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 AD, 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.
Mahikeng, formerly known as Mafikeng and alternatively known as Mafeking, is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa.
The national flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during South Africa's 1994 general election, to replace the previous flag used from 1928–1994.
"Fatshe leno la rona" is the national anthem of Botswana. The music was composed by Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete, who also authored the song's Setswana lyrics. It was adopted when the country became independent in 1966. Since independence, the song is sung occasionally during the country's important events such as Kgotla meetings, independence celebrations and other national events. The national anthem is highly respected to an extent that when it is sung movements are not allowed, people stand at attention, and security officers, like the police and soldiers, salute as a show of respect.
Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE was a Botswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980.
The national flag of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas consists of a black triangle situated at the hoist with three horizontal bands: aquamarine, gold and aquamarine. Adopted in 1973 to replace the British Blue Ensign defaced with the emblem of the Crown Colony of the Bahama Islands, it has been the flag of the Bahamas since the country gained independence that year. The design of the present flag incorporated the elements of various submissions made in a national contest for a new flag prior to independence.
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966.
The flag of Grenada consists of two yellow triangles at the top and bottom and two green triangles at the hoist and fly. These are surrounded by a red border charged with six five-pointed yellow stars – three at the top centre and three at the bottom centre – along with an additional star on a red disc at the centre and a nutmeg at the hoist triangle. Adopted in 1974 to replace the temporary design used since the islands became an Associated State of the United Kingdom, it has been the flag of Grenada since the country gained independence that year. The representation of a nutmeg is symbolic of the islands' primary export, and was the one feature from the previous flag that was preserved.
The flag of Solomon Islands consists of a thin yellow diagonal stripe from the lower hoist-side corner, with a blue upper triangle and green lower triangle, and the canton charged with five white stars. Adopted in 1977 to replace the British Blue Ensign defaced with the arms of the protectorate, it has been the flag of Solomon Islands since 18 November of that year, eight months before the country gained independence. Although the number of provinces has since increased, the number of stars on the flag that originally represented them remained unchanged.
The national flag of Togo consists of five horizontal stripes, alternating between green and yellow, with a red square bearing a five-pointed white star in the canton. It is one of many African flags that use the pan-African colours of green, yellow, and red. Togolese artist Paul Ahyi designed the flag in 1960, just before its adoption on 27 April of that year, coinciding with Togo's proclamation of independence. When Togo was an autonomous republic within the French Union, it flew a green flag with the French tricolour in the canton and two five-pointed yellow stars, one in the lower hoist and one in the upper fly.
The national flag of Uganda was adopted on 9 October 1962, the day that the nation became independent from the British Empire. It consists of six equal horizontal bands of black, yellow, and red from top to bottom. A white disc is superimposed at the centre and depicts the national symbol, a grey crowned crane, facing the hoist's side.
The national flag of Zambia was adopted upon independence on 24 October 1964, by the first Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda. Before that, Zambia was the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and used a defaced Blue Ensign as its flag.
The flag of The Gambia is the national flag of The Gambia. It consists of three horizontal red, blue and green bands separated by two thin white lines. Adopted in 1965 to replace the British Blue Ensign defaced with the arms of the Gambia Colony and Protectorate, it has been the flag of the Republic of the Gambia since the country gained independence that year. It remained unchanged throughout the Gambia's seven-year confederation with Senegal.
The coat of arms of Botswana was adopted on 25 January 1966. The centre shield is supported by two zebras. The shape of the shield is that of traditional shields found in Southern Africa. On the top portion of the shield are three cogwheels that represent industry.
The Botswana People's Party (BPP), originally the Bechuanaland People's Party, is a political party in Botswana formed in December 1960 during the colonial era. As a result of disappointment with the Legislative Council, under the leadership of Kgalemang T. Motsete, an accomplished music composer and educationist, BPP became the first mass party to agitate for full independence.
Ruth Williams Khama, Lady Khama was the wife of Botswana's first president Sir Seretse Khama, the Paramount Chief of its Bamangwato tribe. She served as the inaugural First Lady of Botswana from 1966 to 1980.
The history of Gaborone began with archaeological evidence in the area around Gaborone dating back to 400 BCE, and the first written accounts of Gaborone are from the earliest European settlers in the 19th century. Since the 1960s, when Botswana gained its independence from Britain and Gaborone became the capital, the city has grown from a small village in the Botswana scrubland to a major center in southern Africa.
The Three Dikgosi Monument is a bronze sculpture located in the Central Business District of Gaborone, Botswana. The statues depict three dikgosi, or tribal chiefs: Khama III, Sebele I, and Bathoen I. The three dikgosi played important roles in Botswana's independence. In 1895, the three men traveled to Great Britain to ask Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Queen Victoria to separate the Bechuanaland Protectorate from Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company and Southern Rhodesia. Permission was then granted which made Botswana under direct British rule until its independence. There are six plinths giving information about Botswana's independence and struggles. A large coat of arms is featured in front of the three statues. A contract was given to North Korean company Mansudae Overseas Projects to build the monument, which resulted in disappointment from local sculptors. Some minority ethnic groups in Botswana see it as a decree of Tswana dominance.
The history of the Cinema of Botswana comprises film-making in the Southern African country of Botswana, both before and after Botswana's independence.
