Botswana gained independence from The Great Britain on 30 September 1966 Before independence, it was called the Bechuanaland Protectorate A transformation from Bechuanaland to Botswana was a very interesting one One of the first things anybody from Botswana would tell you is that unlike a lot other countries in Africa, Botswana was not colonised Britain originally established the Bechuanaland Protectorate on 31st March 1885, that’s a long time ago And they decided, “we’re not going to give much attention and development to this little piece of desert whose profitability is dubious Just when they thought they’d won the battle, another threat to their power came from an Englishman by the name of Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company (BSAC). By 1894, the British had all but agreed to allow Cecil Rhodes to control the country. The three Chiefs, decided, “you guys aren’t taking us seriously, so we’re gonna go straight to England, where we will see Colonial Minister Joseph Chamberlain to ask for continued Government protection of Bechuanaland.” Accompanied by WC Willoughby on their trip to England, their pleas to the British Government were unsuccessful. As a last resort, they turned to the London Missionary Society (LMS), which, out of fear that this man, Cecil Rhodes, would allow alcohol into the country, got support of other Christian groups and together with the Chiefs’ pressurised the British government. Public pressure mounted and the British Government was forced to concede. The capital of the protectorate was established at Mafikeng actually in South Africa. In 1924, South Africa began pressing for Bechuanaland’s amalgamation into the Union of South Africa, and when the Tswana chiefs refused, economic sanctions destroyed whatever was there as Bechuanaland’s economy. During WWII, 10, 000 Batswana volunteered for the African Pioneer Corps to defend the British Empire. After the war Seretse Khama, the legitimate heir to the Bangwato tribe, went to study in England where he met and married an Englishwoman, Ruth Khama. Tshekedi Khama, Seretse’s uncle, was furious at this breach of tribal custom, and the South African authorities, still hoping to absorb Bechuanaland into the Union of South Africa (these guys were patient. I think it was the alcohol), were none too happy. The British government blocked Seretse’s chieftaincy and he was exiled from the Protectorate to England. Bitterness continued until 1956 when Seretse Khama returned with his wife to Bechuanaland to serve as a minor official. The road to independence In 1955 it had become apparent that Britain was preparing to release its grip on Bechuanaland. Following the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, South African refugees Motsamai Mpho of the African National Congress (ANC) and Philip Matante, a Johannesburg preacher affiliated with the Pan-Africanist Congress, along with KT Motsete, a teacher from Malawi, formed the Bechuanaland People’s Party. Its immediate goal was independence for the Protectorate. In 1962, Seretse Khama and Quett Masire formed the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP), and were joined by Chief Bathoen II of the Ngwaketse. The BDP formulated a schedule for independence and promoted the transfer of the Capital from Mafikeng, to Gaborone, which was within Bechuanaland. A new non-racial constitution was drafted under the BDP, and a countdown to independence was set up to allow for a proper transfer of power. That’s how on 30 September 1966, the country, now called the Republic of Botswana, gained independence from The Great Britain. Going forward as Botswana Botswana was economically transformed by the discovery of diamonds near Orapa in 1967. The mining concession was given to De Beers with Botswana taking 75% of the profits. After the death of Khama in 1980, Sir Ketumile Masire took the helm. His presidency ended in March 1998 when Dr. Festus Mogae took over. Mogae’s rule ended in 2008, where, on first April, his vice president, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama became the fourth and current President of Botswana. Today Botswana boasts as the shining example of democracy in Africa And the world A transparent nation, whose governance has been praised by international organisations of repute Botswana’s economy, which was at ground level at independence, has seen the country grow from that little vagabond in the middle of Southern Africa, to a powerhouse and an envy of many African states. Covering 582, 000 Square kilometres in area Botswana is the 48th largest country in the world by area, A shocking detail about Botswana is that for a country that goes to bed early everyday, it has a population of only a little over 2 million people. Making it the 7th lowest population density in the world Independence Day 2015 We celebrate our 49th Independence Day on September 30, 2015

• published: 30 Sep 2015
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