republic · Central and Southern Africa

Rehoboth Basters

1870 CE – 1990 CE (approx.) · capital Rehoboth

The self-governing community of the Rehoboth Basters in central Namibia, which kept its own captaincy and laws for more than a century.

Origins

The Basters, descendants of Cape Dutch settlers and Khoekhoe women, left the northern Cape in 1868 and under Kaptein Hermanus van Wyk settled at Rehoboth, south of Windhoek, in 1870, acquiring land from the Swartbooi Nama.

Rule and society

In 1872 they adopted written Paternal Laws, the Vaderlike Wette, establishing an elected kaptein, a Volksraad and courts. They farmed cattle and sheep, spoke Afrikaans and were Lutheran Christians. A protection treaty with Germany in 1885 preserved their autonomy, and they fought on the German side against the Nama in 1904, but clashed with German troops at Sam Khubis in 1915.

Decline and legacy

Under South African rule the Basters kept partial self-government, becoming a self-governing homeland in 1979. Their autonomy ended with Namibian independence in 1990, though the Kaptein's council continued to press its claims.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Rehoboth Basters. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rehoboth-basters
MLA
“Rehoboth Basters.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rehoboth-basters. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Rehoboth Basters.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rehoboth-basters.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Rehoboth Basters’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rehoboth-basters (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻