The Berlin Conference and the Khoisan Genocide

The Berlin Conference of 1884-85 set the rules for Africa's partition, but its aftermath brought catastrophe to the continent's indigenous peoples. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the often-overlooked genocide of the Khoisan peoples—the Khoikhoi and San—in German South West Africa, decades before the more well-known Herero and Nama genocide. Drawing on oral traditions, colonial records, and archaeological evidence, they discuss how European diseases, deliberate starvation, forced labor, and cultural erasure reduced a once-thriving population from perhaps 200,000 in the 1600s to a few thousand by the early 1900s. They examine the role of early Dutch settlers at the Cape, the expansion of German colonial rule after the Berlin Conference, and the specific policies that targeted Khoisan communities—including the infamous 'Hottentot Ordinance' of 1841 and the brutal suppression of the 1904-1908 uprisings. The episode also touches on the erasure of Khoisan history in colonial narratives and the modern struggle for recognition and land rights. A sobering look at a tragedy that the Berlin Conference set in motion. #BerlinConference #Khoisan #Genocide #GermanSouthWestAfrica #Khoikhoi #San #HereroNamaGenocide #HottentotOrdinance #CapeColony #DutchEastIndiaCompany #Colonialism #Africa #History #FexingoHistory #Namibia #SouthAfrica #OralHistory #CulturalErasure Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo