The settlements of Leliefontein and Okombahe came into being as a result of the impact of merchant capital and colonial expansion on pastoral societies made up of small, interrelated, kin-based clans. In a number of respects, the unfolding of the effects of colonialism in Namaqualand foreshadowed events in Damaraland by several decades, as waves of traders, mercenaries, missionaries, and displaced population groups pulsated northward away from the Cape. Leliefontein became a Baptist mission station in 1824, and Okombahe was settled by a Rhenish missionary in 1870. Both missions came about as a response to the chaos that trekboers (mobile settler farmers), traders, and commando groups brought to the lives of indigenous pastoralists. Weakened by raids, the curtailment of migratory herding practices, drought, and disease, local populations converged on the missions, initially as a place of safety (Leliefontein) or as destitute refugees (Okombahe). There they were converted to Christianity, encouraged to cultivate crops, and often became indebted to European traders. Both populations were made up of a disparate ethnic mix: Leliefontein was predominantly Nama speaking but soon incorporated Afrikaans-speaking "Basters"; Okombahe was predominantly Nama and Damara coexisting with small groups of Baster and Herero.