though about Germans left the country, grazing lands sequestrated by the German colonial government were not restored. Instead, pastoral chiefdoms and communities were dispossessed and almost half the territory was allocated to some 3 White settler ranches that were heavily subsidised.

Some of these were given to about three hundred Afrikaners, descendants of Voortrekkers who had previously settled in Angola. Until the highest authority in the territory was the Administrator of the territory, appointed by the South African Government. Only White settlers were allowed to vote for the Legislative Assembly and local authorities. A resident commissioner and magistrates administered the local inhabitants, issuing directives to chiefs and headmen.

Four native commissioners exercised authority in Ovamboland. Black chiefs were treated as government agents who could be replaced or dismissed. Ovamboland was looked on as a labour reserve and very little development was undertaken there. The greater part of the territory outside Ovamboland included White settlements and the mines. The Herero and Nama communities within this zone were allocated reserves. Expenditure on development of the reserves was curtailed in order to pressure the local people into seeking employment on White farms.

This would develop contract labour and establish a migrant labour system similar to that of South Africa. One incident in particular served to draw international criticism to South Africa. In the Union administration became involved in the suppression of the Bondelswarts, who, although living on the borderlines of poverty, managed to retain their economic independence by hunting, using dogs.

To break this activity the tax on dogs was levied. In addition, their leader, Jacobus Christian, was arrested without proper cause. In May the popular hero Abraham Morris, who had led the Bondelswarts resistance to the Germans in , decided to come home with some armed refugees who had fled to the Union for sanctuary during the German occupation.

Morris had served as a guide to the South African invasion forces, and had been given a gun in recognition of his services. The Bondelswarts were ordered to hand him over.

Violence broke out when Morris' followers refused to surrender their guns. Hofmeyr ordered a punitive expedition. Smuts tried to restrain Hofmeyr, but failed, and the South African army with bomber support attacked the community, killing some women and children. With this, the Bondelswarts men openly rebelled, but they were soon completely crushed.

The United Nations UN was formed in and soon afterwards began trying to persuade South Africa to submit the mandate to United Nations trusteeship. In May the White Legislative Assembly of the territory called for South West Africa's incorporation in South Africa and chiefs and headmen were also persuaded to petition for transfer of the territory to the Union. They had also received reports from the Herero and others that indicated that the local chiefs had misunderstood the petition and that many of them were, in fact, against incorporation in South Africa.

The National Party NP intended to incorporate the territory into South Africa unilaterally, and to apply its racial policies in spite of world opinion. In , without incorporating the territory, the Nationalists ingeniously increased their majority in the South African Parliament by creating six new seats for the White population of South West Africa in the Lower House and four in the Senate.

In this way it brought about effective rule over South West Africa as a fifth province, without UN recognition. The next year the Court of Justice gave an advisory opinion that South Africa's mandate to administer the territory should remain in force, but that as the UN was the League of Nations' successor, South Africa must still report to it.

South Africa rejected the court's ruling and in When these failed, the period of resolutions condemning South Africa's policies began. In riots broke out in Windhoek over the extension of urban apartheid to South West Africa, and the forced removal and resettlement of people from locations near Windhoek to one remote from the city.

The Trusteeship Committee required that South Africa revoke all apartheid laws that applied in South West Africa and it appointed a seven-nation committee to investigate conditions.

The South African government invited the chairman and secretary of the seven-nation committee, Victorio Carpio of the Philippines and Dr Martinez de Alva of Mexico respectively, to visit the territory. They arrived in and while they were in South Africa they issued a report favourable to it. After leaving the country they brought out another report affirming that apartheid was being rigorously enforced in South West Africa and stating that South Africa did not intend to abandon its policies, and was not preparing the people of South West Africa for independence.

Carpio repudiated the first report. At the time, Carpio and De Alva lost credibility, not only because the two reports seemed contradictory, but also because the South West African case was sub judice at The Hague.

However, with the publication of the Odendaal Report in , the substance of the second report was proved correct. In the World Court decided that it had the power to judge the case and it rejected the South African argument that the plaintiffs, Ethiopia and Liberia, had no standing. The plaintiffs argued that the franchise in South West Africa was restricted to Whites.

They said that inadequate educational facilities were provided and that the inhabitants had to use travel passes. They observed that political party and trade union membership had been banned, that the inhabitants were kept racially segregated, that certain jobs were reserved for Whites, that Blacks were excluded from the right to own landed property over large areas of the territory and that the administrator of the territory could force deportation of individuals without right of appeal.

The case dragged on for six years, during which time one judge died and a successor with different views was appointed who rejected the legal standing of Ethiopia and Liberia. South Africa narrowly won the case by eight votes to seven. This strengthened the determination of members of the UN General Assembly to end South Africa's mandate over the territory and to place it under UN control. Rising political consciousness in South West Africa resulted in the formation of Black political parties.

Other small parties developed in the south. Two years later SWAPO members were convicted in the Pretoria terrorism trial and their leader, Toivo ya Toivo, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.

This changed South Africa's political approach to a policy of separate development. As in South Africa bantustans, later known as homelands, were defined for the various Black, Khoi, San and Damara communities. This included most of the territory's mineral wealth and agricultural potential, and was ultimately to be absorbed into South Africa. Image source. The UN again tried unsuccessfully to take over the administration of the territory in , and two years later passed a resolution that South Africa should terminate its administration over South West Africa.

South Africa ignored this and took the administration of the territory under direct rule in Although the UN Security Council endorsed the termination of South Africa's mandate with a declaration that South Africa was an illegal occupier of Namibia Resolution , and although it requested sanctions against South Africa Resolution , it was unable to do anything about it.

It therefore asked the World Court for an advisory opinion on the consequences of South Africa's occupation. South Africa held that it was not bound by the advisory opinion of the World Court.

Further attempts to negotiate a solution to the dispute failed. During the next two years South Africa deployed a large police and military force to the territory to protect White farmers in outlying areas from terrorist attacks, and to protect Blacks who had not joined SWAPO from intimidation.