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| History | ||||
| The early history of the people and territory
of what is known as Botswana today is continuously being uncovered
as archaeologists continue to research on evidence from the past.
Indications of settled communities go as far back as the fourth century,
before that, the territory was sparsely populated by hunter-gatherer
communities of the san people. Major settlements took place in the
early 16th century. British Missionaries arrived in the 19th century
and settled across what was then known as Bechuanaland (Batswana Land
as missionaries pronounced it). Batswana Paramount Chiefs (Dikgosi
in setswana), Chief Bathoen I of the Bangwaketse, Chief Sechele I
of the Bakwena and Chief Khama III (known as Khama the Great) sought
British Government protection against the Boer (Afrikaaner) threat
in the last quarter of the 19th century. The territory was then called
Bechuanaland Protectorate until independence in 1966. |
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