From 1904 to 1907 , the Germans , who had colonised present-day Namibia , waged war against the Nama and the Herero ( a group of Bantu pastoralists ) , leading to the Herero and Namaqua genocide in which they killed at least 80 % of the Nama and Herero populations . This was motivated by the German desire to establish a prosperous colony which required displacing the indigenous people from their agricultural land . Large herds of cattle were confiscated and Nama and Herero people were driven into the desert and in some cases interned in concentration camps on the coast , for example at Shark Island . Additionally , the Nama and Herero were forced into slave labour to build railways and to dig for diamonds during the diamond rush
Herero and Namaqua genocide
Herero and Namaqua genocide
Nama people