History of Botswana facts for kids

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The history of Botswana encompasses the region's ancient and tribal history, its colonisation as the Bechuanaland Protectorate, and the present-day Republic of Botswana. The first modern humans to inhabit Botswana were the San people, and agriculture first developed approximately 2,300 years ago. The first Bantu peoples arrived c. 200 CE, and the first Tswana people arrived about 200 years later. The Tswana people split into various tribes over the following thousand years as migrations within the region continued, culminating in the Difaqane in the late 18th century. European contact first occurred in 1816, which led to the Christianization of the region.

Facing threats from German South West Africa and the Afrikaners, the most influential Tswana chiefs negotiated the creation of a protectorate under the United Kingdom in 1885. The British divided the territory into tribal reserves for each of the major chiefs to rule, giving the chiefs more power than they had previously, but it otherwise exercised only limited direct control over the protectorate. The British government took a more active role beginning in the 1930s. Botswana supported British involvement in World War II and many fought as part of the African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps.

A power struggle took place in the 1950s between the Ngwato chief Seretse Khama and his regent Tshekedi Khama. Seretse's marriage to a white woman, Ruth Williams Khama, led the British to ban him from the protectorate. He returned in 1956 with popular support, and tribes moved toward elected government as an independence movement formed. A national legislature was created in 1961, and political parties were formed. Seretse became the leader of the Bechuanaland Democratic Party, which was endorsed by the British government to lead post-independence, and it saw overwhelming support in the the first election in 1965. The Republic of Botswana was granted full independence in 1966.

With a strong mandate, Seretse and his party implemented liberal democracy and began developing infrastructure in what was one of the world's poorest nations. Extensive diamond deposits were discovered in 1969, causing a massive reorganisation of Botswana's economy. The Debswana mining company was created in 1978, and Botswana became the world's fastest growing economy. The HIV/AIDS pandemic became a crisis in Botswana in the 1980s, and the 1990s came with the introduction of political factionalism after the political scandal of the Kgabo Commission. Political conflict within the Botswana Democratic Party continued over the following decades with a split occurring in 2010 and the exile of former president Ian Khama at the behest of his protege Mokgweetsi Masisi in 2021.

Pre-colonial history
- Early history
- 19th century
Bechuanaland Protectorate
Republic of Botswana
See also

Pre-colonial history

Early history

The first hominins to appear in present-day Botswana are estimated to have arrived over 186,000 years ago, when Acheulean tools were used by early hominins in the region. Study of southern Africa in the Stone Age has been limited. The earliest modern humans to inhabit the area were the San people.

Agriculture and ceramics were first introduced to the region approximately 2,300 years ago, and domestication of animals first took place approximately 2,000–2,200 years ago. Among the earliest crops were pearl millet, finger millet, sorghum, Bambara groundnuts, cowpeas, and cucurbits. The earliest livestock included sheep, goats, and cattle, all of which were introduced to the region during this period. These practices were brought by peoples from East Africa migrating to the region. Their descendants, intermarrying with the San people, became the Khoe people.

The Kgalagadi people were the first of the Bantu peoples to settle in present-day Botswana, arriving c. 200 CE. The first Tswana people (singular Motswana, plural Batswana) are estimated to have arrived c. 400 CE. These Bantu peoples brought iron and copper tools to the region and settled along permanent waterways. Over time, the Tswana people organised themselves into separate tribes, called a morafe (plural merafe), each led by a chief called a kgosi (plural dikgosi). This system produced a more hierarchical government relative to others in the region. Cattle became a central part of society in the region, and ownership of cattle denoted one's status. The early history of the Tswana people remains largely unknown because little archaeological evidence has been left.

The Taukome people arrived in present-day Botswana by the 7th century, and their possession of glass beads indicates early connection to Indian Ocean trade. Access to the Indian Ocean trade expanded in the region during the 10th century. The Toutswe people became the predominant group in present-day Botswana during the 11th and 12th centuries as they became wealthier through ownership of cattle. Specularite mining became widespread during this period.

Neighbouring present-day Botswana during the 11th and 12th centuries were the people of Leopard's Kopje, who formed the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and projected influence throughout the region. Their influence declined by the 13th century, and they were replaced as the regional power by Great Zimbabwe as the gold trade became a driving factor in the region's economy. After the fall of Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century, several other states developed. The Kingdom of Butua, formed by the Kalanga peoples, was established on the present-day Botswana–Zimbabwe border.

Migration of Tswana peoples through present-day Botswana occurred over the following centuries as they were displaced by native and colonial populations in the south. Large migrations of Kalanga and Sotho–Tswana peoples into present-day Botswana occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Tswana people had a presence throughout present-day Botswana by 1600. Different Tswana tribes were able to separate and form independently from one another as the region's primary asset, cattle, is easily transported. The first Tswana state was formed by the Ngwaketse people in the mid-18th century. Subsequent states were formed by the Kwena people, the Ngwato people, and the Tawana people over the following decades.

19th century

The Difaqane, a period of conflict, migration, and displacement in southern Africa, took place during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This caused the Tswana tribes to more thoroughly spread and establish a stronger presence throughout the territory of present-Day Botswana. They settled primarily in the hardveld that makes up the eastern region of present-day Botswana. The Kwena and Ngwaketse peoples migrated from Transvaal to the sandveld.

European missionaries first arrived in present-day Botswana in 1816 through the London Missionary Society. This and other missionary groups worked to convert the dikgosi to Christianity and to build missionary schools. British traders arrived in the 1830s and engaged in transactions with the dikgosi. Kgosi Sechele I of the Kwena people took advantage of the new trading routes, securing control of British trade for his tribe.

The merafe reestablished their nation states in the 1840s as each established several towns and villages of varying sizes. Governance was based around the kgotla, a deliberative forum in which the kgosi or a regional leader heard the concerns of most male citizens before making decisions. The first Kgatla people to settle in present-day Botswana, the Mmanaana people, migrated from South Africa in the early 19th century before settling in Moshupa and Thamaga.

The 19th century Tswana people used several economic ideas that were rare in southern Africa, including credit, service contracts, and the mafisa system of the rich loaning cattle to the poor in exchange for labour. They also had a conception of private property by the mid-19th century, and both married men and married women were entitled to land rights. The men typically herded cattle while the women grew crops. Sorghum was the region's most commonly grown crop in the 19th century. Land was widely available, but droughts meant that farming was inconsistent. The influx of European settlers nearby allowed the Tswana tribes to incorporate themselves into the global economy.

Sechele I requested a British protectorate in 1853 to end regional conflicts, but he was denied. By the 1860s, migration out of the region increased as Batswana men travelled to work in South African mines. The discovery of the Tati Goldfields triggered the first European gold rush of Southern Africa in 1868. The major dikgosi were all Christians by the 1870s. By the end of the decade, kgosi Khama III of the Ngwato people seized control of British trade from the Kwena people.

Bechuanaland Protectorate

Formation of the protectorate

Three chiefs went to London in 1885 to request that the British government establish a protectorate, fearing encroachment by German South West Africa and the Afrikaners. They feared that the alternative to British control was settler colonialism by Germany. This voyage saw the Tswana tribes operating as a single entity for the first time, setting a precedent for a unified nation. The United Kingdom feared increasing German influence in the region, and it agreed to form the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The British wished to preserve its influence over the Tswana tribes, as they provided a connection between southern and central Africa.

The region was divided into tribal land, ruled by the dikgosi, and crown land controlled by the United Kingdom. Eight merafe were recognised by the British upon the creation of the protectorate. The largest four were given tribal reserves: the Kwena, the Ngwaketse, the Ngwato, and the Tawana. Three smaller ones were also recognised: the Kgatla, the Tlokwa, and the Malete. An eighth, the Tshidi, were also recognised and given a reserve crossing the border between the protectorate and South Africa. While members of non-Tswana minorities were allowed to participate in Tswana society and governance, they were given no tribal reserves of their own. The introduction of tribal reserves altered the nature of Tswana governance, as merafe had previously been less defined and subject to expansion or shifting. With territories divided into tribal jurisdictions, Batswana were no longer able to easily leave a merafe. The protectorate initially extended to the Ngwato, but it was extended to reach the Chobe River in 1890. Other Tswana peoples lived to the south of the protectorate and were later absorbed into South Africa.

The Kgafela people settled in Mochudi in 1887. This Kgatla group quickly became influential in the region and its name became synonymous with Kgatla. British soldiers led by Charles Warren arrived in 1891 to formally establish the protectorate. Its government was defined, and a commissioner was appointed as its head. The commissioner was given broad powers over the protectorate, so long as he respected previously established tribal law. Its capital was the South African city of Vryburg, meaning that the colonial rulers did not reside in the protectorate and had little direct involvement in its affairs. The centralisation of British rule in South Africa meant that the Bechuanaland Protectorate was economically dependent on South Africa.

The British government believed the Bechuanaland Protectorate to be only a temporary entity and expected that it would soon be absorbed by a British colony. In the meantime, it believed that a self-sufficient protectorate would cost less to maintain. For these reasons, the colonial administration imposed very little direct control of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The dikgosi benefited from these affairs and were able to empower and enrich themselves; they retained broad autonomy, but colonial backing meant that they no longer needed the consent of the merafe to maintain rule. Tribal rule became autocratic, which led to human rights abuses and discrimination against women and ethnic minorities.

Early years of the protectorate

The British planned to eventually incorporate the Bechuanaland Protectorate into the Union of South Africa. In the years after the protectorate's creation, the United Kingdom entered talks with Cecil Rhodes to absorb it into the British South Africa Company. In response, three of the most influential dikgosi—Khama III of the Ngwato, Sebele I of the Kwena, and Bathoen I of the Ngwaketse—made a diplomatic trip to the United Kingdom in 1895 and convinced the government not to complete the deal. This set a precedent of dikgosi interacting with the British as a unified group and enshrined these three figures as early figures in Botswana's history as an independent nation. Also in 1895, the capital was moved from Vryburg to another South African city, Mafeking.

When the United Kingdom raised the Pioneer Column to go to war with the Ndebele people, Khama III of the Ngwato assisted by sending soldiers. The Kgatla tribe was later part of the Boer War, fighting alongside the British Army.

The early colonial economy of the Bechuanaland Protectorate remained much the same as the pre-colonial economy. The United Kingdom primarily used the protectorate as a supply of labour, offering high wages to Batswana who migrated south to work in mines. Taxes were also imposed, beginning with a hut tax in 1899, which was then replaced by a poll tax in 1909. Colonial taxes in the Bechuanaland Protectorate were higher than those in neighbouring colonies. These factors caused mass exodus to the south, and the dikgosi allowed more generous power sharing with citizens to incentivise them to stay. By 1910, all merafe had adopted Christianity. Bechuanaland sent several hundred soldiers to assist the British Army during World War I. The colonial administration established the Native Advisory Council, an annual meeting of the dikgosi and other influential people in the protectorate, in 1920. This allowed the British government to hear from and manage the tribes collectively instead of individually.

Sebele II became kgosi of the Kwena in 1918, succeeding his father, Sechele II. Sechele II had conflicted with the dominant London Missionary Society, permitting an Anglican presence and reinstating many traditional practices such as polygyny, rainmaking, and bogwera. Sebele II continued his father's challenge to the London Missionary Society, to the grievance of the British government. Among the Ngwato people, Sekgoma II was the kgosi for three years until his death in 1926. His son, Seretse Khama, was still an infant, so Tshekedi Khama became regent. Tshekedi came to be recognised as a representative for all of the Tswana tribes.

Development and increased British influence

In the 1920s, kgosi Isang Pilane of the Kgatla people oversaw the Bechuanaland Protectorate's first major water development scheme, having sixteen boreholes drilled, seven of which became successful water supplies. These became more common over the following decades as the British government took interest in expanding the protectorate's economy. By the 1930s, Isang Pilane and the Native Advisory Council privatised the boreholes, as they were not maintained under collective ownership. A severe drought occurred in the early 1930s, killing over 60% of the protectorate's cattle.

The British government took a more active role in the protectorate's governance beginning in 1930. That year, it began providing direct funding to the protectorate. Charles Rey was appointed Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, and he was responsible for reorganising the economy around cattle exports. An initiative to reform the protectorate toward mining and commercial agricultural development was attempted but saw push back from the dikgosi.

Resident Commissioner Rey came into conflict with kgosi Sebele II, having him exiled in 1931. Sebele II was replaced by his younger brother, Kgari. Further initiatives were attempted by the British government in 1934 to constrain the unchecked power of the dikgosi following the overthrow of Sebele II. These initiatives mandated advisory councils that dikgosi had to consult and required that the British government be given access to court records. Kgosi Bathoen II of Ngwaketse and regent Tshekedi Khama of Ngwato issued a legal challenge to these initiatives. Although the British court ruled against the challenge, the new policies were never fully implemented. A new resident commissioner, Charles Arden-Clarke, was appointed in 1936 and worked more closely with the dikgosi.

Early years of World War II

Fears of German attack in Bechuanaland grew in the lead up to World War II due to its strategic position between Britain's central and southern colonies in Africa. 11 days before war was declared, the British government warned the protectorate to be on standby, and military forces were organised. Four days after Britain declared war on Germany, Resident Commissioner Arden-Clarke held a meeting with the dikgosi where they pledged full support for the war effort. The next day, the high commission issued a proclamation of emergency powers that gave it total control over public activity in the protectorate, but the dikgosi were informed that they would be responsible for most enforcement and peacekeeping.

The earliest years of World War II had almost no effect on the people of Bechuanaland, and many only had a vague idea that the war existed. The colonial administration shrank as large numbers of white residents enlisted in the British Army. Those who remained were focused on security planning in case southern Africa became another front in the war. Against the wishes of the dikgosi, the colonial administration encouraged Batswana who wished to serve with the British Army to enlist with the South African Native Military Corps. About 700 Batswana men enlisted with the group.

Maintaining the Bechuanaland Protectorate became a low priority for the United Kingdom during the Great Depression and World War II, and the protectorate received no funding from the United Kingdom during the war. The British Empire had relatively little control over Bechuanaland compared to its other territories, and British efforts to control wartime production in the protectorate were unsuccessful. The war drastically altered the protectorate's economy as it went on, introducing shortages, rationing, and higher prices. Profiteering and price gouging were common, and the colonial administration, unable to enforce price controls, resorted to gentlemen's agreements with traders. Taxes were raised and Colonial Development Fund projects were curtailed at the onset of World War II to establish financial independence from the empire. The Control of Livestock Industry Proclamation No. 1 of 1940 was passed to tax cattle, the protectorate's main industry, but it met overwhelming resistance from Batswana and the European Advisory Council. A war fund operated in Bechuanaland, and although the United Kingdom expected that donations be voluntary, dikgosi invoked their authority over their tribes to enforce donations. It was replaced by a levy in 1941, but this was less popular and proved difficult to enforce.

Batswana participation in World War II

Military recruitment began in Bechuanaland in 1941. About 5,500 men were trained and sent to war within the first six months. Another 5,000 Batswana men joined the war in 1942. In total, approximately 11,000 soldiers from Bechuanaland fought alongside the British Army during the war. Over 10,000 of these served in the British Army's African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps. The dikgosi traditionally had the right to conscript soldiers, and they ignored the colonial government's wishes that military service should be entirely voluntary. Regent Tshekedi Khama of Ngwato made himself unpopular by using military conscription as a tool for control, weaponizing it to silence critics and political opponents. Men who wished to avoid conscription sometimes fled to South Africa or to remote areas like the Okavango Delta swamps and the Kgalagadi bush. Others used more immediate precautions, such as digging holes when recruiters visited.

The dikgosi wished to leverage their participation in the war for additional rights within the British Empire, and they feared that British defeat would make them subjects of Germany or South Africa, a fate they wished to avoid. The war effort was also an opportunity to reclaim Tswana men who had migrated to South Africa for mining jobs; the dikgosi wished to end this practice and felt they could do so by offering military jobs. Some military pay was deferred to the families of soldiers, and limitations on exports were lifted during the war, causing an influx of money into Bechuanaland.

Relative to other nations in the British Empire, the people of Beschuanaland approved of the war. Many Batswana held a sense of loyalty to the empire or felt that their interests were aligned. Some dikgosi, such as Kgari Sechele II of the Kwena and Molefi Pilane of the Kgatla, personally enlisted. They served as regimental sergeant majors, the highest rank available to Batswana.

The High Commissions Territories Corps was stationed in the Middle East from 1946 to 1949.

Independence movement

The end of World War II came with drastic social change. The digosi came to be seen as less essential to social structure, and many gave up their universal claims over tribal cattle. Other public resources, such as land and labour, were privatised and commodified. Access to education created a class of liberal intellectuals who opposed the rule of the dikgosi and began forming their own centres of power in workers' associations and civic groups. By 1946, only 2% of the population had employment outside of agriculture and services. The protectorate saw a major increase in birth rates as part of the mid-20th century baby boom in the years after World War II, accompanied by an increase in life expectancy. The colonial administration began its first development project in the protectorate, a slaughterhouse, in the 1950s. The British, still expecting to merge the protectorate into South Africa, finally scrapped this plan after the beginning of Apartheid. Efforts began to develop a new path for the protectorate's future.

When Seretse Khama came of age, regent Tshekedi Khama attempted to hold on to power. Seretse had married a white woman, Ruth Williams, while studying in the United Kingdom, causing scandal in the Ngwato royal family. Though the public initially opposed the marriage, Tshekedi's unpopularity shifted the issue in Seretse's favour. The issue was raised in the kgotla in 1949, and Tshekedi's rule was overwhelmingly rejected by thousands in attendance. Tshekedi and his supporters fled to the Kwena in exile.

The British government was less tolerant of Seretse's marriage to a white woman. In an attempt to appease the Apartheid government of South Africa, it banished the couple from the protectorate in 1950. This provoked a burgeoning nationalist movement among Seretse's supporters in the protectorate, which fully emerged in 1952. During Seretse's absence, the United Kingdom placed the district commissioner in charge for four years before appointing Rasebolai Kgamane, a supporter of Tshekedi, as regent.

The Ngwato tribe rebelled against Seretse's banishment. His supporters petitioned for his return, and riots broke out when they were denied. Seretse was eventually allowed to return in 1956. Throughout this ordeal, power shifted away from the chiefdomship and toward electoral bodies. Tshekedi and Seretse made peace upon Seretse's return, and Seretse became the de facto leader of the Ngwato, though the United Kingdom forbade him from being the official kgosi. With British support, the Ngwato tribe developed a tribal council, of which both Seretse and Tshekedi were members. Other tribes then established similar tribal councils, which served as checks on the power of the dikgosi. Some animosity remained between the two men: Tshekedi wished to retain the tribal government and the power of the dikgosi, while Seretse envisioned a representative democracy and weaker dikgosi. The amount of power invested in the dikgosi became the most contentious issue in the burgeoning independence movement, especially among the Ngwato people and the Khama family.

The Bechuanaland Protectorate Federal Party was the first political party formed in the protectorate when it was created by the Ngwato union leader Leetile Disang Raditladi in 1959. Composed primarily of elites and intellectuals, it advocated a unification of the Tswana tribes. The party failed to gain support and was short-lived. The following year, the Bechuanaland People's Party (BPP, now the Botswana People's Party) was created as a more radical party, objecting to traditional tribal government and gaining appeal among migrant workers. The BPP, created as a Motswana counterpart to the African National Congress party of South Africa, it supported immediate independence and the total abolition of chiefdom. Fearing that the BPP would undermine the existing government and ignite tensions with the Apartheid government of South Africa, the dikgosi and the British government restricted its ability to meet.

The protectorate's tribes collectively formed a legislative council in 1961. The Kwena people found themselves under a regent, Neale Sechele, in 1963, meaning that they had little political influence as the independence movement developed. The Bechuanaland Protectorate Development Plan 1963/1968 was drafted through a deliberative process in 1963, creating an outline for the nation's independence.

As the population was politically inactive overall, the United Kingdom came to be one of the leading forces toward independence. Worrying that the BPP was too radical, the United Kingdom encouraged its preferred leader, Seretse Khama, to form a political party. Though he agreed with the BPP's antiracist and republican values, he opposed its dogmatic approach to politics and its acceptance of socialism. Khama agreed to give up his claim over the Ngwato people to serve as a politician, forming the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP, now the Botswana Democratic Party) in 1962. The BDP established itself as the "party of chiefs", and it adopted ideas associated with pre-colonial tribal rule. The United Kingdom supported the BDP, understanding that it would maintain the colonial era livestock trade. By 1963, the Kgatla kgosi Linchwe was the only kgosi who opposed the BDP and had political influence, but the Kgatla people were in favor of the BDP, so he remained apolitical. A transition process began with BDP expected to rule an independent Botswana, and the colonial government worked with BDP leadership to prepare them for running a nation.

A conference was held in 1963 to oversee the creation of a new constitution. Internal strife within the BPP meant that the BDP had the most influence over the process. Tshekedi Khama had died by this time, so Bathoen II became the leader of the pro-federalisation faction, believing it would keep power in the hands of the dikgosi. The United Kingdom and the Batswana politicians endorsed a unitary national government because Botswana was too poor to divide its resources and because a lack of centralization would make it vulnerable to attacks from other nations. Federalisation proved politically unviable, so a compromise was made that the dikgosi would form the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, an advisory body within the Parliament of Botswana. The chiefs still opposed this arrangement, and in a movement led by Bathoen, the Ntlo ya Dikgosi passed a vote of no confidence in the new government, but its lack of political power prevented it from leveraging meaningful reform.

Gaborone was built in 1965 and declared the new capital. Its location was chosen as a neutral setting between the major merafe. The constitution was implemented the same year. With this in effect, the United Kingdom granted the protectorate self-governance. 1965 also saw the establishment of the state-owned National Development Bank.

The BDP ran an extensive campaign during the first general election. Led by Seretse Khama and Quett Masire, the party campaigned in almost every village in the protectorate. Unlike other political figures in Bechuanaland, Seretse Khama had appeal across the different tribes. The BDP was subsequently elected to lead the first government. After its formation, the Ntlo ya Dikgosi delivered a vote of no confidence in the constitution in 1966, leading to a national campaign in support of the constitution that garnered enough support for the dikgosi to end their efforts to challenge it. The protectorate was granted independence as the Republic of Botswana in 1966.

Republic of Botswana

Botswana in 1966

Independence for Botswana meant the implementation of liberal democracy, bringing about elections, human rights protections, and civil service. This allowed for a merit-based system of promotion and the creation of a technocratic bureaucracy. Seretse Khama was elected to serve as the first prime minister and first president of Botswana. The country retained much of its pre-colonial tribal institutions after independence. This was an effect of both the strong centralised government associated with the Tswana tribes and the relatively limited intervention of the British government in colonial times. The deliberative nature of the nation's politics before and after independence was an exception to many other African nations that became authoritarian after independence. Instead of abolishing the bokgosi, the new government incorporated it into the legal system, giving the dikgosi judicial powers through the kgotla, subject to appellate courts. Elected councils became the primary local authorities. A tradition of subservience to leadership, once given to the dikgosi, shifted to the presidency. The government reinforced its stability by staffing its civil service with foreign experts, as opposed to other new African countries that often expelled foreign experts.

The United Kingdom continued funding Botswana for the first five years of its existence. At the time of independence, Botswana was an extremely poor nation, more so than most others in Africa. It did not have an educated workforce, with only 40 citizens having university degrees, and there were no known natural resource supplies to support the nation. Botswana was dependent on the Apartheid regime in South Africa for access to the global community, and the majority of Botswana's labourers were migrant workers in South Africa. Botswana came into more direct conflict with Rhodesia, which caused military skirmishes until 1978.

Limited British involvement meant that little development had taken place since colonisation. Literacy was at 25%, and only 10 kilometres of paved road existed. Approximately 90% of the population was in abject poverty, and of the population were cattle farmers or subsistence farmers. As the nation achieved independence, a severe drought eliminated 30–50% of the cattle population. Other nations had low expectations for Botswana, and throughout Africa it was seen as an Apartheid Bantustan. This relationship with Apartheid was also a factor in Botswana's success as an independent nation: the Batswana leadership wished to avoid the same fate as South Africa should the nation fail, and the diplomatic connections formed with the West to prevent subsumption by South Africa meant that Botswana was more trusting of Western powers and willing to accept their assistance.

The early leadership of Botswana was dominated by the ruling tribal families as well as a small number of highly educated public servants. Their economic and ideological similarities meant that the government remained stable without political infighting. Though Bathoen left his position as chief to pursue politics, most other dikgosi accepted their reduced political power in the new government. A lack of corruption gave the state more legitimacy and won the favour of Western allies. Unlike most newly formed African nations, much of the leadership came from the agricultural community, meaning that their interests aligned with the majority. This encouraged the new government to retain colonial-era policies that benefited cattle farmers. The BDP's pan-tribal appeal and the mutual interest in establishing independence further incentivised the new government to act in the interest of the majority. Small groups of white settlers remained in the country and objected to its independence. Though they would later be crucial in Botswana's development, mineral rights were given low priority upon independence, and the merafe transferred them to the central government in 1967.

Presidency of Seretse Khama

In 1967, diamonds were discovered in Botswana by the South African diamond company De Beers, and mining began shortly after. The government was involved with a renegotiation of the Southern African Customs Union in 1969 to greatly improve its economic leverage in the region. It partnered with De Beers the same year to carry out larger mining operations.

Khama and his administration implemented policies geared toward the creation of infrastructure and public goods, particularly the paving of roads. This came at the expense of commerce and production, which was limited to the funding of livestock. Public welfare programs were also established. The discovery of diamonds ensured that these programs received sufficient funding. These investments and a conservative approach to government spending prevented the Dutch disease scenario that crippled other resource-laden African countries. Education was expanded throughout the nation, and the Tswana language was standardised alongside English at the expense of other languages.

Quett Masire, serving as Vice-President under Seretse Khama as well as secretary general of the BDP, exercised control over the nation's budgeting and spending by creating a series of National Development Plans, subject to the approval of the National Assembly and the Economic Committee of the Cabinet. Iterations of these plans remained a central facet of government policy well after Khama and Masire's successors took office.

The Water Act and the Tribal Land Act were enacted in 1968, creating the Water Apportionment Board and twelve land boards, respectively. These oversaw the apportionment of water and land rights by the state rather than through the ownership of each morafe. The Tribal Grazing Lands Policy was implemented in 1975 to prevent overgrazing, but it proved unsuccessful.

The first election after independence took place in 1969. The BDP did slightly worse relative to its 1965 performance, and Vice-President Masire lost his seat to Bathoen, requiring him to take a specially elected seat. The Botswana National Front (BNF) was founded by Kenneth Koma and became the primary opposition party to the BDP. The BPP faded in relevance as the politics of Botswana developed.

The state-owned Botswana Development Corporation was founded in 1970. By 1973, diamonds made up 10% of Botswana's GDP, and by the end of the 1970s, mining was the largest industry in the country. As the diamond economy developed and investments were made back into the country, Botswana escaped poverty and came to be seen as a success among the other nations in post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa. These developments made Botswana the fastest growing economy in the world. The upper and middle classes saw the most benefit, increasing wealth inequality, but it also meant taxes could be lowered, which earned the support of peasants.

With the 1970s came an increase in locally educated Batswana, who became more influential in government. The BDP was again highly successful in the 1974 election. Minimum wages were introduced the same year, and the country began issuing its own currency, the Botswana pula, in 1976. Within a decade of independence, it was one of the wealthiest nations in the Third World. The economic transformation is referred to as Botswana's "miracle". The Tribal Grazing Land Policy, which eventually came to be seen as a failure, was implemented in 1975.

The military of Botswana was established in 1977. Prior to this, the Botswana Police Service was responsible for national security. The lack of military meant that Botswana was not susceptible to leading causes of instability in other African nations: military coups and corruption through military spending.

In its partnership with De Beers, the government of Botswana formed the Debswana mining company in 1978, acquiring significant income for the state. Mining became the predominant industry of the nation's economy over the following decades, and Botswana became the world's fastest growing economy. Cattle farming saw a corresponding drop and lost the significance that it had previously held.

Presidency of Quett Masire

After Seretse Khama's death in 1980, Vice-President Quett Masire became the president of Botswana. The 1980s saw the introduction of HIV/AIDS in Botswana, and it became one of the most heavily affected countries in the world. By 1997, life expectancy would drop from 67 to 50. During the 1980s, South Africa began military incursions into Botswana to seek out South African rebels. In response to the civilian casualties, the government of Botswana increased military spending. A severe drought affected Botswana from 1982 to 1987, necessitating government food assistance for about 65% of rural Batswana. Mid-way through the 1980s, the diamond industry reached its peak at 53% of the national GDP. Strong opposition to the BDP-controlled government first arose in the 1980s. Opposition parties began winning local elections, interest groups began forming, and five major anti-BDP newspapers began publication. The government responded to a burgeoning labour movement by passing heavy restrictions on unions in 1983. Free secondary education was established in 1989.

The Kgabo Commission was held in 1991 to investigate governmental land boards, and it found that ethical violations had been committed by Vice-President Peter Mmusi and BDP Secretary General Daniel Kwelagobe, both of whom were also members of the Cabinet of Botswana. Facing outrage within the government and among the public, both resigned. The fallout created two polarised factions within the party, one led by the two former cabinet members (the Big Two) and one led by their opponents (the Big Five). Masire chose Festus Mogae as the new vice-president because he was not affiliated with either faction. The scandal and the resulting schism in the BDP allowed the Botswana National Front (BNF) to become a major opposition party after the 1994 general election. With the added complication of urbanization reducing the BDP's rural base, opposition parties held a significant minority in the National Assembly. Following Mmusi's death, Kwelagobe aligned with Ponatshego Kedikilwe, and they formed the Barata-Phathi faction of the BDP. The Big Five developed into the A-Team faction.

A series of governmental and electoral reforms were implemented in the final years of Masire's presidency. Election supervision was transferred to an independent body, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, postal voting was implemented, and policies were enacted to protect labour rights and gender equality. Masire wished to create a stable order of succession and to ensure that his chosen successor Vice-President Mogae became president, so he worked with the lawyer Parks Tafa to draft a constitutional amendment. This implemented automatic succession and term limits for the presidency. He then forced the amendment through on his own initiative. Reforming the nation's economy, a tentative system of tripartism was implemented to bring together government, the private sector, and labour representatives.

Presidency of Festus Mogae

Masire stepped down as president on 1 April 1998, and he was succeeded by Vice-President Festus Mogae. Mogae made the controversial decision to appoint Ian Khama, commander of the army and the son of Seretse Khama, as the next vice-president, passing his choice through by threatening to dissolve parliament. Although they were officially neutral between the factions of the BDP, Mogae and Khama were both understood to be major figures among the A-Team.

1998 saw one of many splits within the BNF opposition party. It had divided into two factions: the conservatives who held socialist beliefs and the progressives who held social democratic beliefs. Violence at the party's congress saw progressives split off into their own party, the Botswana Congress Party, which became the main opposition party until they lost most of their seats in the 1999 election. This division of the opposition, as well as the civil reforms of the previous years, allowed the BDP to regain some of the seats that it lost in 1994.

In the 2000s, Botswana invested heavily in the development of an air force. Mogae had one of the government's most prominent critics, Kenneth Good, deported in February 2005.

Presidency of Ian Khama

Iam Khama succeeded to the presidency at the end of Mogae's term on 1 April 2008. As the party chose its leadership in 2009, Khama appointed numerous A-Team figures to party sub-committees despite the victory of the Barata-Phathi during the party's congress. When the party's secretary general Gomolemo Motswaledi consulted with lawyers to question the legality of Khama's actions, Khama had him suspended from the committee. After taking the issue to court, it was found that the incumbent president is immune from legal prosecution, and Khama suspended Motswaledi from the BDP entirely. In early 2010, Khama suspended and then expelled several other members of the Barata-Phathi faction from the BDP. This led to the BDP's first major split in March when the Barata-Phathi faction left the party to form the Botswana Movement of Democracy.

After a steady decline, the diamond industry of Botswana stabilised at about 39% of the GDP in 2009. The Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) led an unprecedented two-month strike of the nation's civil service to demand a 16% pay raise in 2011, and the government responded by removing thousands of employees from their positions. The removals were overseen by Mokgweetsi Masisi, the Minister for Presidential Affairs. To oppose the government's position, BOFEPUSU facilitated a merger of major opposition parties into the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). The BDP retained its majority in the legislature after the following election, but it did so with only a plurality of the popular vote. This was the first time that the BDP fell short of a majority. Ian Khama then appointed Masisi as his vice-president. According to Mogae, this was done with the understanding that Masisi would appoint Tshekedi Khama II as vice-president after taking the presidency himself.

Botsalo Ntuane was elected Secretary General of the BDP in 2015 on a platform of anti-corruption and electoral reform. This threatened the entrenched nature of the BDP, and Ntuane found a political rival in Masisi.

Presidency of Mokgweetsi Masisi

Masisi and Ian Khama had a falling out after Masisi became president. Ian Khama attempted to recruit Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi as an alternative BDP candidate against Masisi, and when that failed, he founded his own party, the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF). The 2019 general election was marred by government pressure and sometimes raids against opposition figures. The UDC challenged the results of the election, but the challenge was unsuccessful.

Like most nations, Botswana saw major economic decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the country stayed in lockdown for much of 2020 and 2021. Anti-Indian sentiment became widespread as the Indian community in Botswana was relatively wealthy.

Ian Khama fled to South Africa in exile in November 2021, and the government of Botswana charged him with illegal ownership of weapons soon after.