Basters are closely related to Afrikaners, Cape Coloureds, and Griquas of South Africa and Namibia, with whom they share a largely Afrikaner-influenced culture and Afrikaans language.

The group also included Khoi, Free Negro, and persons of mixed-race descent who had succeeded in acquiring property and establishing themselves as farmers in their own right.

In the early 18th century, Basters often owned farms in the colony, but with growing competition for land and the pressure of race discrimination, they were oppressed by their white neighbours and the government.

From about 1750, the Kamiesberge in the extreme north-west of the colony became the main area of settlement of independent Baster farmers, some of whom had substantial followings of servants and clients.

Through the 1870s, Basters of Rehoboth suffered frequent losses from their herds, with livestock raided and stolen by the much larger groups of surrounding Nama and Herero peoples, who were themselves in competition.

Through the 1880s, the community at Rehoboth were joined by other Baster families from Grootfontein (South) (whom missionary Heidmann had earlier tried to recruit), Okahandja, and Otjimbingwe.

[9] Other sources date this treaty 15 September 1885,[10] Under this, "the independent executive powers of the Kaptein and Baster Council, especially for "foreign policy", were significantly curtailed.

When the German colonists encountered a new wave of conflicts with native peoples, Basters fought with them in quelling the uprisings of the OvaHerero (1896), the Swartbooi Nama (1897), and the Bondelswarts (1903).

[11] Believing that the German Schutztruppe had little chance against the superior South African forces (allied with the British), Basters tried to maintain neutrality towards both, but feared losing their limited autonomy.

The Baster Council believed they reached agreement with Governor Theodor Seitz of South-West Africa that their men would only be used behind the lines.

When Basters were assigned to guard South African prisoners of war in February 1915 at a camp at Uitdraii, they protested because nearly 50 of their men were connected to the people through historic kinship and language.

At a meeting, they said Basters had three days to decide whether to comply; the latter feared that having their men in the north would mean they would be considered true combatants against South Africa, endangering their own position.

Although negotiations were in process, they learned the trains were due to leave the next day, and the night of 18 April, numerous Basters defected from German service, taking arms with them that they intended to turn in at Rehoboth.

[11] In the meantime, Basters and Nama policemen worked to disarm German officers within the Rehoboth Gebiet, but wounded one fatally and killed another outright.

[11] On 22 April 1915, Lieutenant Colonel Bethe informed the Basters in writing that they had violated the protection treaty and their acts were considered hostile by the Germans.

She took the word to the Kaptein, and around 700 Basters retreated to Sam Khubis 80 kilometres (50 mi) south-east of Rehoboth in the mountains, to prepare for German attack.

Their prayer is engraved on a memorial plaque they later installed at Sam Khubis and reads:[10] God van ons vaderen / sterke en machtige God / heilig is Uw naam op die ganse aarde / Uw die de hemelen geschapen heft / neigt Uw oor tot ons / luister na die smekingen van Uwe kinderen / de dood staart ons in het gesicht / die kinderen der bose zoeken onze levens / Red ons uit die hand van onze vijanden / en beskermt onze vrouen en kinderen / En dit zult vier ons en onze nacheschlacht zijn een dag als een Zondag / waarop wij Uw naam prijzen en Uw goedertierenheid tot in euwigheid niet vergeten "God our father / strong and powerful / holy be Thy name all over the earth / Thou that made heaven / bow Thou down to us / listen to the cries of Thy children / death stares us in the face / the children of evil seek our lives / Save us from the hand of our enemies / and protect our wives and children / and this shall be for us and our kin a day like a Sunday / on which we shall praise Thy name / and Thy gratitude shall not be forgotten in eternity."

Colonel H. Mentz advised the Baster leaders to avoid all confrontation with the Germans, in an effort to defuse tensions, and to report livestock losses or other problems to his administration at Windhoek.

[11] After the conclusion of the Great War, Basters applied to have their native land become a British Protectorate like Basutoland, but were turned down by South Africa.

All special rights as granted to Basters by the Germans were revoked under the South African mandate to govern South-West Africa.

In 1981, South West Africa had a population of one million, divided into more than a dozen ethnic and tribal groups, and 39 political parties.

Upon assuming power in 1990, Namibia's new ruling party, the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) announced it would not recognise any special legal status for the Baster community.

Many Basters felt that while SWAPO claimed it spoke for the whole country, it too strongly promoted the interests of its own political base in Ovamboland.

[15] As preparations were underway for Sam Khubis Day in 2006, a respected social worker, Hettie Rose-Junius, asked the organising committee to "consider inviting a delegation from the Nama-speaking people to this year’s festivities and in future."

[17] In February 2007, the Kapteins Council has represented the Basters at the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO),[15] an international pro-democracy organisation founded in 1991.

Operating in The Hague, it works to "facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalised nations and peoples worldwide, helping minorities to gain self-determination."

Since November 2012, the UNPO has called on the Namibian government to recognise Basters as a 'traditional authority' in their historic territory,[15] as it has for some other ethnic groups in the country.

The Basters have had seven Kapteins since the Paternal Laws were enacted: Every male burger (citizen) of Rehoboth had the right to apply for a free piece of land at the age of 18.

[citation needed] The average gene pool of Basters is about 48.4% European, 28,5% Khoe-San, 17.1% Asian and 5.7% Bantu;[23] according to a 2013 autosomal genealogical DNA testing.

Largely through missionary work during the 19th century, they coalesced into fiercely independent, autonomous communities that maintained their identities even after being incorporated into the Cape Colony.