In the 1880s, Germany under Otto von Bismarck, was trying to staunch the continued rise of the British Empire. (Germany itself was a relatively new unified nation in Europe, having been formed by the official unification of a number of confederated independent states in 1871 following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian war.) Germany took control of the land north and west of the Union of South Africa (which was part of the British Empire since the early 1800s. This area became known as "German South West Africa" (Deutch Südwes Afrika).
Following Germany's defeat at the end of World War I, South West Africa was made a protectorate of the Union of South Africa by the League of Nations. When the Union of South Africa became the Republic of South Africa in 1961, it continued to control South West Africa in defiance of the United Nations.
Pressure continued to mount as it became an official ruling in 1966 of the International Court of Justice (the Hague) that South West Africa was now independent "Namibia" and its official government was "in absentia" and NOT South Africa. With this ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization) received the right to carry out a civil war to wrest control of Namibia from South Africa. Finally, in 1988 South Africa agreed to a United Nations brokered peace accord for the whole of Southern Africa including Angola which gave Namibia its independence in 1990.
So, why all the fighting, fussing and fuming over what is the world oldest desert (Namib) and 2nd most sparsely populated country in the world (behind Mongolia). What's the answer to virtually ANY question in geo-politics -- FOLLOW THE MONEY!!
You see despite being barren beyond comprehension - Namibia's natural resources include: Diamonds, copper, gold, uranium, lead, tin, zinc, salt, vanadium, fisheries, and wildlife; suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore.
Today Namibia is a very stable parliamentary democracy. To read more about Namibia, see this wikipedia article: Namibia
Our next posting will be about our trip to Keetmanshoop, Namibia. Below are some pictures we took on our way and a couple of postcard pictures:
The picture above is NOT a superimposed shot. Those ARE full-grown oryx in the foreground and that IS an actual Sand Dune dwarfing them in the background. To read about the Sossusvlei click here
The animals above are Oryx. It is in the antelope family. It is a desert animal and capable of living for extended periods of time without water.
The picture above was taken at the border between South Africa and Namibia. The rock formations remind me of the Grand Canyon a little bit. The "Orange River" is the border between the 2 countries in the area we went through.
Most of the Mountains of Namibia in the south are igneous rock (as in "ignite" as in "fire" as in "volcanic"). You see huge outcroppings of granite as you drive along and look at the faces of the mountains. See the pictures below also
In the picture above an igneous rock outcropping forms a "tablecloth" on the mountain
The whole face of this mountain is a granite outcrop. A "Megolith" (Huge Stone)
Unlike the Grand Canyon which is yellows, reds, oranges and purples, the Sedimentary Rock in Namibia's south is a panoply of browns: shades of brown
This area reminds me so much of the grasslands of west Texas. For Namibia, this is a veritable oasis!
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