XIXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Bechuanaland, present-day Botswana
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was a British political arrangement established in the context of competition among Tswana rulers, Boer expansion, and Cape colonial ambitions. Northern Bechuanaland was declared a British protectorate in 1885 after Tswana rulers sought imperial protection against settler encroachment. The extract presents protectorate status as a strategy that could preserve nominal self-government and external defence while imposing restrictions on sovereignty, land rights, and civil liberties.
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The Scramble for Bechuanaland involved three major forces. The rulers of the Kwena, Ngwato, Ngwaketse, and Tswana sections, supported by missionary allies, sought British imperial protection and trusteeship. Transvaal Boers viewed the territory as a hinterland rich in land, livestock, minerals, and labour, while Cape colonists represented by Rhodes sought to block Boer expansion and a possible Boer alliance with German South West Africa.
Tswana rulers sought protectorate status to prevent direct settler colonial rule. In 1876, alarmed by the prospect that Doppers from the Transvaal would cross Tswana territories toward Damaraland, Kgama, king of the Ngwato section, wrote to the Queen of England requesting protection and asking about its conditions. He emphasized that the relationship should be guided by Christian morality.
British policy was divided. The Rhodes-Robinson group preferred settler colonialism and considered joint annexation by the Cape and Transvaal, while the Mackenzie-Warren group opposed uncontrolled settler expansion because of its effects on Tswana Christian converts and mission schools. The extract credits Mackenzie's campaign in South Africa and England with helping to secure the imperial alternative.
Boer expansion proceeded through infiltration, incorporation, and disputed treaties. Boers signed what the extract calls bogus treaties with the Tlhaping and Rolong, then proclaimed the republics of Stellaland at Vryburg and Goshen at Rooigrond. Rivalries and wars among African chiefs were intensified by Boer intervention, producing a situation described as an abode of anarchy, filibustering, and outrage.
In 1884, Britain sent Sir Charles Warren to restore law and order and declared southern Bechuanaland a British crown colony. Mackenzie was appointed Deputy Commissioner but was soon replaced by Rhodes after Cape colonial opinion objected to his pro-African and anti-Boer policy. Britain then declared a protectorate over northern Bechuanaland in 1885 after discussions with several Tswana chiefs.
Protectorate status offered smaller African kingdoms a means of survival, though it did not preserve full sovereignty. Rulers retained a nominal degree of self-government and received defence from a permanent British police force, while restrictions affected sovereignty, land rights, and civil liberties. The extract states that the protectorate was intended to forestall settler colonialism, but the passage ends before describing the arrangement's full later development.
XIXᵉ siècle – XXᵉ siècle
Bechuanaland, present-day Botswana
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was a British political arrangement established in the context of competition among Tswana rulers, Boer expansion, and Cape colonial ambitions. Northern Bechuanaland was declared a British protectorate in 1885 after Tswana rulers sought imperial protection against settler encroachment. The extract presents protectorate status as a strategy that could preserve nominal self-government and external defence while imposing restrictions on sovereignty, land rights, and civil liberties.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The Scramble for Bechuanaland involved three major forces. The rulers of the Kwena, Ngwato, Ngwaketse, and Tswana sections, supported by missionary allies, sought British imperial protection and trusteeship. Transvaal Boers viewed the territory as a hinterland rich in land, livestock, minerals, and labour, while Cape colonists represented by Rhodes sought to block Boer expansion and a possible Boer alliance with German South West Africa.
Tswana rulers sought protectorate status to prevent direct settler colonial rule. In 1876, alarmed by the prospect that Doppers from the Transvaal would cross Tswana territories toward Damaraland, Kgama, king of the Ngwato section, wrote to the Queen of England requesting protection and asking about its conditions. He emphasized that the relationship should be guided by Christian morality.
British policy was divided. The Rhodes-Robinson group preferred settler colonialism and considered joint annexation by the Cape and Transvaal, while the Mackenzie-Warren group opposed uncontrolled settler expansion because of its effects on Tswana Christian converts and mission schools. The extract credits Mackenzie's campaign in South Africa and England with helping to secure the imperial alternative.
Boer expansion proceeded through infiltration, incorporation, and disputed treaties. Boers signed what the extract calls bogus treaties with the Tlhaping and Rolong, then proclaimed the republics of Stellaland at Vryburg and Goshen at Rooigrond. Rivalries and wars among African chiefs were intensified by Boer intervention, producing a situation described as an abode of anarchy, filibustering, and outrage.
In 1884, Britain sent Sir Charles Warren to restore law and order and declared southern Bechuanaland a British crown colony. Mackenzie was appointed Deputy Commissioner but was soon replaced by Rhodes after Cape colonial opinion objected to his pro-African and anti-Boer policy. Britain then declared a protectorate over northern Bechuanaland in 1885 after discussions with several Tswana chiefs.
Protectorate status offered smaller African kingdoms a means of survival, though it did not preserve full sovereignty. Rulers retained a nominal degree of self-government and received defence from a permanent British police force, while restrictions affected sovereignty, land rights, and civil liberties. The extract states that the protectorate was intended to forestall settler colonialism, but the passage ends before describing the arrangement's full later development.