Andreas Lambert, also known as Andries Lambert ( Nama name: ǃNanib), (ca. 1844 – 8 March 1894) was the second

Kaptein A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

of the Kaiǀkhauan ( Khauas Nama), a subtribe of the Orlam, in the eastern area of

South-West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola ( Portuguese colony before ...

, today's

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

. In the 1860s the Kaiǀkhauan were severely weakened in their political and economic power. Their cattle died of lung disease, and

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

befell the Nama community at

Gobabis , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = Ex Oriente Lux , image_skyline = Gobabis Namibia aerial.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imag ...

, including much of the Lambert family. After his grandfather Amraal Lambert died from this disease in 1864, Andreas took over the chieftainship from him and became the leader of the Kaiǀkhauan at the age of 20. Under his leadership the clan regained its former fame in trade and cattle theft. He opposed the settlement of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

n farmers, threatening to chase them away by force. Those

Trekboer The Trekboers ( af, Trekboere) were nomadic pastoralists descended from European settlers on the frontiers of the Dutch Cape Colony in Southern Africa. The Trekboers began migrating into the interior from the areas surrounding what is now Ca ...

e were in search of political independence from British occupation of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

and had ventured into his community's area during their Dorsland Trek. Lambert also won a battle against a Tswana regiment around 1884, using his advantage of having firearms and horses. From that time on the Kaiǀkhauan controlled important trade routes, waylaying and robbing trade treks, and were considered a very powerful and dangerous force in Damaraland and Namaland. Andreas Lambert went as far as speaking on behalf of all Namibian people. When

Imperial Germany The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...

began to colonize South-West Africa, Lambert refused to sign a "protection treaty". He was subsequently attacked by ''

Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...

'' soldiers under the command of

Theodor Leutwein Theodor Gotthilf Leutwein (9 May 1849 – 13 April 1921) was colonial administrator of German Southwest Africa from 1894 to 1904 (as commander of its Schutztruppe, and from 1898, governor). Life and career Born in Strümpfelbrunn in the ...

and Tswana auxiliaries. The Nama clan was defeated in their home settlement of Naosanabis (today's Leonardville) on 6 March 1894. Lambert survived the attack but was tried and executed for murder and theft two days later. This is thought to be the first execution of a Namibian traditional leader by the German colonial forces. Historical records indicate that Leutwein intended to set an example for much stronger tribes not to stand in his way. Leutwein confiscated some of the group's land and installed Andreas' brother

Eduard Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the s ...

as chief of the Kaiǀkhauan. The surviving fighters were forced to sign the protection treaty but arose again in 1896 to fight German occupation. After Edward died in the Battle of Gobabis, the Kaiǀkhauan clan ceased to exist as a unit; its members were taken prisoners and scattered over the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Andreas Nama people People from Hardap Region People executed by the German Empire 1844 births 1894 deaths Oorlam people