Friday 7 June 2024

Why do some people think Basters come from Cape Coloured and German ancestors?

 I once again have read the "fact" that Basters come from Germans. There is more German blood in Herero families than Basters.

Basters, a mixed-race Afrikaans-speaking community, are descendants of groups that migrated in the nineteenth century from the Cape in South Africa to settle at Rehoboth, south of Windhoek. Though far less marginalized than some other communities, many Basters have a strong sense of minority identity. They are currently estimated at numbering around 55,000, though there are no official statistics on the Baster population.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Groups of mixed-race South Africans migrated from the Cape to settle at Rehoboth, south of Windhoek, in 1868, where they displaced Nama people and rapidly established their own institutions. Even under German and South African colonial rule, Basters maintained broad autonomy. In 1872, Basters declared their own republic and were able to maintain a certain level of autonomy throughout both the German and South African occupations of Namibia.