Botswana Travel Guide
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The Protectorate

Botswana Travel Guide

The Protectorate



Britain continued to administer the Protectorate for 70 years, through the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) and two world wars. However, Britain disliked spending money on her colonies, and from the time the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 it was always intended to transfer the Protectorate to the Union. The Batswana continued to fight against it, especially as they witnessed the poor treatment of black Africans in that country.
By 1955, the policy of the British government had changed. This was due in part to the problems with Seretse and Tshekedi Khama and the Bamangwato (see page 8), and partly because of South Africa’s gradual move towards apartheid and away from the more egalitarian values of the post-war society that was emerging in the UK and the rest of the West.
In 1956 Seretse, who was supported by many groups in Britain, including Members of Parliament, spoke strongly against the British government’s intervention. Tshekedi also turned against the British, accepting Ruth as the rightful wife and demanding Seretse’s return to Bechuanaland. He believed that the British wanted to use the problem to break his tribe, and as an excuse to transfer the Protectorate to South Africa.
However, by then the issue of transferring the protectorate to South Africa’s control was dead in the minds of the British government. Clearly Botswana would have to be diplomatically protected from South Africa’s ambitions, but the British didn’t seem to have a plan for it beyond that.


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