South-West Africa

Suidwes-Afrika
Zuidwest-Afrika
Südwestafrika

1915–1990


Flag (1928–1990)	Coat of arms

Location of South-West Africa

Capital

Windhoek

Languages

English, Afrikaans, Khoekhoe, Dutch (1915–1983) and German (1884–1990)

Political structure

League of Nations Mandate

History

•

Established

1915

•

Treaty of Versailles

28 June 1919

•

Independence

21 March 1990

Currency

South West African pound (1920–61)
South African rand (1961–90)

Preceded by

Succeeded by

German South-West Africa

Namibia

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History of Namibia

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South-West Africa (Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrika; Dutch: Zuidwest-Afrika; German: Südwestafrika) was the name for modern-day Namibia when it was ruled by the German Empire and later South Africa.

German colony

Main article: German South-West Africa

As a German colony from 1884, it was known as German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika). Germany had a difficult time administering the territory, which experienced many insurrections, especially those led by guerilla leader Jacob Morenga. The main port, Walvis Bay, and the Penguin Islands were annexed by Britain in 1878, becoming part of the Cape Colony in 1884.^[1] Following the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, Walvis Bay became part of the Cape Province.^[2]

As part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty in 1890, a corridor of land taken from the northern border of Bechuanaland, extending as far as the Zambezi river, was added to the colony. It was named the Caprivi Strip (Caprivizipfel) after the German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi.^[3]

South African rule

In 1915, during South-West Africa Campaign of the First World War, South Africa captured the German colony. After the war, it was declared a League of Nations Class C Mandate territory under the Treaty of Versailles, with the Union of South Africa responsible for the administration of South-West Africa. From 1922, this included Walvis Bay, which, under the South-West Africa Affairs Act, was governed if it were part of the mandated territory.^[4] South-West Africa remained a League of Nations Mandate until World War II.

The Mandate was supposed to become a United Nations Trust Territory when League of Nations Mandates were transferred to the United Nations following the Second World War. The Prime Minister, Jan Smuts, objected to South-West Africa coming under UN control and refused to allow the territory's transition to independence, instead seeking to make it South Africa's fifth province in 1946.^[5]

Although this never occurred, in 1949, the South-West Africa Affairs Act was amended to give representation in the Parliament of South Africa to whites in South-West Africa, which gave them six seats in the House of Assembly and four in the Senate.^[6]

This was to the advantage of the National Party, which enjoyed strong support from the predominantly Afrikaners and ethnic German white population in the territory.^[7] Between 1950 and 1977, all of South-West Africa's parliamentary seats were held by the Nationalists.^[8]

An additional consequence of this was the extension of apartheid laws to the territory.^[9] This gave rise to several rulings at the International Court of Justice, which in 1950 ruled that South Africa was not obliged to convert South-West Africa into a UN trust territory, but was still bound by the League of Nations Mandate with the United Nations General Assembly assuming the supervisory role. The ICJ also clarified that the General Assembly was empowered to receive petitions from the inhabitants of South-West Africa and to call for reports from the mandatory nation, South Africa.^[10] The General Assembly constituted the Committee on South-West Africa to perform the supervisory functions.^[11]

In another Advisory Opinion issued in 1955, the Court further ruled that the General Assembly was not required to follow League of Nations voting procedures in determining questions concerning South-West Africa.^[12] In 1956, the Court further ruled that the Committee had the power to grant hearings to petitioners from the mandated territory.^[13] In 1960, Ethiopia and Liberia filed a case in the International Court of Justice against South Africa alleging that South Africa had not fulfilled its mandatory duties. This case did not succeed, with the Court ruling in 1966 that they were not the proper parties to bring the case.^[14]^[15]

UN mandate terminated

There was a protracted struggle between South Africa and forces fighting for independence, particularly after the formation of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) in 1960.

In 1966, the General Assembly passed resolution 2145 (XXI) which declared the Mandate terminated and that the Republic of South Africa had no further right to administer South-West Africa.^[16] In 1971, acting on a request for an Advisory Opinion from the United Nations Security Council, the ICJ ruled that the continued presence of South Africa in Namibia was illegal and that South Africa was under an obligation to withdraw from Namibia immediately. It also ruled that all member states of the United Nations were under an obligation not to recognise as valid any act performed by South Africa on behalf of Namibia.^[17]

South-West Africa became known as Namibia by the UN when the General Assembly changed the territory's name by Resolution 2372 (XXII) of 12 June 1968.^[18] SWAPO was recognised as representative of the Namibian people and gained UN observer status^[19] when the territory of South-West Africa was already removed from the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

In 1977, South Africa transferred control of Walvis Bay back to the Cape Province, thereby making it an exclave.^[20]

The territory became the independent Republic of Namibia on 21 March 1990, although Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands were only incorporated into Namibia in 1994.^[21]

Bantustans

The South African authorities established 10 bantustans in South-West Africa in the late 1960s and early 1970s in accordance with the Odendaal Commission, three of which were granted self-rule.^[22] These bantustans were replaced with separate ethnicity based governments in 1980.

Map of the black homelands in Namibia as of 1978

The bantustans were:

Basterland
Bushmanland
Damaraland
East Caprivi (self-rule 1976)
Hereroland (self-rule 1970)
Kaokoland
Kavangoland (self-rule 1973)
Namaland
Ovamboland
Tswanaland

References

↑ Succession of States and Namibian territories, Y. Makonnen in Recueil Des Cours, 1986: Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law, Academie de Droit International de la Haye, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1987, page 213
↑ Debates of Parliament, Hansard, Volume 9, Issues 19-21, Government Printer, 1993, page 10179
↑ Caprivi Strip | Namibia. Namibian.org. Retrieved on 2012-12-18.
↑ Walvis Bay: exclave no more, Ieuan Griffiths, Geography, Vol. 79, No. 4 (October 1994), page 354
↑ The South-West Africa/Namibia Dispute: Documents and Scholarly Writings on the Controversy Between South Africa and the United Nations, John Dugard, University of California Press, 1973, page 124
↑ Official Documents of the 4th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations, 1949, page 11
↑ Afrikaner Politics in South Africa, 1934-1948, Newell M. Stultz, University of California Press, 1974, page 161
↑ Mediating Conflict: Decision-making and Western Intervention in Namibia, Vivienne Jabri, Manchester University Press, 1990, page 46
↑ Witness from the frontline: aggression and resistance in Southern Africa, Ben Turok Institute for African Alternatives, 1990, page 86
↑ International Status of South-West Africa – Advisory Opinion at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2006)
↑ List of United Nations Organisations and Resolutions concerning Namibia
↑ Voting Procedure on Questions Relating to Reports and Petitions Concerning the Territory of South-West Africa – Advisory Opinion at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2006)
↑ Admissibility of Hearings of Petitioners by the Committee on South-West Africa – Advisory Opinion at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2006)
↑ South-West Africa Cases (Preliminary Objections) Ethiopia v. South Africa and Liberia v. South Africa at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2006)
↑ South-West Africa Cases (Second Phase) Ethiopia v. South Africa and Liberia v. South Africa at the Wayback Machine (archived October 2, 2006)
↑ UN General Assembly, res n° 2154 (XXI), 17 November 1966. Available at http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/21/ares21.htm [recovered october 1, 2015]
↑ Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South-West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970) – Advisory Opinion
↑ Legal Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs
↑ UNGA Resolution A/RES/31/152 Observer status for the South West Africa People's Organisation
↑ The Green and the dry wood: The Roman Catholic Church (Vicariate of Windhoek) and the Namibian socio-political situation, 1971-1981, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, 1983, page 6
↑ Treaty between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Namibia with respect to Walvis Bay and the off-shore Islands, 28 February 1994
↑ World Statesman

Administrative divisions of South Africa (1910–1994)

Provinces of South Africa	Province of the Cape of Good Hope Province of the Orange Free State Province of the Transvaal Province of Natal

Non-independent homelands	Gazankulu KaNgwane KwaNdebele KwaZulu Lebowa Qwaqwa

Independent homelands¹	Transkei Bophuthatswana Venda Ciskei

Dependent territories	Mandate of South-West Africa

¹ Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei were originally part of South Africa; they later declared independence with South African consent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their independence was recognized by the South African government but they were internationally recognized as part of South Africa.

Mandates of the League of Nations (1919–46)

Class A	Palestine Transjordan Syria and Lebanon Mesopotamia not enacted

Class B	Ruanda-Urundi Tanganyika British Cameroons French Cameroons British Togoland French Togoland

Class C	New Guinea Nauru South Pacific Mandate South-West Africa Western Samoa

See also: United Nations Trust Territories (post-1946)

Territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

1542–1800 Ireland (integrated into UK) 1708–1757 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Minorca 1798–1802 Minorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century

1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts *(Saint Kitts and Nevis) 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis *(Saint Kitts and Nevis) 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua *(Antigua and Barbuda) 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 British Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *The Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stickeen Territories 1866–1871 British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada² 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Newfoundland³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of Canada.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America

1631–1641 Providence Island colony 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands⁴ 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵

4. Now the one the departments of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1862–1906 Lagos Colony 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1900 Oil Rivers/Niger Coast 1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1903–1976 Seychelles 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1960 Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria (Nigeria) 1915–1931 South-West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1961 British Cameroons (Cameroon)⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century

1685–1824 Bencoolen 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1781-1784 Padang (Indonesia) 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia) 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1795-1819 Padang (Indonesia) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore) 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison 1878–1960 Cyprus	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Sheikhdom of Kuwait 1920–1932 Iraq⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century

1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Kingdom of Rarotonga/Cook Islands Federation⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁹ 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 and 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹³

9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic

Since 1658 Saint Helena¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)

14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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