Bechuanaland Protectorate
| Bechuanaland Protectorate | ||||||||||
| Protectorate of the United Kingdom | ||||||||||
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Anthem God Save the Queen |
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 An 1885 map showing the Bechuanaland Protectorate prior to the creation of the crown colony of British Bechuanaland and the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty.
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| Capital |
Mafeking (1885–1965) Gaborone (1965) |
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| Languages | English (official) Setswana, Kalanga, Northern Ndebele widely spoken |
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| Religion | Anglicanism, Methodism, Badimo | |||||||||
| Government | Protectorate | |||||||||
| Historical era | New Imperialism | |||||||||
| • | Protectorate established | 31 March 1885 | ||||||||
| • | Expanded | 1890 | ||||||||
| • | Independence | 30 September 1966 | ||||||||
| Currency |
Pound sterling (1885–61) South African rand (1961–66) |
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| Today part of |
 Botswana South Africa
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The Bechuanaland Protectorate /bɛˈtʃwɑːnəˌlænd/ was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885, by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in southern Africa. It became the Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966.
Scottish missionary John Mackenzie (1835–99), who lived at Shoshong from 1862–76, "believed that the Ngwato and other African peoples with whom he worked were threatened by Boer freebooters encroaching on their territory from the south." He campaigned for the establishment of what became the Bechuanaland Protectorate, to be ruled directly from Britain.
Austral Africa: Losing It or Ruling It is Mackenzie’s account of events leading to the establishment of the protectorate. Influenced by Mackenzie, in January 1885 the British cabinet decided to send a military expedition to South Africa to assert British sovereignty over the contested territory. Sir Charles Warren (1840–1927) led a force of 4,000 imperial troops north from Cape Town. After making treaties with several African chiefs, Warren announced the establishment of the protectorate in March 1885. Mackenzie accompanied Warren, and Austral Africa contains a detailed account of the expedition.
Bechuanaland meant the country of the Tswana and for administrative purposes was divided into two political entities. The northern part was administered as the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the southern part was administered as the crown colony of British Bechuanaland. British Bechuanaland was incorporated into the Cape Colony in 1895 and now forms part of South Africa.
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