   the basters (also known as baasters, rehobothers or rehoboth basters) are the descendants of cape colony dutch and indigenous african women. they live largely in namibia, in and around the town of rehoboth, and are similar to coloured or griqua people in south africa. the name baster is derived from the dutch word for "bastard" (or "crossbreed"). while some people consider this term demeaning, the basters proudly use the term as an indication of their history in the same way as the mÃ©tis ("mixed") people of canada. while the current numbers of basters remain unclear (figures between 20,000 and 40,000 are given), the basters are concerned that their unique heritage will be lost in a modern namibia. ==history== ===south african period===  the basters were mainly persons of mixed descent who at one time would have been absorbed in the white community. it was, however, as much an economic and cultural category as a racial one and included the economically most advanced of the non-white population at the cape. among these were persons who acted as supervisors of other servants and were the confidential employees of their masters. sometimes these were treated almost as members of the white family. the group also included khoi, free blacks and persons of mixed descent who had succeeded in acquiring property and establishing themselves as farmers in their own right. the name orlam was sometimes applied to persons who could also be known as baster but was a more general name for khoi and coloured persons generally who spoke dutch and practised a largely european way of life. in the early eighteenth century it was not uncommon for basters to own farms in the colony, but with the growth of competition for land and colour prejudice they came under increasing pressure from their white neighbours and were either absorbed into the coloured servant class or moved to the fringes of settlement where it was still possible to maintain themselves in independence. from about 
Afrikaans_words_and_phrases Afrikaner_diaspora Coloured_Namibian_people Ethnic_groups_in_Namibia Ethnic_groups_of_partial_African_ancestry Ethnic_groups_of_partial_European_ancestry Multiracial_affairs_in_Africa South_African_English