Namibia's no man's land: Race, space, and identity in the history of Windhoek coloureds under South African rule 1915--1990

This dissertation reconstructs the history of the coloured community in Windhoek South West Africa during the era of South African rule. By looking at major processes of change amongst the mixed race community during this period a dynamic local history is revealed. Although part of a regional community of coloureds in Southern African settler colonies under European rule, the history of Namibian coloureds represents a different perspective on the construction of race and identity under apartheid. While also considered mixed-race in the apartheid context, South West African coloureds did not have the three hundred year history of racial mixing that occurred at the Cape in South Africa. As a result, unlike many from the Cape Coloured community today, their perception of coloured identity and construction of what it means to be coloured formed in close proximity to their African heritage. I argue that this factor differentiates them in many ways from other coloured communities in the region as their relative closeness to their black families allowed for continued relation to a black African identity.;Forced to move from the city's Main Native Location to the separate coloured township Khomasdal in the late 1950's, the process of transition from a mixed urban space to one that was racially segregated affected the generations of coloured differently over time. Through a number of interviews with former Location inhabitants and examination of the written materials from the earlier period I argue that community was not only heterogeneous but also bitterly divided over local politics. There were strong opinions from coloureds that wanted to remain in the location with their black friends and families as well as those who supported the process of separation claiming it would benefit coloured development. Seen today in many ways as "opportunists" or "sell-outs," these coloureds played a significant role in the history of identity formation in Windhoek. Ultimately, the fight over the place of coloureds in South West Africa society was determined by varying views on race and urban space, which were the key components involved in the formation of coloured identity throughout the twentieth century.