South Africa conquered Namibia in 1915, displacing the earlier German colonial regime. From 1921, the territory was administered by South Africa as a Mandated Territory of the League of Nations. After the Second World War, South African control continued in practice as though Namibia formed part of South Africa itself.

The political consequences of this rule extended beyond formal administration. The pages describe a long struggle against South African rule and identify the fate of Namibia as the subject of extensive debate and research. They also refer to the implementation of apartheid in Namibia through the Odendaal Plan, indicating that South African racial and territorial policies became central to the territory’s later political history.

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 abruptly brought the colonies of southern Africa into hostilities. German forces in South West Africa attempted to defend the territory against invading African forces but were quickly defeated. The campaign had uneven consequences for African communities: some suffered during the fighting, while others benefited from the first years of the new administration.

During the early South African period, martial law was imposed. Government policy toward Africans was described as mildly liberal in the Police Zone, but the administration intervened much more extensively in the north. The overthrow of Mandume, the Kwanyama king, demonstrated that South African rule would not preserve the limited German involvement previously maintained in Owambo.

In 1921 South Africa, representing Britain, began to govern Namibia on the legal basis of a League of Nations mandate. Over the following two decades, the administration systematically applied racial segregation and sought to extract wealth from the territory. Although the colonial state initially lacked effectiveness and resources, drought and depression in the 1930s enabled it to increase control over African mobility and labour, though that domination remained incomplete.