Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Caprivi Strip
The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is bordered by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a single point at the eastern tip of the Strip, which also comes within 150 m (490 ft) of Zimbabwe, thus nearly forming a quadripoint. Instead, Botswana and Zambia share this 150-metre (490 ft) border that intersects a bridge at the crossing of Kazungula.
The territory was acquired in 1890 by German South West Africa in order to provide access to the Zambezi River and consequently a route to the east coast of the continent and German East Africa. The route was later found not to be navigable because of the location of the Victoria Falls, one of the world's largest waterfalls, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of the Caprivi Strip, and because of more waterfalls downstream such as Kariba Gorge and Cahora Bassa.
Within Namibia, the Strip is divided administratively between the Kavango East and Zambezi regions. It is crossed by the Okavango River. The Cuando River forms part of its border with Botswana, and the Zambezi River forms part of its border with Zambia. The width of the strip varies from about 32 km (20 mi) to 105 km (65 mi). Its largest settlement is Katima Mulilo, located at the point where the Zambezi reaches the Strip.
When Namibia was a German colony, the Caprivi Strip was known in German as Caprivizipfel. Before colonisation, it was known as Itenge. During a short-lived secession attempt around the year 2000, the name Itenge was used by the separatists. It is also sometimes called the Okavango Panhandle.
Inhabitants of the Caprivi Strip speak a number of African languages, mostly members of the Bantu language family, with speakers of Mbarakwena [Xu-Khoisan], Hukwe a San language, in the northwest of the strip near the border with Angola. The Bantu languages include Yeyi (or 'Yei' or 'Yeeyi'),[better source needed] Mbukushu, Gciriku (or 'Dciriku'), Fwe, Totela, and Subiya. The Silozi language is a lingua Franca of the Caprivi Strip, especially in Katima Mulilo, where some residents speak Lozi, a language of western Zambia, as a lingua franca. Many also speak English, while Afrikaans has almost disappeared.[citation needed]
Within Namibia the Caprivi Strip provides significant habitat for the critically endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). It is a corridor for African elephant moving from Botswana and Namibia into Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. National parks found in the Caprivi Strip are Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park and Nkasa Rupara National Park. Local communities have organised themselves into communal area conservancies and community forests. People work closely with the Namibian government to jointly manage natural resources through several programmes set up between the Namibian government and various donor parties.
Caprivi was named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi (in office 1890–1894), who negotiated the acquisition of the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom. Caprivi arranged for the Caprivi Strip to be annexed to German South West Africa, gaining Germany access to the Zambezi River and a route to Africa's east coast, where the colony of German East Africa (now part of Tanzania) was situated. The transfer of territory was a part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, in which Germany gave up its interest in Zanzibar in return for the Caprivi Strip and the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.
The river later proved unnavigable and inaccessible to the Indian Ocean due to the location of the Victoria Falls and more falls, a fact that was possibly already known to the British side during the negotiations. Caprivi itself was remote and inaccessible during the rainy season, and the Germans did not find use for it. After a mineral expedition in 1909 proved unsuccessful, Germany contemplated exchanging the strip for some other British territory, such as Walvis Bay. When that territory was transferred to the Cape Colony by the British in 1910, Germany was stuck with Caprivi for the rest of its colonial history.
Hub AI
Caprivi Strip AI simulator
(@Caprivi Strip_simulator)
Caprivi Strip
The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is bordered by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a single point at the eastern tip of the Strip, which also comes within 150 m (490 ft) of Zimbabwe, thus nearly forming a quadripoint. Instead, Botswana and Zambia share this 150-metre (490 ft) border that intersects a bridge at the crossing of Kazungula.
The territory was acquired in 1890 by German South West Africa in order to provide access to the Zambezi River and consequently a route to the east coast of the continent and German East Africa. The route was later found not to be navigable because of the location of the Victoria Falls, one of the world's largest waterfalls, about 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of the Caprivi Strip, and because of more waterfalls downstream such as Kariba Gorge and Cahora Bassa.
Within Namibia, the Strip is divided administratively between the Kavango East and Zambezi regions. It is crossed by the Okavango River. The Cuando River forms part of its border with Botswana, and the Zambezi River forms part of its border with Zambia. The width of the strip varies from about 32 km (20 mi) to 105 km (65 mi). Its largest settlement is Katima Mulilo, located at the point where the Zambezi reaches the Strip.
When Namibia was a German colony, the Caprivi Strip was known in German as Caprivizipfel. Before colonisation, it was known as Itenge. During a short-lived secession attempt around the year 2000, the name Itenge was used by the separatists. It is also sometimes called the Okavango Panhandle.
Inhabitants of the Caprivi Strip speak a number of African languages, mostly members of the Bantu language family, with speakers of Mbarakwena [Xu-Khoisan], Hukwe a San language, in the northwest of the strip near the border with Angola. The Bantu languages include Yeyi (or 'Yei' or 'Yeeyi'),[better source needed] Mbukushu, Gciriku (or 'Dciriku'), Fwe, Totela, and Subiya. The Silozi language is a lingua Franca of the Caprivi Strip, especially in Katima Mulilo, where some residents speak Lozi, a language of western Zambia, as a lingua franca. Many also speak English, while Afrikaans has almost disappeared.[citation needed]
Within Namibia the Caprivi Strip provides significant habitat for the critically endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). It is a corridor for African elephant moving from Botswana and Namibia into Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. National parks found in the Caprivi Strip are Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park and Nkasa Rupara National Park. Local communities have organised themselves into communal area conservancies and community forests. People work closely with the Namibian government to jointly manage natural resources through several programmes set up between the Namibian government and various donor parties.
Caprivi was named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi (in office 1890–1894), who negotiated the acquisition of the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom. Caprivi arranged for the Caprivi Strip to be annexed to German South West Africa, gaining Germany access to the Zambezi River and a route to Africa's east coast, where the colony of German East Africa (now part of Tanzania) was situated. The transfer of territory was a part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, in which Germany gave up its interest in Zanzibar in return for the Caprivi Strip and the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.
The river later proved unnavigable and inaccessible to the Indian Ocean due to the location of the Victoria Falls and more falls, a fact that was possibly already known to the British side during the negotiations. Caprivi itself was remote and inaccessible during the rainy season, and the Germans did not find use for it. After a mineral expedition in 1909 proved unsuccessful, Germany contemplated exchanging the strip for some other British territory, such as Walvis Bay. When that territory was transferred to the Cape Colony by the British in 1910, Germany was stuck with Caprivi for the rest of its colonial history.