Witboi, Hendrik

Witboi, Hendrik

 

Born 1824; died Oct. 29, 1905. One of the leaders in the struggle of the peoples of Southwest Africa against the German colonists.

As the chief of the Hottentot Witboi community, Witboi, relying on the military groups that he himself had created, united under his authority many tribes and communities of Hottentots (Khoikhoins). In 1893 he organized the first large-scale, anticolonialist revolt of the Hottentots, but after suffering defeat, he was compelled in 1894 to recognize a German protectorate. Under the influence of the Herero uprising in 1904, Witboi again led the Hottentots against the colonists. He died in battle.

REFERENCE

Leutwein, T. Die Kämpfe mit Hendrik Witboi, 1894, und Witbois Ende. Leipzig, 1912.