| 1884 |
The first phase of German
colonialism is characterised by a lack of experience and improvisation.
The communities of the Fwe, Yeyi, Mayuni, Mbukushu, Totela, Subiya and Kxoé in the
present-day Caprivi Strip are part of the Barotse kingdom under King Lewanika. They are
Lozi subjects . One of the district chiefs is Simata Mamili ("Mamili" is a
title; others are "Siluka" and "Mwanota"). Lewanika creates the
districts Mashi (Mayuni)(capital Kaunga) and Sesheke-Mwandi (not to be confused with
Sesheke in present-day Zambia).
King Namadi ya Mweihanyeka dies. His successor is the thirteenth Uukwanyama King Ueyulu ya
Hedimbi (1884-1904).
The Chief of the Kai||khaun from Hoachanas, |Gâberob #Goraxamab, suppresses a rebellion
of Isaak !Noëteb and his followers.
The brothers Petersen secure from the Chief of the Bondelswarts (!Gami-#nun), Wilhelm
Christian, more than a quarter of a million acres at Aussenkjer at the Oranje River. |
| 24.01. |
The German war ship Nautilus
visits (under the command of Captain Richard Aschenborn) Angra Pequeña in order to
evaluate the territory sold to Lüderitz. Aschenborn supports the deal but warns that the
South African Government of the Cape Colony could raise claims to land up to the Angolan
border in the north. |
| 26.02. |
After in-depth discussions with
Lüderitz, Aschenborn leaves Angra Pequeña and sails to Cape Town. From there he
transmits his (supportive) report to the German Government. |
| 24.04. |
Germany promises to protect the
territory sold to Lüderitz and thus supports this colonialist venture. 
Memorial Plaquette for Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz at Shark
Island, (Angra Pequeña, later Lüderitz)
Copyright of Photo: Dr. Klaus Dierks |
| April |
Lüderitz organises a mining
expedition under the leadership of Carl Hoepfner order to investigate the minerals
potential in the territory. Participants are the geologists and mining engineers Waldemar
Belck, Adolf Schenck, Mertens, Georg Gürich, Prescher and Hermann Spengler. |
| 04.06. |
A mining rights treaty is signed
with the Baster community of Rehoboth. |
| 14.06. |
Hendrik Witbooi, later also called
"!Nanseb |Gabemab", moves against the Ovaherero under Maharero who had moved in
1883 to Onguheva, south of Aris. |
| 24.06. |
Hendrik Witbooi makes peace with
Maharero after an indecisive battle in Onguheva. It is arranged that Windhoek and Gobabis,
which have been destroyed, will be rebuilt. |
| 14.07. |
Great Britain recognises the German
possessions in the territory by way of an official telegram. |
| 25.07. |
The Cape Legislative Assembly in
Cape Town passes a law incorporating the Walvis Bay Enclave into the South African Cape
Colony. |
07.08.
|
The German flag is officially
hoisted at Angra Pequeña (German battleships "Leipzig" (Captain Otto Friedrich
Wilhelm Herbig) and "Elisabeth" (Captain Rudolf Schering)). |
| 08.08. |
Walvis Bay is formally transferred
to the Cape Colony by Cape Governor Hercules Robinson. |
| 12.08. |
The German flag is officially
hoisted at the Swakop River mouth (Tsaochaubmund), later also at Sandwich Harbour and Cape
Frio (German battleship "Wolf"). |
| 19.08. |
A private treaty is agreed between
Lüderitz and Piet Haibib of the Topnaar in Scheppmannsdorf. This treaty includes all
mining rights. Ludwig Koch becomes Lüderitz’s authorised agent to conclude all
treaties. |
| 01.09. |
Maharero again moves with his
people to Okahandja.
Lüderitz sends his brother August and the geologist Carl Hoepfner to Okahandja to
negotiate an agreement with Maharero. Due to the efforts of trader Lewis the negotiations
are unsuccessful. |
| 05.09. |
The coastal zone between the
Oranje and Kunene Rivers is declared a "protectorate" of the German Reich. |
| 19.09. |
In a proclamation in Otjiherero and
German, Maharero declares himself "King of Hereroland". |
| 22.09. |
The British Government declares:
"Her Majesty’s Government will welcome Germany as a neighbour on those parts
which are not within the limit of the Cape Colony, and not actually British possessions." |
| 26.09. |
The ninth King Iitana yaNekwiyu
from the Ondonga area in Ovamboland dies. He is succeeded by two Ondonga kings: King
Kambonde kaMpingana (1884-1909) with the capital Onamayongo (or Okaloko according to other
oral evidence)(western Ondonga) and King Nehale (1884-1908) with the capital Onayena in
the Oshitambi area (eastern Ondonga). The Finnish Missionary Society supports King
Kambonde with weapons and ammunition against King Nehale because King Nehale was perceived
to be an "enemy of the European mission work in Africa". |
| September |
The precise delimitation of Walvis
Bay’s borders is initiated under the joint control of the German Consul in Cape Town,
Bieber, and the British judge, Shippard. Shippard soon unilaterally decides to change the
border fixing that involves a discrepancy between Rooibank and Rooikop, and to include in
the enclave the water-rich Kuiseb delta along with the Ururas locale. |
| 07.10. |
After having been appointed
Commissioner for West Africa Gustav Nachtigal arrives with German battleship Möwe in
Angra Pequeña. |
11.10.
|
A private treaty is concluded
between Hermanus van Wyk of Rehoboth and the geologist Carl Hoepfner. The treaty includes
all mining rights. The mining rights are not exploited for many years.
A mining rights treaty is concluded with the Ovaherero. |
| 28.10. |
A protection treaty is agreed
between Joseph Frederiks II of Bethany and Gustav Nachtigal, this being the first such
treaty between Germany and the territory’s indigenous communities. |
| 08.11. |
Palgrave returns to the territory
to persuade Maharero to accept British protection instead of German protection (his fifth
official journey to the territory).
Vogelsang travels to Okahandja in order to negotiate a protection treaty with Maharero. He
is unsuccessful. |
| 23./26.11. |
An agreement of sale is signed by
Lüderitz and Piet Haibib of the Topnaar in Scheppmannsdorf. |
| 24.11. |
Chief Tjaherani from Omburo dies.
He is succeeded by Manasse Tyiseseta (25.11.1884-26.07.1898). |
December
|
Bismarck advises Bieber to
establish an eastern boundary at 24° east longitude, which would include more than 50% of
present-day Botswana (east of the towns of Maun and Sekoma).
Lüderitz erects trading posts at Angra Pequeña, Bethany, Kubub (near Aus) and Aus. They
all make losses. |
| 18.12. |
Hanna Kleinschmidt, née Schmelen,
dies in Otjimbingwe. |
| 1884/85 |
The Conference of Berlin
("Congo Conference") confirms Germany’s right to appropriate the territory.
Rhenish missionary Carl Gotthilf Büttner discovers the rock paintings at Ameib in the
Erongo Mountains (Phillips Cave)(C1 Period: between 4400 and 1200 B.C.). |
