Herero [key], Bantu people, mainly in Namibia and Botswana. They number about 75,000. A pastoral tribe noted for their large cattle herds, the Herero probably migrated from the region of Lake Tanganyika in the 18th cent. They warred against their neighbors, the Khoikhoi, and enslaved many smaller tribes. Their territory was annexed (1885) as a part of German South West Africa, and from 1903 to 1907 they rebelled against German rule and were almost exterminated. In more recent times the Herero have often pressed for independence.
See J. M. White, The Land God Made in Anger (1969).
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