Impact of Colonialism in Botswana

Negative and Positive effects of colonialism on Botswana

1. Taking fertile lands from Batswana Batswana cultivated the land for crop production . The land was also a source of food for their livestock . When the British settlers arrived in Bechuanaland they took some of the fertile land from the locals . Although in Bechuanaland taking of land was not as serious as it was in other parts of Africa, it did take place . For instance, the Tati land near Francistown was taken from the locals by the whites who had just arrived from Europe . Without land, producing enough food became very difficult for the locals and self-sufficiency in food was reduced . Rural areas started to be characterised by serious shortage of food and poverty in general

2. Triggered Migrant Labour system Some Batswana men who lived in rural areas were forced to leave their places of birth to migrate to other areas in search of better living conditions. This finally gave birth to the migrant labour system. This system was based on men and able-bodied young men who were recruited to go and work in the South African mines . The majority of these mines were owned by other European powers . This meant that all the work in rural areas was left for women and elderly people . Women had to raise children alone without men and this further reduced agricultural output because strong young people who were able to till the soil were then absent from homes.

3. Destruction of indigenous culture Another negative impact of colonialism was destruction of culture . The British rule disliked some Batswana practices. For instance, the missionaries hated polygamy which was then widespread in Botswana. The missionaries, who were mainly from Britain encouraged their government to get rid of this practice in the colony . Even though the British government did not directly force Batswana to stop polygamy it did not take any action against the missionaries who seriously opposed it.

4. Destruction of indigenous culture cont. Before colonialism, there were very few whites in Botswana who were mainly evangelists or missionaries . However , during and after colonialism their number increased and this resulted in the destruction of some Tswana cultures . Youth developed interest in the western cultures and some even copied it . The final result of colonialism was serious destruction of local cultural practices in African nations which we find today. Most m erafe abolished their traditional schools and sent their children to schools for modern education . The traditional music was also affected as the whites introduced their own, which was seen by many as a fashion to be followed . Whiskies and other strong alcoholic drinks were also introduced to the locals.

5.     Reduction of the powers of Dikgosi or tribal leaders (Chiefs) The powers of Dikgosi (Chiefs) in Botswana were greatly reduced by the arrival of the colonialists. This was done in order to have total control over different Merafe or ethnic groups in Botswana by the British . The British believed that it would be difficult to develop the country as long as the Dikgosi remained as powerful as they were. Dikgosi were therefore, brought directly under the control of the British administrators. Under this new arrangement Dikgosi were forced to obey and take orders from the British representative called the Resident Commissioner. Dikgosi were also not allowed to take or collect taxes or tribute unless they were given permission by the Resident Commissioner. In addition no one could be a Kgosi without the approval of the British government. The British administration could dispose, suspend or banish a"Kgosi " and all these practices were totally against Setswana custom . The colonial administration did banish Kgosi Sebele of Bakwena to Ghanzi . Traditionally a Kgosi was born and could not be removed by anyone except by the people he or she ruled (the morafe ).

6. Introduction of taxes Another change brought by the British was the introduction of taxes. Batswana were made to pay tax in the form of money or cash. These taxes were imposed on Batswana . In order to earn or find this cash to pay taxes Batswana, especially strong and able-bodied men had to work on large European owned farms and plantations as well as the mines . Due to this, as mentioned before, agricultural production in rural areas was greatly reduced . Rural communities lost the ability to produce their own food.

7. Positive Impact of Colonialism on Rural Development in   Botswana There are very few positive factors brought about by colonialism in Botswana's rural areas compared to the negative factors. This is due to the policy of less spending in Botswana that was adopted by the British. They saw Botswana as a desert and unpro­ductive place which was not worth spending on to develop. However, let us discuss the few positive changes brought by the colonial rule in Botswana together.

8. Introduction of New Crops The British settlers brought with them new crops such as wheat, potatoes, cocoa and tea . These newly introduced crops could be sold in the market giving the Africans, or Batswana in particular some money which they so badly needed to pay tax . Before the arrival of the British, Batswana planted crops at a subsistence level . In some years they harvested almost nothing due to drought and other natural disasters.

9. New farming methods The agricultural output also increased due to the use of new farming methods . Some farmers started using methods such as mono-culture (growing of one crop on a large piece of land), as well as using sophisticated machinery like tractors . In some parts of Africa such as Kenya and Zimbabwe commercial farmers grew large amounts of high quality crops such as Tea and Tobacco and produced animal products for sale, which in some instances were exported or sold to other countries . This, therefore, introduced commercial agriculture to the Africans.

10. Introduction of modern/western education Another positive impact of colonialism was the building of schools which provided modern or western education to African children . Although the British government did not build many schools it supported and encouraged missionaries to build schools which could produce well educated Batswana.