Namibia[edit]

Main article: History of Namibia

Herero and Nama territories

By 1500 AD, most of southern Africa had established states. In northwestern Namibia,

the Ovambo engaged in farming and the Herero engaged in herding. As cattle numbers increased,
the Herero moved southward to central Namibia for grazing land. A related group,
the Ovambanderu, expanded to Ghanzi in northwestern Botswana. The Nama, a Khoi-speaking,
sheep-raising group, moved northward and came into contact with the Herero; this would set the
stage for much conflict between the two groups. The expanding Lozi states pushed
the Mbukushu, Subiya, and Yei to Botei, Okavango, and Chobe in northern Botswana.[204]
South Africa and Botswana[edit]
Main articles: Early history of South Africa, History of South Africa, and History of Botswana
Sotho–Tswana[edit]

South African ethnic groups

The development of Sotho–Tswana states based on the highveld, south of the Limpopo River,

began around 1000 CE. The chief's power rested on cattle and his connection to the ancestor. This
can be seen in the Toutswemogala Hill settlements with stone foundations and stone walls, north of
the highveld and south of the Vaal River. Northwest of the Vaal River developed early Tswana states
centered on towns of thousands of people. When disagreements or rivalry arose, different groups
moved to form their own states.[205]
Nguni peoples[edit]
Southeast of the Drakensberg mountains lived Nguni-speaking peoples (Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi,
and Ndebele). They too engaged in state building, with new states developing from rivalry,
disagreements, and population pressure causing movement into new regions. This 19th-century
process of warfare, state building and migration later became known as the Mfecane (Nguni) or
Difaqane (Sotho). Its major catalyst was the consolidation of the Zulu Kingdom.[206] They were
metalworkers, cultivators of millet, and cattle herders. [205]