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Bechuanaland Protectorate | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885–1966 | |||||||||
| Anthem: God Save the King/Queen | |||||||||
 1885 map showing the Bechuanaland Protectorate prior to the creation of the crown colony ofBritish Bechuanaland and theHeligoland–Zanzibar Treaty | |||||||||
| Status | Protectorate of theUnited Kingdom | ||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||
| Official languages | English | ||||||||
| Common languages | Setswana,IKalanga, widely spoken | ||||||||
| Religion | Congregationalism (Christian mission churches of the London Missionary Society/LMS);Anglicanism,Methodism,Badimo | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1885–1901 | Victoria | ||||||||
• 1901–1910 | Edward VII | ||||||||
• 1910–1936 | George V | ||||||||
• 1936 | Edward VIII | ||||||||
• 1936–1952 | George VI | ||||||||
• 1952–1966 | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| commissioners | |||||||||
• 1884–1885 | John Mackenzie | ||||||||
• 1965–1966 | Hugh Norman-Walker | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1965–1966 | Seretse Khama | ||||||||
| Legislature | Legislative Council | ||||||||
| Historical era | New Imperialism | ||||||||
| 31 March 1885 | |||||||||
• Expanded | 1890 | ||||||||
| 1 March 1965 | |||||||||
| 30 September 1966 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1924[1] | 712,000 km2 (275,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1924[1] | 152,980 | ||||||||
| Currency |
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| Today part of | Botswana South Africa | ||||||||
Part ofa series on the |
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| History ofBotswana |
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| See also |
TheBechuanaland Protectorate (/ˌbɛtʃuˈɑːnəlænd/) was aprotectorate established on 31 March 1885 inSouthern Africa by theUnited Kingdom. It became theRepublic of Botswana on 30 September 1966.[2]
Scottish missionaryJohn Mackenzie (1835–1899), sponsored by theLondon Missionary Society (LMS), lived atShoshong from 1862 to 1876. He warned that African peoples were threatened byBoers encroaching on their territory from the south. He campaigned for the establishment of what became the Bechuanaland Protectorate, to be ruled directly from Britain.[3]Austral Africa: Losing It or Ruling It (1887) is Mackenzie's account of events leading to the establishment of the protectorate. Influenced by Mackenzie, in January 1885 the British government decided to send amilitary expedition to South Africa to assert British sovereignty over the contested territory.Lieutenant ColonelSir Charles Warren (1840–1927) led a force of 4,000 Imperial troops north fromCape Town. After making treaties with several African chiefs, Colonel Warren announced the establishment of the protectorate in March 1885.[4] In September that year the Tswana country south of the Molopo River was proclaimed the Crown colony ofBritish Bechuanaland. Mackenzie accompanied Warren, andAustral Africa contains a detailed account of the expedition.[5]
Bechuanaland meant the "country of theTswana" (from an archaic form ofBatswana plus-land) and for administrative purposes was divided into two political entities. The northern part was administered as the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the southern part was administered as thecrown colony ofBritish Bechuanaland. British Bechuanaland was incorporated into theCape Colony in 1895 and now forms part of South Africa.[6][page needed]
The northern part, the Bechuanaland Protectorate, had an area of 225,000 square miles (580,000 km2), and a population of 120,776. It comprised an area occupied by the three main Tswana peoples: theBamangwato, theBakwena and theBangwaketse, together with a number of minor tribes like theBamalete and the Bakhatla. Also living in the Protectorate were the descendants of the original inhabitants of the area, such asBushmen andMakalaka, who had been dispossessed by the Tswana peoples in the course of their migration south.[7]
The British government originally expected to turn over the administration of the protectorate toRhodesia or South Africa, but Tswana opposition left the protectorate under British rule until its independence in 1966.
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was technically aprotectorate rather than a colony. Originally the local Tswana rulers were left in power, and British administration was limited to the police force to protect Bechuanaland's borders against other European colonial ventures. But on 9 May 1891 the British Government gave the administration of the protectorate to theHigh Commissioner for Southern Africa, who started to appoint officials in Bechuanaland, and thede facto independence of Bechuanaland ended.[8]
The protectorate was administered fromMafeking, creating an unusual situation, the capital of the territory being located outside of the territory. The area of Mafeking (from 1980 with the incorporation intoBophuthatswana Mafikeng, since 2010Mahikeng), was called 'The Imperial Reserve'. In 1885, when the protectorate was declared, Bechuanaland was bounded to the north by the latitude of22° south.[9] The northern boundary of the protectorate was formally extended northward by the British to includeNgamiland, which was then dominated by theTawana state, on 30 June 1890.[10] This claim was formally recognised by Germany the following day by Article III of theHeligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, which confirmed the western boundary of the British protectorate of Bechuanaland and the German protectorate ofSouth-West Africa and also created theCaprivi strip inherited by modernNamibia:[11]
In Southwest Africa, Germany's sphere of influence is demarcated thus:
- To the south by the line that commences at the mouth of theOrange River and continues up its northern bank to its intersection point with the20° eastlongitude.
- To the east by the line that commences at the aforementioned point and follows the 20th degree of east longitude to its intersection point with the22° southlatitude. The line then traces this degree of latitude eastward to its intersection with the21° east longitude, follows this degree of longitude northward to its intersection with the18° south latitude, runs along this degree of latitude eastward to its intersection with theChobe River. Here it descends thethalweg of the main channel until it meets theZambezi, where it ends. It is understood that under this arrangement Germany shall be granted free access from its protectorate to the Zambezi by means of a strip of land not less than twenty English miles wide at any point. Great Britain's sphere of influence is bounded to the west and northwest by the previously described line and includesLake Ngami.
British officials did not arrive in the Ngamiland region until 1894.[12]
TheTati Concessions Land Act of 21 January 1911 transferred the new eastern territory to the protectorate:
From the place where theShashe River rises to its junction with theTati andRamokgwebana Rivers, thence along theRamokgwebana River to where it rises and thence along the watershed of those rivers,
This territory was originally claimed byMatabeleland. In 1887 Samuel Edwards, working forCecil Rhodes, obtained a mining concession, and in 1895 theBritish South Africa Company attempted to acquire the area, but the Tswana chiefsBathoen I,Khama III andSebele I visited London to protest and were successful in fending off the BSAC. This territory forms the modernNorth-East District of Botswana.
Furthermore, Southern Bechuanaland was heavily affected by the1890s African rinderpest epizootic which temporarily damaged the economy.[13]
The proclamation of a protectorate flanked by a new Crown colony to the south (British Bechuanaland) were primarily intended as safeguards against further expansion by Germany, Portugal, or Boers.[14]
Contrary to what was reported at the time by Warren and others, not all chiefs affected by the protectorate were in favour of it.[15] The most powerful ruler was KingKhama III, who had strong support from the British government, and was especially popular among evangelicals in Britain. He collaborated closely with the British military, and kept his vast, but underpopulated lands independent from intruders from South Africa.[16]
Khama's eldest son,Sekgoma II, became chief of the Bamangwato upon Khama's death in 1923. Sekgoma II's eldest son was namedSeretse. Throughout his life Khama was widowed and remarried several times. One wife,Semane, gave birth to a son namedTshekedi.[17]
Sekgoma II's reign lasted only a year or so, leaving his son Seretse, who at the time was an infant, as the rightful heir to the chieftainship (Tshekedi was not in line to be chief since he did not descend from Khama's oldest son Sekgoma II).[18] So in keeping with tradition, Tshekedi acted as regent of the tribe until Seretse was old enough to assume the chieftainship. The transfer of responsibility from Tshekedi to Seretse was planned to occur after Seretse had returned from his law studies overseas in Britain.
Tshekedi's regency as acting chief of theBamangwato is best remembered for his expansion of themephato (regiments) to build primary schools, grain silos, andwater reticulation systems, for his frequent confrontations with the British colonial authorities over the administration of justice inNgwato country, and for his efforts to deal with a major split in the tribe after Seretse married a white woman,Ruth Williams, while studying law in Britain.
Tshekedi opposed the marriage on the grounds that under Tswana custom a chief could not marry simply as he pleased. He was a servant of the people; the chieftaincy itself was at stake.[19] Seretse would not budge in his desire to marry Ruth, and he did, while exiled in Britain in 1948. Tribal opinion about the marriage basically split evenly along demographic lines – older people went with Tshekedi, the younger with Seretse. In the end, British authorities exiled both men (Tshekedi from the Bamangwato territory, Seretse from the Protectorate altogether). Rioting broke out and a number of people were killed.
Seretse and Ruth were allowed to return to the Protectorate and Seretse and Tshekedi were able to patch things up a bit between themselves. By now though, Seretse saw his destiny not as chief of theBamangwato tribe, but rather as leader of theBotswana Democratic Party and as President of the soon-to-be independent nation of Botswana in 1966. He would remain Botswana's president until his death from pancreatic cancer in 1980. The story of Seretse and Ruth forms the basis of the 2016 filmA United Kingdom.[20]
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The Bechuanaland Protectorate was one of the "High Commission Territories", the others beingBasutoland (nowLesotho) andSwaziland (nowEswatini). TheHigh Commissioner had some of the functions of a governor, but the major tribes were self-governing, and the protectorate was not a British possession, so was not available for white settlement.[21] The office was first held by theGovernor of the Cape Colony, then by theGovernor-General of South Africa, then by theHigh Commissioner for Southern Africa until independence. In each of the three territories, the administration of Britain's responsibilities was headed by aResident Commissioner with some of the functions of a Governor but less authority.[22]
The Chief Justice was the Chief Justice of the High Commission Territories (Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland).[23] From 1951 the Chief Justices were:
| Incumbent | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | |
| Sir Walter Harragin | 1951 | 1952 |
| Harold Curwen Willan | 1952 | 1956 |
| Sir Herbert Cox | 1957 | ? |
| Peter Watkin-Williams | 1961 | 1964 |
| No. | Picture | Name (Birth–Death) | Elected | Took office | Left office | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Seretse Khama (1921–1980) | 1965 | 3 March 1965 | 30 September 1966 | BDP |
Bechuanaland postage stamps were issued from 1888 to 1966.Overprinted stamps were issued until 1932, when the first stamps inscribed "Bechuanaland Protectorate" were issued. On 14 February 1961 theSouth African rand was introduced, necessitating the surcharging of the existing definitive stamps until new ones were issued.
Texts on Wikisource:FormerBritish Empire and currentBritish Overseas Territories | |||||||
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