99-634: The Pretoria Convention was the peace treaty that ended the First Boer War (16 December 1880 to 23 March 1881) between the Transvaal Boers and Great Britain. The treaty was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881, but was subject to ratification by the Volksraad within 3 months from the date of signature. The Volksraad first raised objections to a number of the clauses of the treaty, but did eventually ratify
198-573: A treaty is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . First Boer War Boer victory [REDACTED] British Empire The First Boer War ( Afrikaans : Eerste Vryheidsoorlog , lit. ' First Freedom War ' ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic
297-399: A jacket, trousers and slouch hat. Each man brought his own weapon, usually a hunting rifle, and his own horses. The average Boer citizens who made up their commandos were farmers who had spent almost all their working lives in the saddle, and, because they had to depend on both their horses and their rifles for almost all of their meat, they were skilled hunters and expert marksmen . Most of
396-519: A long sword bayonet . Gunners of the Royal Artillery wore blue jackets. The Boer marksmen could easily snipe at British troops from a distance. The Boers carried no bayonets, leaving them at a substantial disadvantage in close combat, which they avoided as often as possible. Drawing on years of experience of fighting frontier skirmishes with numerous and indigenous African tribes, they relied more on mobility, stealth, marksmanship and initiative while
495-576: A negative image of the Transvaal in Britain. In April 1880, the Liberal Party was elected as the new government in Britain and the feeling in the Transvaal was that it would lead to the return of sovereignty to the Transvaal. However, the new British Prime Minister, W.E. Gladstone reiterated British control of the Transvaal. In October 1880, a newspaper from Paarl in the Cape Colony reported: "Passive resistance
594-709: A proclamation of the annexation of the Transvaal Republic was made in Church Square, Pretoria, the capital city of the Transvaal. The Transvaal Republic was now known as the British Colony of the Transvaal. A Transvaal government delegation comprising Paul Kruger and E. J. P. Jorrisen went to London in 1877 to present their case on behalf of the Transvaal to Lord Carnarvon, but their efforts were unsuccessful. The Transvaal Volksraad (People's Council) asked Transvaal citizens not to commit acts of violence, as this would create
693-553: A time when Britain was engaged in the scramble for African colonies with France and Germany. In 1896, Cecil Rhodes , Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, attempted to overthrow the government of Paul Kruger who was then president of the South African Republic or the Transvaal. The raid, known as Jameson Raid , failed. By 1899, tensions erupted into the Second Boer War , caused partly by the rejection of an ultimatum by
792-400: A whistle used mostly during celebrations, which comes in a variety of forms). Botswana cultural musical instruments are not confined only to the strings or drums. the hands are used as musical instruments too, by either clapping them together or against phathisi (goat skin turned inside out wrapped around the calf area; it is only used by men) to create music and rhythm. For the last few decades,
891-571: Is a Motswana and the plural is Batswana. The three main branches of the Tswana tribe formed during the 17th century. Three brothers, Kwena , Ngwaketse and Ngwato , broke away from their father, Chief Malope, to establish their own tribes in Molepolole , Kanye and Serowe , probably in response to drought and expanding populations in search of pasture and arable land. The principal Tswana tribes are the: The largest number of ethnic Tswana people
990-432: Is a pounded or shredded meat and often served with Bogobe (Porridge). Madila is a sour cultured milk prepared from cow and goat milk over a period of time until fully matured for consumption. Traditionally madila were prepared using Lekuka a leather sack or bag used in processing and storing madila. Madila is also traditionally used as relish, eaten with pap. It can also be used in popular Tswana breakfast meal, motogo, to give
1089-629: Is located in modern-day South Africa. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in the country, and the Tswana language is one of eleven official languages in South Africa . There were over 4 million Tswana speakers in the country in 2012, with North West Province having a majority of 2,200,000 Tswana speakers. From 1948 to 1994, South African Tswana people were defined by the Apartheid regime to be citizens of Bophuthatswana , one of ten bantustans set up for
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#17328446818601188-451: Is mostly vocal and performed, sometimes without drums depending on the occasion; it also makes heavy use of string instruments. Tswana folk music has instruments such as Setinkane (a Botswana version of miniature piano), Segankure/Segaba (a Botswana version of the Chinese instrument Erhu), Moropa (Meropa -plural) (a Botswana version of the many varieties of drums), and phala (a Botswana version of
1287-902: Is now becoming futile". With the defeat of the Zulus , and the Pedi, the Transvaal Boers were able to give voice to the growing resentment against the 1877 British annexation of the Transvaal and complained that it had been a violation of the Sand River Convention of 1852, and the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854. Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley , after returning briefly to India, finally took over as Governor of Natal, Transvaal, High Commissioner of SE Africa and Military Commander in July 1880. Multiple commitments prevented Colley from visiting
1386-452: Is said to represent a woman; it brings forth light but not as scorching as the Sun (Letsatsi) and its light is associated with happiness. Venus is called Mphatlalatsana (the brilliant and blinding one) by Batswana & Kopadilalelo (seeker of evening meals). Raditladi Basin , a large peak ring impact crater on Mercury with a diameter of 263 km is named after Leetile Disang Raditladi ,
1485-459: Is the struggle you have embarked upon, and how little any accidental success gained can affect the ultimate result". Without waiting for a reply, Colley led his Natal Field Force – consisting of 1,400 men, an 80-strong Naval brigade, artillery and Gatling guns – to a strategic pass in the hills on the Natal-Transvaal border called Laing's Nek . At the battle of Laing's Nek on 28 January 1881,
1584-582: The Battle of Majuba , the governments of the South African Republic and Britain were in contact, President Brand of the Orange Free State acting as intermediary. [REDACTED] Works related to Pretoria Convention at Wikisource This article related to international law is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about South African government is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to
1683-730: The Cape Colony ). Following the Battle of Blaauwberg (1806) Britain had officially acquired the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa from the Dutch in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars . Certain groups of Dutch-speaking settler farmers ( Boers ) resented British rule, even though British control brought some economic benefits. Successive waves of migrations of Boer farmers (known as Trekboers which literally means "travelling farmers"), probed first east along
1782-698: The Drakensberg mountains, surrounded by the Cape Colony , the Orange Free State and Natal ), following an appeal from Moshoeshoe , the leader of a mixed group of mostly Sotho -speaking refugees from the Difaqane who sought British protection against both the Boers and the Zulus . In the 1880s, the Tswana country became an object of dispute between the Germans to the west, the Boers to
1881-717: The Great Trek , and those who took part in it are called Voortrekkers . Indeed, the British subsequently acknowledged two new Boer Republics in a pair of treaties: the Sand River Convention of 1852 recognised the independence of the Transvaal Republic, and the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854 recognised the independence of the Orange Free State. However, British colonial expansion, from the 1830s, featured skirmishes and wars against both Boers and native African tribes for most of
1980-701: The London Convention of 1884 which removed the SAR from British influence. In 1885, tensions rose between Transvaal and the British Government when gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand farm, which led to an influx of foreign (mostly British) labor . This new workforce of mostly British citizens threatened the balance of power in the Transvaal, and increased tensions between them and the British Empire. In 1895
2079-638: The 1870s the British annexed West Griqualand , site of the Kimberley diamond-discoveries. In 1875 the Earl of Carnarvon , the British Colonial Secretary , in an attempt to extend British influence, approached the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic and tried to organise a federation of the British and Boer territories modelled on the 1867 federation of the French and English provinces of Canada. However
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#17328446818602178-424: The 92nd Highlanders had cut and run in the face of Boer irregulars. This defeat had such an impact that during the Second Boer War , one of the British slogans was "Remember Majuba." Hostilities continued until 6 March 1881, when a truce was declared, ironically on the same terms that Colley had disparaged. The Transvaal forts had endured, contrary to Colley's forecast, with the sieges being generally uneventful,
2277-587: The Batawana and Wayeyi were able to employ additional tricks to lure the invaders towards their ultimate doom. At one point, a calf and its mother were tied to separate trees to make Lotshe's men think that they were finally catching up to their main prize, the elusive Batawana cattle. As they pressed forward, the AmaNdebele were further unnerved by additional hit-and-run attacks and sniping by small bands of Batawana marksmen. Certainly, they could not have been comfortable in
2376-462: The Boer strength and capabilities. Indeed, strategists have speculated as to whether the convoy should have proceeded at all when it was known to be vulnerable to attack, and whether it was necessary for Colley himself to take command of the British guard. Colley's decision to initiate the attack at Majuba Hill when truce discussions were already underway appears to have been foolhardy, particularly as there
2475-536: The Boer uprising in Pretoria, when they were ambushed by Boer Forces near the Bronkhorstspruit Stream , about 120 men were killed or wounded by Boer fire within minutes of the first shots. Boer losses totalled two killed and five wounded. This mainly Irish regiment was marching westward toward Pretoria, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Anstruther, when halted by a Boer commando group. They were halted when they approached
2574-438: The Boers content to wait for hunger and sickness to take their toll. The forts had suffered only light casualties as an outcome of sporadic engagements, except at Potchefstroom, where twenty-four were killed, and seventeen at Pretoria, in each case resulting from occasional raids on Boer positions. Although the Boers exploited their advantages to the full, their unconventional tactics, marksmanship and mobility do not fully explain
2673-410: The Boers had single-shot breech-loading rifle , primarily the .450 Westley Richards , a falling-block, single-action, breech-loading rifle, with accuracy up to 600 yards. J. Lehmann's The First Boer War , 1972, comments "Employing chiefly the very fine breech-loading Westley Richards - calibre 45; paper cartridge; percussion-cap replaced on the nipple manually - they made it exceedingly dangerous for
2772-539: The British South Africa Company's Police, with an undetermined number of possible colonial volunteers and an additional 700 Tswana (Bechuana) allies who marched on Bulawayo from the south commandeered by Khama III , the most influential of the Batswana chiefs, and a staunch ally of the British. The Salisbury and Fort Victoria columns marched into Bulawayo on 4 November 1893. The Imperial column from Bechuanaland
2871-450: The British command, in particular Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley, although poor intelligence and bad communications also contributed to their losses. At Laing's Nek it seems that Colley not only underestimated the Boer capabilities, but had been misinformed of, and was surprised by, the strength of the Boer forces. The confrontation at Ingogo Nek was perhaps rash, given that reserves were being sent, and Colley had by then experienced
2970-447: The British emphasised the traditional military values of command, discipline, formation and synchronised firepower. The average British soldier was not trained to be a marksman and got little target practice. What shooting training British soldiers had was mainly as a unit firing in volleys on command. On 20 December 1880, Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Robert Anstruther and men of the 94th Foot ( Connaught Rangers ) were on their way to quell
3069-508: The British gradually extended their control outwards from the Cape along the coast toward the east, eventually annexing Natal in 1843. The Trekboers were farmers, gradually extending their range and territory with no overall agenda. The formal abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834 led to more organised groups of Boer settlers attempting to escape British rule, some travelling as far north as modern-day Mozambique . This became known as
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3168-406: The British lost 139 officers and troops, half the original force that had set out to escort the mail convoy. Colley had been forced to leave behind many of the wounded to die of exposure. In the space of ten days, he had lost one-quarter of his field force, either dead or wounded. "One or two Pyrrhic victories like this and we shan't have an army left at all", Lieutenant Percival Marling wrote at
3267-891: The British to expose themselves on the skyline". Other rifles included the Martini-Henry and the Snider–Enfield . Only a few had repeaters like the Winchester or the Swiss Vetterli . As hunters they had learned to fire from cover, from a prone position and to make the first shot count, knowing that if they missed, in the time it took to reload, the game would be long gone. At community gatherings, they often held target shooting competitions using targets such as hens' eggs perched on posts over 100 yards away. The Boer commandos made for expert light cavalry , able to use every scrap of cover from which they could pour accurate and destructive fire at
3366-528: The British. The British infantry uniforms at that date were red jackets, dark blue trousers with red piping on the side, white pith helmets and pipe clayed equipment, a stark contrast to the African landscape. The Highlanders wore the kilt , and khaki uniforms (They had just been involved in the Second Afghan War ). The standard infantry weapon was the Martini-Henry single-shot breech-loading rifle with
3465-586: The British. The Transvaal ultimatum had demanded that all disputes between the Orange Free State and the Transvaal (allied since 1897) be settled by arbitration and that British troops should leave. The lure of gold made it worth committing the vast resources of the British Empire and incurring the huge costs required to win that war. However, the sharp lessons the British had learned during the First Boer War – which included Boer marksmanship, tactical flexibility and good use of ground – had largely been forgotten when
3564-464: The Bronkhorstspruit, 38 miles from Pretoria . The Boer leader, Commandant Frans Joubert (brother of General Piet Joubert ), ordered Anstruther and the column to turn back, stating that the territory was now again a Boer Republic and therefore any further advance by the British would be deemed an act of war. Anstruther refused and ordered that ammunition be distributed. The Boers opened fire and
3663-692: The Limpopo River to the Indian Ocean, and trade goods from Asia, such as beads, made their way to the Batswana. Most likely in exchange for ivory, gold, and rhinoceros horn. The first written records relating to modern-day Botswana appeared in 1824. What these records show is that the Bangwaketse had become the predominant power in the region. Under the rule of Makaba II, the Bangwaketse kept vast herds of cattle in well-protected desert areas and used their military prowess to raid their neighbors. Other chiefdoms in
3762-560: The Natal Field Force under Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley attempted with cavalry and infantry attacks to break through the Boer positions on the Drakensberg mountain range to relieve their garrisons. The British were repelled with heavy losses by the Boers under the command of Piet Joubert. 480 British troops were engaged, suffering 150 casualties. Furthermore, sharpshooting Boers had killed or wounded many senior officers. At
3861-637: The North West, Free State, Northern Cape, and Gauteng provinces. The republic of Botswana (formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland) is named for the Tswana people. The country's eight major tribes speak Tswana , which is also called Setswana. All have a traditional Paramount Chief, styled Kgosikgolo , who is entitled to a seat in the Ntlo ya Dikgosi (an advisory body to the country's Parliament ). The Tswana dynasties are all related. A person who lives in Botswana
3960-543: The Transvaal Volksraad (parliament). The agreement did not reinstate fully the independence of the Transvaal but kept the state under British suzerainty. British troops withdrew and in 1884, the Pretoria Convention was superseded by the London Convention , which provided for full independence and self-government although still with British control of foreign relations. When in 1886 a second major mineral find
4059-588: The Transvaal became besieged . Although generally called a war, the actual engagements were of a relatively minor nature considering the few men involved on both sides and the short duration of the combat, lasting some ten weeks. The fiercely independent Boers had no regular army; when danger threatened, all the men in a district would form a militia organised into military units called commandos and would elect officers. Commandos being civilian militia, each man wore what he wished, usually everyday dark-grey, neutral-coloured, or earthtone khaki farming clothes such as
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4158-500: The Transvaal formally declared independence from the United Kingdom, the war began on 16 December 1880 with shots fired by Transvaal Boers at Potchefstroom . During this skirmish, the Boer "commando" was led by General Piet Cronjé . This led to the action at Bronkhorstspruit on 20 December 1880, where the Boers ambushed and destroyed a British Army convoy . From 22 December 1880 to 6 January 1881, British army garrisons all over
4257-570: The Transvaal where he knew many of the senior Boers. Instead he relied on reports from the Administrator, Sir Owen Lanyon , who had no understanding of the Boer mood or capability. Belatedly Lanyon asked for troop reinforcements in December 1880 but was overtaken by events. The Boers revolted on 16 December 1880 and took action at Bronkhorstspruit against a British column of the 94th Foot who were returning to reinforce Pretoria . The trigger for
4356-416: The amaNdebele to where the main body of defenders were already well entrenched. As they approached the swamp area south of Khutiyabasadi, Lotshe struggled to reunite his men, perhaps sensing that they were approaching a showdown. But, instead, Moremi's Batawana, now joined by Qhunkunyane's Wayeyi, drew the amaNdebele still deeper into the swamps. In this area of poor visibility, due to the thick, tall reeds,
4455-420: The ambushed British troops were annihilated. In the ensuing engagement, the column lost 56 men dead and 92 wounded. With the majority of his troops dead or wounded, the dying Anstruther ordered surrender. The Boer uprising caught the six small British forts scattered around the Transvaal by surprise. They housed some 2,000 troops between them, including irregulars with as few as fifty soldiers at Lydenburg in
4554-602: The area, by this time, had capitals of 10,000 or so and were fairly prosperous. One of these famous capitals was Kaditshwene which was the cultural capital of the Bahurutshe people, one of the principal Tswana tribes, and a center of manufacturing and trading. it had been founded in the late 1400s on the site of iron and copper ore deposits. The remains of another major Tswana settlement, Kweneng' Ruins , are found in Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve in South Africa. It
4653-569: The battle of Schuinshoogte (also known as Battle of the Carrots) on 8 February 1881, another British force barely escaped destruction. General Colley had sought refuge with the Natal Field Force at Mount Prospect , three miles to the south, to await reinforcements. However, Colley was soon back in action. On 7 February, a mail escort on its way to Newcastle had been attacked by the Boers and forced back to Mount Prospect. The next day Colley, determined to keep his supplies and communication route open, escorted
4752-422: The battle were also killed while being mercilessly pursued by the Batawana cavalry. Moremi was clearly determined to send a strong message to Lobengula that his regiments were no match. Still others died of exhaustion and hunger while trying to make their way home across the dry plains south of Chobe; the somewhat more hospitable route through Gammangwato having been blocked by Khama. While the battle at Khutiyabasadi
4851-555: The borders of Botswana in the Transvaal. In 1852, a coalition of Tswana chiefdoms led by Sechele I resisted Afrikaner incursions, which culminated in the pivotal showdown of the Battle of Dimawe fought with artillery and long range rifles as well as musket fire. Although it was the Boer Commando led by the Boer Commandant-General Pieter Scholtz and Paul Kruger , as officers leading the Boer advance, who started
4950-400: The bridge over what he presumably thought was no more than a small stream. As planned, the bridge collapsed when full of AmaNdebele, who were thus unexpectedly thrown into a deep water channel. Few, if any, would have known how to swim. Additional waves of AmaNdebele found themselves pinned down by their charging compatriots along the river bank, which was too deep for them to easily ford. With
5049-447: The cavalry began to harass the much larger enemy force with lethal hit-and-run volleys. Meanwhile, another group of traditionally armed subjects of the Kgosi also made their presence known. At this point, the AmaNdebele commander, Lotshe, took the bait, dividing his army into two groups. One party pursued Moremi's small force, while the other fruitlessly tried to catch up to what they believed
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#17328446818605148-506: The coast away from the Cape toward Natal, and thereafter north toward the interior, eventually establishing the republics that came to be known as the Orange Free State and the Transvaal (literally "across/beyond the Vaal River"). The British did not try to stop the Trekboers from moving away from the Cape. The Trekboers functioned as pioneers, opening up the interior for those who followed, and
5247-482: The cultural and historical context differed entirely, and the Boer leaders turned him down. Successive British annexations, and in particular the annexation of West Griqualand, caused a climate of simmering unease in the Boer republics. In 1877, the British annexed the Transvaal, which was bankrupt, and under threat from the Zulu. The president of the Transvaal Republic from 1872 to 1877 was T.F. Burgers. The Transvaal Republic
5346-509: The deaths of many British soldiers and Colley himself. The First Boer War was the first conflict since the American War of Independence in which the British had been decisively defeated and forced to sign a peace treaty under unfavourable terms. The Battle of Laing's Nek would be the last occasion where a British regiment carried its official regimental colours into battle. The British government, under Prime Minister William Gladstone ,
5445-502: The east which Anstruther had just left. Being isolated, and with so few men, all the forts could do was prepare for a siege and wait to be relieved. By 6 January 1881, Boers had begun to besiege Lydenburg . The other five forts, with a minimum of fifty miles between any two, were at Wakkerstroom and Standerton in the south, Marabastad in the north and Potchefstroom and Rustenburg in the west. Boers begun to besiege Marabastad fort on 29 December 1880. The three main engagements of
5544-505: The east, and the British in the Cape Colony to the south. Although the Tswana country had at the time almost no economic value, the " Missionaries Road " passed through it toward territory farther north. After the Germans annexed Damaraland and Namaqualand (modern Namibia ) in 1884, the British annexed Bechuanaland in two parts in 1885: the Bechuanaland Protectorate (modern Botswana ) and British Bechuanaland (later part of
5643-573: The eastern region of what is now Botswana, relying on Tswana cattle breeds held in kraals as their source of wealth. The arrival of the ancestors of the Tswana-speaking people who came to control the region (from the Vaal River to Botswana) has yet to be dated precisely. Although CE 600 seems to be a consensus estimate, This massive cattle-raising complex prospered until 1300 CE or so. All these various peoples were connected to trade routes that ran via
5742-423: The end of January 1877 Shepstone admitted to Burgers that Britain was going to annex the Transvaal Republic. Burgers' response was to convince the Transvaal government to act in a more serious manner, but the Transvaal government refused to see the urgency of their predicament. Lord Carnarvon thought that the annexation of the Transvaal would be the first step in creating a British confederation. On 12th April 1877,
5841-506: The enemy thus in disarray, the signal was given for the main body of defenders to emerge from their tunnels and trenches. A barrage of bullets cut through Lotshe's lines from three sides, quickly turning the battle into a one-sided massacre. It is said that after the main firing had ceased, the Wayeyi used their mekoro to further attack the survivors trapped in the river, hitting them on the head with their oars. In this way, many more were drowned. By
5940-451: The failed Jameson Raid led by Cecil Rhodes and Leander Starr Jameson increased tensions further between Britain and Transvaal. Eventually in 1899, war broke out between Transvaal and the British Empire. Tswana people The Tswana ( Tswana : Batswana , singular Motswana ) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa . Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011. Batswana are
6039-579: The garrisons would not survive until then. Consequently, at Newcastle , near the Transvaal border, he mustered a relief column (the Natal Field Force ) of available men, although this amounted to only 1,200 troops. Colley's force was further weakened in that few were mounted, a serious disadvantage in the terrain and for that type of warfare. Most Boers were mounted and good riders. Nonetheless, Colley's force set out on 24 January 1881 northward for Laing's Nek en route to relieve Wakkerstroom and Standerton,
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#17328446818606138-437: The greatest defeat for the British. The British, though they had the superior numbers, were slaughtered. On 26 February 1881, Colley led a night march of some 400 men from the 92nd Highlanders, the 58th Regiment, and the Natal Brigade. They reached the top of Majuba Hill, which overlooked the main Boer position. The troops took no artillery with them. At first light, a group of Highlanders advertised their presence by standing on
6237-449: The guitar has been celebrated as a versatile music instrument for Tswana music as it offers a variety in string which the Segaba instrument does not have. Other notable modern Tswana music is Tswana Rap known as Motswako . Batswana are noted for their skill at crafting baskets from Mokola Palm and local dyes. The baskets are generally woven into three types: large, lidded baskets used for storage, large, open baskets for carrying objects on
6336-489: The head or for winnowing threshed grain, and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain. Potters made clay pots for storing water, traditional beer and also for cooking and hardly for commercial use. Craft makers made wooden crafts and they made traditional cooking utensils such as leso and lehetlho, traditional wooden chairs and drums among others. Astronomy is an age old tradition in Africa. As with all other cultures, various ethnic groups developed their own interpretations of
6435-401: The heavy British losses. Like the Boers, British soldiers were equipped with breech-loading rifles (the Martini-Henry), but they (unlike the Boers) were professionals, and the British Army had previously fought campaigns in difficult terrain and against an elusive enemy, such as the tribesmen of the Northern Territories in modern-day Afghanistan . Historians lay much of the blame at the feet of
6534-423: The hillside. The British suffered heavy losses, with 92 killed, 134 injured, and 59 men were taken prisoner. Major-General Colley was among the dead; he was fatally shot in the head when trying to rally his men. Of the Boers, six were wounded, one fatally. Within 30 minutes the British were swept off the summit. For the British the shame of Majuba was even more intense than that of Isandlwana . Elite units like
6633-420: The lucrative ivory trade, and then used the proceeds to import horses and guns, which in turn enabled them to establish control over what is now Botswana. This process was largely complete by 1880, and thus the Bushmen, the Bakalanga, the Bakgalagadi, the Batswapong and other current minorities were subjugated by the Batswana. Following the Great Trek , Afrikaners from the Cape Colony established themselves on
6732-412: The mail wagon personally and this time with a larger escort. The Boers attacked the convoy at the Ingogo River crossing, but with a stronger force of some 400 men. The firepower was not matched and the fight continued for several hours, but the Boer marksmen dominated the action until darkness when a storm permitted Colley and the remainder of his troops to retreat back to Mount Prospect. In this engagement,
6831-420: The meantime had offered a Royal Commission investigation and possible troop withdrawal and their attitude toward the Boers was conciliatory. Colley was critical of this stance and, while waiting for Kruger's final agreement, decided to attack again with a view to enabling the British government to negotiate from a position of strength. This resulted in the disaster of the Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881,
6930-434: The native people of south and eastern Botswana and the Gauteng , North West , Northern Cape , Free State , and other provinces of South Africa , where the majority of Batswana are located. The Batswana are a Bantu-speaking mega-ethnicity of many kingdoms, who are native to Southern Africa (Parts of modern day Namibia, Botswana and South Africa) alongside the Khwe speaking kingdoms of the same region. The Toutswe were in
7029-510: The nearest forts. In a display of diplomacy before the beginning of the Battle, British commander Sir George Colley sent a message on 23 January 1881 to the Commandant-General of the Boers, Piet Joubert , calling on him to disband his forces or face the full might of Imperial Britain. He wrote "The men who follow you are, many of them ignorant, and know and understood a little of anything outside their own country. But you, who are well educated and have travelled, cannot but be unaware how hopeless
7128-472: The offensive, it was they who ended up on the retreat, followed by Batswana's retaliatory attacks into the then Transvaal 's Marique district, in which Boer settlements, villages, and farms were scorched. After about eight years of intermittent tensions and hostilities, they eventually came to a peace agreement in Potchefstroom in 1860. From that point on, the modern-day border between South Africa and Botswana
7227-457: The purpose of defending the policy of denying black Africans citizenship in South Africa. Bogobe is a staple food made from sorghum meal which is often eaten alongside meat or vegetables. The most popular sorghum porridge is Ting. Bogobe jwa Logala/Sengana is a traditional Setswana dish prepared from sorghum porridge mixed/cooked with milk. Seswaa is Botswana's national dish and is often served at weddings, funerals, and other celebrations. Seswaa
7326-435: The remainder of the century. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 near the Vaal River , some 550 miles (890 km) northeast of Cape Town , ended the isolation of the Boers in the interior and changed South African history. The discovery triggered a diamond rush that attracted people from all over the world, turning Kimberley into a town of 50,000 within five years and drawing the attention of British imperial interests. In
7425-455: The second war broke out 18 years later. Heavy casualties, as well as many setbacks, were incurred before the British were ultimately victorious. The First Boer War resulted in a disaster for the British government, which had not lost a war to a rebellion since the American War of Independence in 1783. The South Africa Republic (aka Transvaal) was also established as an independent republic under British suzerainty, but they lost this status at
7524-412: The skyline, shaking their fists, and yelling at the Boers below. The Boers saw the British occupying the summit and stormed the mountain using dead ground. Shooting accurately and using all available natural cover, the Boers advanced toward the British position. Several Boer groups stormed the hill and drove the British off. As panic took hold, terrified British soldiers sprinted for the rear, then fled down
7623-561: The soft porridge that sour and milky taste. Batswana wear a cotton fabric known in Setswana as Leteisi and Sotho as Shweshwe . This fabric is often used for wedding celebrations and other traditional celebrations. In Setswana tradition mothers wear mogagolwane, a checkered small blanket during traditional baby-showers, and married women during traditional weddings are identified by it, as well as during various initiation ceremonies. Even during funerals Batswana women don mogagolwane. Tswana music
7722-446: The solar system. Using their natural instrument the eye, Batswana have observed, commented on and named celestial objects of interest to them. There are more telling and specific names that relate to unique stellar patterns and their seasonal appearance e.g. Selemela, Naka, Thutlwa, and Dikolojwane. According to Tswana culture, the stars of Orion's sword were "dintsa le Dikolobe", three dogs chasing three pigs of Orion's belt. The Milky Way
7821-424: The spot by the appearance of Batawana cavalry, who crossed the channel to the island in their sight. In addition, cattle were placed on a small islet adjacent to Kuthiyabasadi, while a group of soldiers now made themselves visible by standing up on the wooden platform. Also at the location was a papyrus bridge that had been purposely weakened at crucial spots. Surveying the scene, Lotshe ordered his men to charge across
7920-495: The time the fighting was over, the blood was reported to have turned the water along the course of the river black. While the total number of casualties at Khutiyabasadi cannot be precisely known, observers in Bulawayo at the time confirmed that over 2,500 men had left on Lotshe's expedition and less than 500 had returned. While the bulk of the amaNdebele losses are believed to have occurred in and around Khutiyabasadi itself, survivors of
8019-529: The time. On February 12, Colley received reinforcements consisting of the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot , and the 15th (The King's Hussar's) , with the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons , the 83rd (Country of Dublin) Regiment under the command of Sir Evelyn Wood , on the way. On 14 February hostilities were suspended, awaiting the outcome of peace negotiations initiated by an offer from Paul Kruger. During this time, Colley's promised reinforcements arrived, with more to follow. The British government in
8118-494: The unfamiliar Okavango environment. It was at Kuthiyabasadi that the defenders' trap was finally sprung. At the time, the place was an island dominated by high reeds and surrounded to the west by deep water. In the reeds, three well armed Batawana regiments, joined by local Wayeyi, waited patiently. There they had built a small wooden platform, upon which several men could be seen from across the channel, as well as tunnels and entrenchments for concealment. The AmaNdebele were drawn to
8217-404: The version signed in Pretoria, after Britain refused any further concessions or changes to the treaty. British preparation work for the Pretoria Convention of 1881 was done at Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal . Under this agreement, the South African Republic regained self-government under nominal British suzerainty . This convention was superseded in 1884 by the London Convention . By the time of
8316-455: The war came when a Boer named Piet Bezuidenhout (see Gerhardminnebron ) refused to pay an illegally inflated tax. Government officials seized his wagon and attempted to auction it off to pay the tax on 11 November 1880, but a hundred armed Boers disrupted the auction, assaulted the presiding sheriff, and reclaimed the wagon. The first shots of the war were fired when this group fought back against government troops who were sent after them. After
8415-546: The war to an official end. In the final peace treaty, the Pretoria Convention , negotiated by a three-man Royal Commission , the British agreed to complete Boer self-government in the Transvaal under British suzerainty . The Boers accepted the Queen's nominal rule and British control over external relations, African affairs, and native districts. The Pretoria Convention was signed on 3 August 1881 and ratified on 25 October by
8514-456: The war were all within about sixteen miles of each other, centred on the Battles of Laing's Nek (28 January 1881), Ingogo River (8 February 1881) and the rout at Majuba Hill (27 February 1881). These battles were the result of Colley's attempts to relieve the besieged forts. Although he had requested reinforcements, these would not reach him until mid-February. Colley was, however, convinced that
8613-499: Was a great victory for the Batawana and a defeat for the AmaNdebele, for the Wayeyi of the region, the outcome is said to have been a mixed blessing. While they had shared in the victory over the hated Amandebele, one of its consequences was a tightening of Batawana authority in the area over them as Moremi settled for a period at nearby Nokaneng. The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in modern-day Zimbabwe. The British South Africa Company had no more than 750 troops in
8712-507: Was accelerated due to the desire to control trade routes between India via the Cape of Good Hope, the discovery of diamonds in Kimberley in 1868, and the race against other European Powers to control as much of Africa as possible. The British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 represented one of their biggest incursions into Southern Africa, but other expansions also occurred. In 1868 the British Empire annexed Basutoland (modern Lesotho in
8811-479: Was agreed upon, and the Afrikaners and Batswana traded and worked together peacefully. The Batawana's fight against the invading Ndebele of 1884 when the AmaNdebele arrived at Toteng, they found the village abandoned. But, as they settled down to enjoy their bloodless conquest, about seventy mounted Batawana under Kgosi Moremi's personal command appeared, all armed with breech-loading rifles. In classic commando style,
8910-457: Was conciliatory since it realised that any further action would require substantial troop reinforcements, and it was likely that the war would be costly, messy and protracted. Unwilling to get bogged down in a distant war, the British government ordered a truce. Sir Evelyn Wood (Colley's replacement) signed an armistice to end the war on 6 March, and subsequently a peace treaty was signed with Kruger at O'Neil's Cottage on 23 March 1881, bringing
9009-520: Was declared a self-governing state. On 6 December 1977 this 'homeland' was granted independence by the South African government. Bophuthatswana's capital city was Mmabatho and 99% of its population was Tswana speaking. In March 1994, Bophuthatswana was placed under the control of two administrators, Tjaart van der Walt and Job Mokgoro. The small, widespread pieces of land were reincorporated into South Africa on 27 April 1994. Bophuthatswana now forms part of
9108-535: Was in serious financial trouble because the government had fallen behind on tax collection and a war with the Pedi under the leadership of Sekhukhune in the North-East Transvaal had commenced. Sir Theophilus Shepstone was sent by Lord Carnarvon (British Secretary of the Colonies) as a special commissioner to the Transvaal. Shepstone did not initially disclose his true intentions to the Transvaal government, but at
9207-706: Was known while under British administration). The war resulted in a Boer victory and eventual independence of the South African Republic. The war is also known as the First Anglo–Boer War , the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion. In the 19th century a series of events occurred in the southern part of the African continent, with the British from time to time attempting to set up a single unified state there, while at other times wanting to control less territory. The British Empire's expansion in South Africa
9306-521: Was limited strategic value. The Boer positions were also out of rifle range from the summit. Once the Battle of Majuba Hill had begun, Colley's command and understanding of the dire situation seemed to deteriorate as the day went on, as he sent conflicting signals to the British forces at Mount Prospect by heliograph , first requesting reinforcements and then stating that the Boers were retreating. Thus poor leadership, intelligence and communications resulted in
9405-464: Was made at an outcrop on a large ridge some 30 miles (48 km) south of the Boer capital at Pretoria, it reignited British imperial interests. The ridge, known locally as the " Witwatersrand " (literally "white water ridge" – a watershed), contained the world's largest deposit of gold-bearing ore. This discovery made the Transvaal, which had been a struggling Boer republic, potentially a political and economic threat to British supremacy in South Africa at
9504-600: Was nowhere to be seen. They had set march on 18 October heading north for Bulawayo and had a minor skirmish with the Matabele near Mphoengs on 2 November. They finally reached Bulawayo on 15 November, a delay which probably saved the Chartered Company's then newly occupied territory being annexed to the imperial Bechuanaland Protectorate . The Bophuthatswana Territorial Authority was created in 1961, and in June 1972 Bophuthatswana
9603-463: Was occupied from the 15th to the 19th century AD and was the largest of several sizeable settlements inhabited by Tswana speakers before European arrival. Several circular stone-walled family compounds are spread out over an area of 10km long and 2km wide. During the 1840s and 1850s, trade with Cape Colony-based merchants opened up and enabled the Batswana chiefdoms to rebuild. The Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Bangwato, and Batawana cooperated to control
9702-407: Was the main body of Batawana. As the invaders generally lacked guns, as well as horses, Moremi continued to harass his pursuers, inflicting significant casualties while remaining unscathed. The primary mission of Moremi's men was not, however, to inflict losses on the enemy so much as to ensnare them in a well designed trap. His force thus gradually retreated northward towards Khutiyabasadi, drawing
9801-418: Was viewed by the Tswana as Molalatladi, the place where lightning rests. It was further believed that this place of rest also kept the sky from collapsing and showed the movement of time. Some even claimed that it turned the sun to the east, in a way to explaining the rising of the sun. It was also believed that it was a supernatural footpath across the sky along which ancestors' spirits walked. The moon (Ngwedi)
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