Genocide Essay

The Herero and Namaqua Genocide was considered the first genocide of the 20th century, and occurred from 1904 until 1907. This genocide took place in German South-West Africa, now known as Namibia, during the scramble for Africa. This area of Africa was highly desirable by many different countries, and was sought after using any form of brutality deemed appropriate. Africa in itself held a prime location for new territory for the invading countries, and beneath the vast areas of land and waterless dunes held a dust of gemstones and other minerals to be mined. To a foreign invader, conquering Africa meant a plethora of riches and a chance to obtain a territory they could profit off of for centuries to come. In the 1880's Germany decided to move settlers into South-West Africa, and thus established their own colony. They appointed at military governor whom knew little about running a colony, and he began to push the two main African tribes against each other. These African tribes, known as the Namaqua and Herero, were proficient farmers who made their living off of their land. Because this is how they made their living, these people were not interested in the German attempt to steal what was theirs, and in January of 1904 the Herero people rebelled. Under the leadership of Samuel Maherero, the Herero began attacking the German outposts and killed many German men while sparing the women, children, and all missionaries. It was not long before word got back to Germany about the revolt of the Herero people, and the current German Emperor was not going to lose the chance to conquer Africa. The emperor replaced the colony leader with Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha. Von Trotha's mission was simple: wipe out the African people, and gain the land. So on his embarkation to Africa Von Trotha gathered 10,000 heavily armed men and made preparations for an all out war. Under his leadership, the German troops began to drive the Herero people into a situation in which