Namibia’s Red Line: The History of a Veterinary and Settlement Border

335 Pages·2012·3.988 MB·English

by  Giorgio Miescher (auth.)

Namibia’s Red Line
PalgraveSeriesinAfricanBorderlandsStudies
SeriesEditors
GregorDobler(FreiburgUniversity)
WilliamMiles(NortheasternUniversity)
PaulNugent(UniversityofEdinburgh)
PublishedincooperationwiththeAfricanBorderlandsResearchNetworkandtheEuropeanScience
Foundation
Africanborderlandsareamongthecontinent’smostcreativeandmostrapidlychangingsocial
spaces,actingastheatersofidentityformationandculturalexchange,ofviolentconflictand
regionalintegration,ofeconomicgrowthandsuddenstagnation,ofstatebuildingandstate
failure. Because their unique position at the margins of social and legal spaces offers more
flexibilitytosocialactors,borderlandsreflectchangesonthenationallevelmorequicklyand
moreradicallythanmostinlandregions.Theythusbecomehotspotsofsocialactivityand,on
anacademiclevel,idealplacestostudysocial,politicalandeconomicchange.ThePalgrave
SeriesinAfricanBorderlandsStudiesisthefirstseriesdedicatedtotheexplorationandthe-
oretical interpretation of African borderlands. It contributes to core debates in a number of
disciplines—namelypoliticalscience,geography,economics,anthropology,history,sociology
andlaw—andprovidesvitalinsightsforpracticalpoliticsinborder-relatedissues,rangingfrom
migrationandregionalintegrationtoconflictresolutionandpeace-building.
TheAfricanBorderlandsResearchNetwork(ABORNE)isaninterdisciplinarynetworkof
researchersinterestedinallaspectsofinternationalbordersandtrans-boundaryphenomenain
Africa.ThenetworkhelditsinauguralmeetinginEdinburghin2007andhassincegrownto
over250membersworldwide.ABORNE’scorefundingisprovidedbymembershipfeesand
theResearchNetworkingProgrammeoftheEuropeanScienceFoundation.
TheEuropeanScienceFoundation(ESF)wasestablishedin1974toprovideacommonplat-
formforitsMemberOrganizationstoadvanceEuropeanresearchcollaborationandexplore
newdirectionsforresearch.Itisanindependentorganization,ownedby78MemberOrga-
nizations,whichareresearchfundingandresearchperformingorganizations,academiesand
learnedsocietiesfrom30countries.ESFpromotescollaborationinresearchitself,infunding
ofresearch,andinsciencepolicyactivitiesattheEuropeanlevel.
PublishedbyPalgraveMacmillan:
Namibia’sRedLine:TheHistoryofaVeterinaryandSettlementBorder(2012)
ByGiorgioMiescher
Namibia’s Red Line
The History of a Veterinary
and Settlement Border
Giorgio Miescher
namibia’sredline
Copyright©GiorgioMiescher,2012
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-0-230-33748-0
Allrightsreserved.
Firstpublishedin2012by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN®inthe
UnitedStates—adivisionofSt.Martin’sPressLLC,
175FifthAvenue,NewYork,NY10010.
WherethisbookisdistributedintheUK,EuropeandtherestoftheWorld,
thisisbyPalgraveMacmillan,adivisionofMacmillanPublishersLimited,
registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills,
Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS.
PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabove
companiesandhascompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld.
Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnitedStates,
theUnitedKingdom,Europeandothercountries.
ISBN 978-1-349-34098-9 ISBN 978-1-137-11831-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137118318
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
AcataloguerecordofthebookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
DesignbyIntegraSoftwareServices
Firstedition:June2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
ListofMaps vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1 TheRinderpestCordonof1896–1897 19
2 ThePoliceZoneBoundaryand“RestrictedAreas,”1905–1915 43
3 TheInventionoftheRedLine,1915–1928 69
4 TheRedLineasaVeterinaryandSettlementBorder,1928–1945 101
5 TheRedLine—FromZonetoFence,1945–1960s 137
6 InSearchoftheRedLine 177
Epilogue 199
Appendix:BriefChronologyofthePoliceZoneBorder,Key
Dates,andProclamations 203
Notes 207
SourcesandBibliography 301
Index 321
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Maps
1 RoadsofNamibia(1894)andRinderpestCordon(1896/97) 24
2 Reproductionoftheoriginalmapof1907(slightlyadapted) 45
3 GeneralmapofCentralandNorthNamibia,1909 50
4 GeneralmapoftheNorthernfarmregion,1926 96
5 GeneralmapoftheNorthernfarmregion,1937 127
6 Stock-FreezoneandnewbordersinCentralandNorthNamibia,
1947 145
7 GeneralmapofCentralandNorthNamibia,1955 147
8 GeneralmapofCentralandNorthNamibia,1966 148
9 Existingandprojectedgameandlivestockfencesintheborder
regions,1965 170
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Preface
This book is adapted from the German manuscript “Die Rote Linie. Eine
Geschichte der Veterinär- und Siedlungsgrenze in Namibia (1890er-1960er
Jahre),” completed in 2009 and published in 2012 by the Basler Afrika
Bibliographien in Switzerland. The book is a translation of the German
manuscript I completed two years ago. But the English edition is more than
a simple translation thanks to the efforts of Patricia Szobar, whose assistance
has allowed me to refine my arguments even though no additional research was
carriedoutandnoadditionalliteraturewasconsulted.
I would like to thank the editors of this series, Gregor Dobler, William
Miles, and Paul Nugent, for offering me the wonderful opportunity to make
my work available to an English-speaking audience, and I would like to thank
Wolfgang Zeller, the coordinator of the African Borderlands Research Network
(ABORNE), for his continuous support therein. I am also extremely grateful
forthegenerousfinancialsupportforthetranslationprovidedbytheFreiwillige
Akademische Gesellschaft Basel and the European Science Foundation. I also
extend my thanks to my committed translator, who devoted enormous energy
andpassiontothisproject,andwhosentmanydraftversionsbackandforthfor
additionalcorrectionsuntiltheyachievedtheirfinalaccuracyandclarity.Thank
you,PatriciaSzobar,fortheoutstandingcollaboration!
CapeTown,2011