German South West Africa

German South West Africa
Deutsch-Südwestafrika
German colony
1884–1915
Flag Coat of arms
Green: German South West Africa Dark Grey: Other German possessions Black: German Empire Note: The historical extent of German territories are depicted over present-day political borders.
Capital		Windhoek (from 1891)
Languages		German (official), Herero, Afrikaans, Khoekhoe
Religion		Christianity, San religion
Political structure		Colony
Governor
•	1894–1905	Theodor von Leutwein
•	1905–1907	Friedrich von Lindequist
•	1907–1910	Bruno von Schuckmann
•	1910–1915	Theodor Seitz
Historical era		Scramble for Africa
•	Established	7 August 1884
•	Genocide	1904–1907
•	Disestablished	9 July 1915
•	Treaty of Versailles	1919
Area		835,100 km² (322,434 sq mi)
Currency		German South West African mark
Succeeded by South West Africa
Today part of		Namibia

German South West Africa (German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika, DSWA) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915. With an area of 835,100 km², it was one and a half times the size of the mainland German Empire in Europe at the time. The colony had a population of around 2,600 Germans.

In 1915, during the First World War, German South West Africa was invaded by the Western Allies in the form of South African and British forces. After the war its administration was taken over by the Union of South Africa (part of the British Empire) and the territory was administered as South West Africa under a League of Nations mandate. It became independent as Namibia in 1990.

Initial European contact with the areas which would become German South West Africa came from traders and sailors, starting in January 1486 when Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão, possibly accompanied by Martin Behaim, landed at Cape Cross. However, for several centuries, European settlement would remain limited and temporary. In February 1805 the London Missionary Society established a small mission in Blydeverwacht, but the efforts of this group met with little success. In 1840 the London Missionary Society transferred all of its activities to the German Rhenish Missionary Society. Some of the first representatives of this organisation were Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt (who arrived in October 1842) and Carl Hugo Hahn (who arrived in December 1842). They began founding churches throughout the territory. The Rhenish missionaries had a significant impact initially on culture and dress, and then later on politics. During the same time that the Rhenish missionaries were active, merchants and farmers were establishing outposts.