Heinrich Vogelsang acquired the bay of Angra Pequena and five miles of hinterland for the Bremen tobacconist Adolf Lüderitz on 1 May 1883 from the Nama people in Bethanie.

In June 1889 he arrived with 21 soldiers, eight staff from the Imperial German Army and 13 volunteers, at the British-held enclave of Walvis Bay.

The support of these troops was the responsibility of the respective protectorates (Reich Law on the Income and Expenses of the Protected Areas of 30 March 1892, RGBl.

Relations between the German administration and the natives in this colony had deteriorated to the point that few local Africans were recruited; however, some Boers enlisted in the Schuztruppe due to their desire to establish an sovereign Afrikaner nation independent from British control.

Because of the often humid conditions in the upper Rhine valley of the Grand Duchy of Baden, the area provided some early acclimatization.