CHRONOLOGY

F
M

1850's
1862-70
1870's
1876-78
1885
1889
1890
1896

1896-98
1904-07

1911
1915 1920's
1922
1920s-30s
1925
1935
1936
1940's
1948

1950
1951-59
1950s
1956
1958
1960

1963-65
1965
1966
1967
1967-70
1970
1970's
1973
1974

1975

1975-76

1976
1976-8

1978

1980
1981

1982

1983
1984

1985

1986

1988

1989
1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

A CHRONOLOGY OF
MAJOR EVENTS

First recorded encounters of Europeans with San in Ngamiland
Nama-Herero Wars. Northern expansion of Hereros in Namibia
First Tswana penetrations in western Ngamiland
The 'thirstland trekkers' pass through the Nyae Nyae region, Namibia
British Protectorate of Bechuanaland declared
Ghanzi Farm Block settled, Nharo and other San peoples dispossessed
Germany annexes territory of South West Africa (now Namibia)
Rinderpest wipes out large numbers of cattle and wild game animals in the Ngamiland and elsewhere in the Kalahari
Visit to the northwestern Kalahari by German geologist Siegfried Passarge
German-Herero Wars, resulting in at least 6,000 Herero moving into Botswana, some of them settling in the Lake Ngami region, as far east as Mahalapye, and in the Makunda area in the Ghanzi District in the south
Police Zone established in Namibia
Germany surrenders territory of South West Africa to South African troops
Hereros settle in Nyae Nyae region of Namibia
South Africa establishes Native Reserves in Namibia
Pastoralists move out to western Ngamiland for wet-season grazing
First colony of Herero settle at !Xangwa (Qangwa) north of /Xai/Xai
Hereros evicted from Ju/'hoan waters (pans) in Nyae Nyae, Namibia
Slavery abolished in Botswana by the Abolition of Slavery Proclamation of 1936
First road cut through northern Nyae Nyae by the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WENELA)
Appointment of Batawana headman Isak Utuhile to oversee western Ngamiland, Botswana
Laurence and John Marshall visit the /Xai/Xai area in Ngamiland
The Marshall Expeditions in the Nyae Nyae region, Namibia
Further expansion of Hereros into western Ngamiland to escape tsetse fly outbreaks in the Okavango Delta region
Hereros again evicted from Ju/'hoan waters in Nyae Nyae, Namibia
Bushman Survey Officer, George Silberbauer, appointed in the Bechuanaland Protectorate
Start of South West African government administration of Nyae Nyae. Ju/'hoansi begin to settle at Tjum!kui in Nyae Nyae
First of the Kalahari Research Group expeditions to the Dobe-/Xai/Xai region
Border fence erected between Namibia and Botswana
The 1960s drought breaks. Independence (iposu) for Botswana (September 30, 1966)
First store established at !Xangwa in the western Ngamiland region
Second Kalahari Research Group expeditions in western Ngamiland
Bushmanland created as a magisterial district in Namibia
South African Police (SAP) establish San tracker posts along the border
Opening of first /Xai/Xai school. Kalahari Peoples Fund (KPF) founded
Bushman Battalion 31 established by South African Defense Force in the Caprivi Strip region of Namibia. Bushman Development Program (later, Remote Area Development Program established in Botswana
The Tribal Grazing Land Policy (TGLP) declared in Botswana. Arrival of the first resident missionary in the Dobe-/Xai/Xai area
Efforts by western Ngamiland Ju/'hoansi to dig wells in order to gain rights over surrounding grazing. This work was facilitated by Megan Biesele on behalf of the Kalahari Peoples Fund, and John Yelln and Alison Brooks of the Smithsonian Institution and George Washington University who were involved in ethnoarchaeological work in the region.
Bushmanland defined as a homeland for San in Namibia
Initial land use zoning exercises in western Ngamiland as part of the TGLP. Drawing up of the initial Ngamiland District Land Use Plan was done by district administration personnel.
Bushman Battalion 36 established at Tjum!kui in Bushmanland by the South African Defense Force. The SADF began to recruit Ju/'hoansi into the military.
Immanual Marenga, a Herero, is appointed headman of /Xai/Xai
The Cattle Fund (later, the Ju/wa Bushman Development Foundation, JBDF) was established. John Marshall and Claire Ritchie undertake survey work in the Nyae Nyae area and implement development activities (Marshall and Ritchie 1984)
The first groups of Ju/'hoansi leave Tjum!kui to re-establish themselves on their n!oresi (traditional territories)
A Village Development Committee (VDC) is established at /Xai/Xai
The idea of turning Eastern Bushmanland (Nyae Nyae) into a game reserve was announced. The Ju/'hoansi and their supporters mounted a vigorous campaign of opposition to the idea of a game reserve in their area
Assessment of the Remote Area Development Program in Botswana by the Norwegians, leading to the establishment of an Accelerated Remote Area Development Program (ARADP) funded by NORAD (the Norwegian Ministry of Development Cooperation)
The Ju/wa Farmers Union (JFU) (later called the Nyae Nyae Farmers Cooperative, NNFC) was formed. By October, there were eight farming communities in Nyae Nyae
A safari hunting concession was granted to Anvo Hunting Safaris in Nyae Nyae by the South West African government
The Ju/'hoansi of Nyae Nyae voted in the United Nations elections
Namibian Independence, March 21, 1990. Ju/'hoansi voted in the post-independence elections. A survey of Remote Area Dwellers in the area south of Lake Ngami was conducted as part of the Accelerated Remote Area Development Program in December, 1990 (Campbell and Main 1991)
Ju/'hoansi attend the Namibian National Conference on Land Reform and the Land Question held in Windhoek from June 25 - July 1, 1991 and put forth their claims to land in Bushmanland. Hereros who established a grazing camp in Bushmanland were told that they had to leave by the government of Namibia, thus underscoring Ju/'hoan claims to land. In July 1991, the Sub-District Land Use Planning Unit in western Ngamiland formed a Working Group to come up with a land use and development plan for the western communal remote zone in the district
Anvo Safaris, a private safari company operating in Eastern Bushmanland was told that its concession would not be renewed, something the Ju/'hoansi. Were pleased about.. They began planning resource management activities, including community-based tourism and game ranching. The Ju/'hoansi of northwestern Botswana and northern Namibia met at Mangetti Dune in Namibia and discussed matters of mutual interest prior to the " Regional Conference on Development Programs for Africa's San Populations" held in Windhoek from June 16-18, 1992. Consultations were held at /Xai/Xai by the Ngamiland Western Communal Remote Zone Working Group on August 6, 1992 and a kgotla meeting was held there by personnel from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the North West District Administration, and the Natural Resources Management Project (October 16, 1992). The proposed land use plan was presented to the /Xai/Xai community at a kgotla on December 4, 1992. The /Xai/Xai community agreed to the plan though some key community members were not present at the meeting, notably the n!ore kxaosi (territory 'owners')
Road debushing between /Xai/Xai and !Xangwa was done as part of the drought relief program. The air strip at /Xai/Xai was also cleared that year. Preliminary discussions were held by district officials with the people of /Xai/Xai concerning possible CBNRM activities in the region. The /Xai/Xai Land Use Plan was approved by the Tawana Land Board on February 9 and was accepted by the North West District Council on August 25, 1993.
A survey relating to a potential community-based natural resource management project was conducted at /Xai/Xai by SNV Botswana. The SNV (Netherlands Development Organization) Natural Resource Management Advisor (NRMA), Edwin Ruigrok, is posted to /Xai/Xai
Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) broke out in western Ngamiland . The National Museum, Monuments, and Art Gallery (NMMAG) held a kgotla meeting at which the idea of establishing a fence around the G/wihaba Hills was proposed to the /Xai/Xai people. A craft cooperative, !Kokoro Crafts, was established at /Xai/Xai. In July, 1995, seven people from /Xai/Xai were arrested for hunting illegally.A four day workshop on community wildlife quota management was held at /Xai/Xai in October, 1995. The Special Game License (SGL) Study was conducted at /Xai/Xai in October, 1995.
A proposal on tourism at /Xai/Xai was submitted to the North West District Council and the government of Botswana after a series of meetings on tourism activities held in /Xai/Xai. A tourist group was discouraged from going to /Xai/Xai by the Botswana Defense Force (BDF), and questions were raised about the status of the air strip at /Xai/Xai. All the cattle in western Ngamiland were destroyed by the Ministry of Agriculture as a result of the CBPP outbreak. A complete stop to Special Game Licenses in North West District was announced at /Xai/Xai in July, 1996. A Quota Management Committee (QMC) was formed at /Xai/Xai, and a request was made by the QMC to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks for the quota for NG 4. This request was granted but it was late in the hunting season. Representatives of the /Xai/Xai community visited the new Setata Fence erected by the Division of Animal Health and Production (DAHP) of the Ministry of Agriculture and the community sent a letter requesting its realignment to the Tawana Land Board (December 21, 1996). There was no reply to this letter as of the end of 1996.
Discussions concerning the impacts of the Setata fence continued in 1997. Sizable amounts of relief food were made available to people at /Xai/Xai as a result of the destruction of the cattle as part of the Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) eradication campaign. At /Xai/Xai there were 80 people employed in various capacities by the Botswana government in part as livelihood supports (labor-based public relief projects. The /Xai/Xai (CgaeCgae) Tlhabololo Trust was formed. It was registered officially with the government in October, 1997.
Discussions were held concerning the possibility of establishing a Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA) office in Ngamiland which would provide assistance to people in northwestern Botswana. A Kuru Development Turst office was established at Shakawe in 1998, and work began on a diversified program including community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), community assessment and consultation, capacity-building within the Shakawe Kuru (ShaKuru) staff, coordination with government and non-government institutions, and the initial work done with communities in the Panhandle region and western Ngamiland.
A survey of the impacts of veterinary cordon fencing was begun including an assessment of the Setata Fence in the NG 5 area of southern Ngamiland. Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia relief efforts continued in the district, with people receiving food and other commodities. The NGO Kuru Development Trust worked on the establishment of community trusts and was able to get two of these set up: (1) Jakotsha, which covers the area around Etsha and includes 5 communities in NG 24, and (2) Teemashane Trust, which covers NG 10 and 11 along the Panhandle of the Okavango (allso known as the Ncwaagom (Ncoagom) area. The latter includes a cultural trail that will be of interest to tourists and thus a source of income and employment for local people. In October, 1999, Kuru personnel carried out a community mapping exercise in the Dobe-!Goshe area (NG3) and appliations were made to the Tawana Land Board for land
At /Xai/Xai, the Cgae Cgae Tlhabololo Trust leased out a portion of its wildlife quota to a safari operator, but the lease was withdrawn because of alleged Irregularities in the tendering process. Another safari operator was brought in to conduct safari enterprise activities. !Kokoro Crafts continued to sell crafts at /Xai/Xai. There are 80 members, 75% of whom are women. This craft operation has become an important source of income and pride for women, especially Ju/'hoansi San. Ecotourism activities continued in the /Xai/Xai area. The site museum at Tsodilo Hills National Monument was completed, and the government of Botswana applied for World Heritage Site (WHS) status for Tsodilo in June, 2000.