The Herero Wars:
By Denise R. & Vidhi S.
Causes and consequences

Table of contents:

3. Introduction

4 – 6. Examples and analysis of primary & secondary sources

7 – 8. The causes & consequences of the Herero wars

9. Conclusion

10. Sources

Introduction
The Hereros were people living in what is now the independent nation of Namibia. Herero chiefs were independent, presiding over a decentralized tribal government, with extended families and their cattle herds spread over hundreds of miles. Germany first arrived in Africa in 1884, using the private land claims of a businessman, Adolf Luderitz, as the legal basis for establishing a protectorate over a vast desert hinterland, making South West Africa its
They were just trying to get away with their cattle.” – Jan Cloete

* This is a quote by Jan Cloete, who witnessed the atrocities committed by the German troops, as he was acting as a guide for the Germans, and deposed that statement in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterberg, August 11-12, 1904. It describes how the pursuing German forces prevented groups of Herero from breaking from the main body of the fleeing force, and how they pushed them further into the desert. As exhausted Hereros fell to the ground, unable to go on, German soldiers received the orders to kill every single one of them: men, women, and children. Cloete describes how innocent the Hereros intentions were and how gruesomely the Germans slaughtered them. Although he acted as a guide for the Germans, he seems to despise the way they treat the Hereros and feels sympathy. The way maltreatment of the Herero by the Germans made the Hereros hatred towards the Germans increase which caused further acts of rebellion against the Germans.

* The author of this picture is unknown. It shows a few of the survivors who got out of the desert alive, a day after they arrived to their homes in 1905. It is clear that they are starving by the way their ribs are sticking out of their bodies and most probably wouldn’t have been able to survive any more days. These are the types of poor conditions the Herero had to undergo because of the Germans. The Germans