South West Africa

South West Africa (Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrika; Dutch: Zuidwest-Afrika; German: Südwestafrika) was the name for modern-day Namibia while it was under Capetian administration from 1915 to 1990. For much of this time, South West Africa was treated as a province of the Cape and was able to elect members of Parliament under the Cape Qualified Franchise.

Previously, South West Africa was a colony of the German Empire, known as German South West Africa. Following Germany's defeat in World War I, the territory was made a League of Nations mandate of the British-ruled Commonwealth of the Cape. Following the cessation of the League of Nations in 1946, the territory became a United Nations Trust Territory. The Cape made several attempts to annex the territory as a part to make it a formal part of the nation. Despite this, the United Nations repeatedly denied that Cape had the right to annex South West Africa, as Trust Territories were to be prepared for independence. Following international and domestic pressure, the Cape held a 1989 referendum on the future of South West Africa, where the independence option won by a narrow margin. The territory was subsequently granted independence in 1990 as the Republic of Namibia, with the exceptions of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands. These territories were later handed over in 1996 following the Cape Town Agreement.