Botswana Governance and Political History

Botswana Governance and Political History, Towards the turn of the 19th century, the people who resided in the area known as Botswana, made up at least eight ethnic Chiefdoms whose peoples shared a common language and history, and co-existed in relative peace. Traditional boundaries of the southern chiefdoms extended deep into South Africa, where there are over three million South Africans of Tswana descent. During this period, Britain was consolidating its military and economic strength as a major colonial power in Southern Africa. At the same time, Dutch settlers calling themselves Afrikaners (Boers) and German settlers in Namibia (then South West Africa) were pushing northwards and westwards, respectively, annexing more and more Batswana lands.