Cornelius Fredericks (''also: Frederiks'') (died 16 February 1907) was a leader of the ǃAman (Bethanie Orlam), a subtribe of the Orlam people, in the southern area of
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
, today's
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
. He was a rival Kaptein of the Bethanie Orlam, contesting the chieftaincy of Paul Fredericks. Among the Orlam people living in
Bethanie
Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, German colonial powers.
When the Herero and Namaqua Genocide">Herero and Namaqua War of 1904–1907 broke out, Fredericks was one of the indigenous leaders that actively fought a guerrilla-style war against the Germans. He often sided with Hendrik Witbooi (Namaqua chief), Hendrik Witbooi, leader of the ǀKhowesin (Witbooi Orlam), and both were wanted for a 3,000 German gold mark, marks (ℳ) ransom. The German '' Schutztruppe'' kept the upper hand in the majority of battles and forced most Nama and Orlam groups to surrender. The group under Fredericks gave up on 3 March 1906.
On 9 September 1906 Cornelius Fredericks was imprisoned at
Shark Island concentration camp
Shark Island or "Death Island" was one of five concentration camps in German South West Africa. It was located on Shark Island off Lüderitz, in the far south-west of the territory which today is Namibia. It was used by the German Empire during ...
in Lüderitz as part of a group of 1,795 Nama people, some of whom were decapitated and whose heads were sent to Germany for racial anthropological research. Most of them died in the icy wind due to malnutrition and neglect, their bodies were buried at low tide and soon washed into the ocean. Fredericks died on 16 February 1907. A memorial in his remembrance now stands on Shark Island.