Steinmetz shows that colonial policy was heavily influenced by European attitudes towards native populations.  In South West Africa several distinct forms of native policy were enacted during various periods of colonial rule and with respect to different native groups.  The foundation for European attitudes was laid during the mid-eighteenth century with the arrival of German missionaries in the region that would become German South West Africa.  Two African groups dominated the area in this period: the Bantu-speaking Ovaherero, who had migrated from the north during the 17th and 18th centuries; and the Nama, or Namaqua, numerous Khoikhoi tribes from South Africa who moved into the region at the start of the 19th century.