Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Botswana (formerly the Bechuanaland Protectorate) was one of three British dependencies in southern Africa, and is roughly the size of France. A landlocked country long surrounded by white-minority ruled states in southern Africa, a region marked by war and conflict, Botswana was notable for its peaceful road to independence and sustained parliamentary democracy. The people of the country are often called Batswana, but the term also includes ethnic groups that do not speak the Setswana language: the Bakalanga, Bakgalagadi, Bayei, Baherero, Basubiya, Batswapong, Babirwa, and Basarwa (derogatively called Bushmen). The Setswana-speaking groups are the Bangwato, Bangwaketse, Bakwena, Barolong, Bakgatla, Balete, Batawana, and Batlokwa. The non-Setswana-speaking tribes were, since pre-colonial times, regarded as subject groups subordinated to the Setswana, who, in turn, were traditionally ruled by dikgosi (chiefs) in hierarchical societies headed by the dikgosana (nobles), followed by bafaladi (foreigners recently absorbed into tribes), and malata (hereditary serfs) who paid tribute and labor; the latter were largely Basarwa or Bakgalagadi. Britain declared a protectorate over Botswana in 1885 during the Scramble for Africa, mainly for strategic reasons. Batswana lands were being eyed by the Afrikaners in the Transvaal (today, part of South Africa), and the Germans in South West ... log in or subscribe to read full text