Christian Afrikaner (before 1820 – 15 June 1863) was the oldest son of

Jonker Afrikaner Jonker Afrikaner (3 February 1785, 18 August 1861, Okahandja) was the fourth Captain of the Orlam in South West Africa, succeeding his father, Jager Afrikaner, in 1823. Soon after becoming ''Kaptein'', he left his father's settlement at Bly ...

and Beetje Boois. He became the fifth Captain of the mixed-race

Orlam The Oorlam or Orlam people (also known as Orlaam, Oorlammers, Oerlams, or Orlamse Hottentots) are a subtribe of the Nama people, largely assimilated after their migration from the Cape Colony (today, part of South Africa) to Namaqualand and Dam ...

Afrikaners in

South-West Africa South West Africa was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. South West Africa bordered Angola ( a Portu ...

, after the death of his father in 1861. Christian was born at Bethanie, in what is now

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, at some time before 1820. He became leader of the Orlams while still in his twenties, at a time when his people were in constant conflict with the

Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Nama genocide * Herero chat, a species of bird ...

over land and cattle but did not have the support of the European traders in Otjimbingwe, particularly Karl Johan Andersson and Frederick Green. They considered that the war was bad for trade, and helped organising and leading the Herero army. Consequently, the Herero were better equipped and gradually took over military dominance. Christian Afrikaner died in an attack on

Maharero Maharero kaTjamuaha (Otjiherero: ''Maharero, son of Tjamuaha'', short: Maharero; 1820 – 7 October 1890) was one of the most powerful paramount chiefs of the Herero people in South-West Africa, today's Namibia. Early life Maharero, was ...

's settlement at

Otjimbingwe Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. Otjimbingwe has approximately 8,000 inhabitants and belongs to the Karibib electoral constituency. Otjimbingwe was an important settlement in South West Afr ...

on 15 June 1863. This incident marked the beginning of the erosion of power of the Orlam Afrikaners.

References

Bibliography

* 1863 deaths People from ǁKaras Region Year of birth uncertain Oorlam people {{Namibia-politician-stub