Бечуаналенд протектораты және Боцвананың тәуелсіздігі

British protectorate in southern Africa; became Botswana in 1966
the protectorate which became independent Botswana in 1966

The Bechuanaland Protectorate (,/b//ɛ//tʃ//u/'/ɑː//n//ə//l//æ//n//d/) was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966.

The proclamation of a protectorate flanked by a new Crown colony to the south (British Bechuanaland) were primarily intended as safeguards against further expansion by Germany, Portugal, or Boers. Contrary to what was reported at the time by Warren and others, not all chiefs affected by the protectorate were in favour of it. The most powerful ruler was King Khama III, who had strong support from the British government, and was especially popular among evangelicals in Britain. He collaborated closely with the British military, and kept his vast, but underpopulated lands independent from intruders from South Africa. Khama's eldest son, Sekgoma II, became chief of the Bamangwato upon Khama's death in 1923. Sekgoma II's eldest son was named Seretse. Throughout his life Khama was widowed and remarried several times. One wife, Semane, birthed a son named Tshekedi. Sekgoma II's reign lasted only a year or so, leaving his son Seretse, who at the time was an infant, as the rightful heir to the chieftainship (Tshekedi was not in line to be chief since he did not descend from Khama's oldest son Sekgoma II). So in keeping with tradition, Tshekedi acted as regent of the tribe until Seretse was old enough to assume the chieftainship. The transfer of responsibility from Tshekedi to Seretse was planned to occur after Seretse had returned from his law studies overseas in Britain. Tshekedi's regency as acting chief of the Bamangwato is best remembered for his expansion of the mephato (regiments) to build primary schools, grain silos, and water reticulation systems, for his frequent confrontations with the British colonial authorities over the administration of justice in Ngwato country, and for his efforts to deal with a major split in the tribe after Seretse married a white woman, Ruth Williams, while studying law in Britain. Tshekedi opposed the marriage on the grounds that under Tswana custom a chief could not marry simply as he pleased. He was a servant of the people; the chieftaincy itself was at stake. Seretse would not budge in his desire to marry Ruth, and he did, while exiled in Britain in 1948. Tribal opinion about the marriage basically split evenly along demographic lines – older people went with Tshekedi, the younger with Seretse. In the end, British authorities exiled both men (Tshekedi from the Bamangwato territory, Seretse from the Protectorate altogether). Rioting broke out and a number of people were killed. Seretse and Ruth were allowed to return to the Protectorate and Seretse and Tshekedi were able to patch things up a bit between themselves. By now though, Seretse saw his destiny not as chief of the Bamangwato tribe, but rather as leader of the Botswana Democratic Party and as President of the soon to be independent nation of Botswana in 1966. He would remain Botswana's President until his death from pancreatic cancer in 1980. The story of Seretse and Ruth forms the basis of the 2016 film A United Kingdom.

The Bechuanaland Protectorate was one of the "High Commission Territories", the others being Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Swaziland (now Eswatini). The High Commissioner had some of the functions of a governor, but the major tribes were self governing, and the protectorate was not a British possession, so was not available for white settlement. The office was first held by the Governor of the Cape Colony, then by the Governor General of South Africa, then by the High Commissioner for Southern Africa until independence. In each of the three territories, the administration of Britain's responsibilities was headed by a Resident Commissioner with some of the functions of a Governor but less authority.

No. (Number) Picture Name Elected Took office Left office Political Party 1 Seretse Khama 1965 3 March 1965 30 September 1966 BDP

Bechuanaland postage stamps were issued from 1888 to 1966. Overprinted stamps were issued until 1932, when the first stamps inscribed "Bechuanaland Protectorate" were issued. On 14 February 1961 the South African rand was introduced, necessitating the surcharging of the existing definitive stamps until new ones were issued.