Historical Country Names - Nations Online Project Historical Country Names keywords: geography, historical country names, former country names, history, place name changes, historical maps List of formerly used country names and names of countries which have ceased to exist. Name changes of countries, dependencies, geographical and other regions of particular geopolitical interest. Today Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire spans a geographical area of today Ethiopia, Eritrea , and Djibouti ,and included parts of Northern Somalia , Southern Egypt , Eastern Sudan , Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia . Abyssinia was an empire that existed for more than 800 years, from circa 1137 (beginning of Zagwe Dynasty) until 1974 when the Ethiopian monarchy was overthrown in a coup d'etat. Afars and Issas Territory formerly known as French Somaliland, the French colony was renamed to the French Territory of Afars and Issas (1967 - 1977),the territory became independent in 1977, known today as Djibouti. formerly a British protectorate became independent in 1966 as the Kingdom of Lesotho.

formerly a British protectorate became independent in 1966 as Republic of Botswana. Democratic Republic of the Congo Benadir a coastal region of Somalia; covering most of the Indian Ocean coast of the country, from the Gulf of Aden to the Juba River, formerly part of Italian Somaliland. Biafra, Republic of (named after the Bight of Biafra) today part of Bophuthatswana - nominal republic and homeland for Tswana-speaking people, 1949 reincorporated into British Bechuanaland (region) incorporated into the Cape Colony (1895) British East Africa or East Africa Protectorate British protectorate from 1890 until 1920 Kenya , Tanzania , Uganda , and parts of Somalia (Jubaland) Cape Colony, 1795-1797 British colony, 1803-1806 colony of the Batavian Republic (Netherlands), since 1910 part of Central African Republic Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British crown colony in 1920.

Ciskei (Republic of Ciskei)- homeland for Xhosa-speaking people, 1994 reincorporated into Dahomey ; (the Republic of Dahomey; in French: République du Dahomey), was a former French colony andpart of French West Africa until independence in 1960, in 1975 the Republic of Dahomeychanged its name in Benin. Dan Ho Me was an ancient Kingdom located in the south of today Benin. French Guinea was a French protectorate in West Africa, after independence from France in 1958 it became today Mali French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia and Niger, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire, Upper Volta and Dahomey . Mauritania , The Gambia , Senegal , Niger , Mali , Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Burkina Faso and Benin.

German East Africa (German: Deutsch-Ostafrika) a German colony from 1885 until 1919 which included Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika (the mainland part of present Tanzania), an area almost three times the size of Germany today. German East Africa colony ended with the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I. With the Treaty of Versailles the territory was divided between Britain (Tanganyika.), Belgium (Ruanda-Urundi), and Portugal (to become part of Mozambique). Hausaland, consisted of seven independent city-states: Biram, Daura, Gobir, Kano, Katsina, Rano, and Zaria.

Italian East Africa (former name for Italian possessions in eastern Africa) Kaffraria, former name for Transkei Katanga - 1960, Belgium granted independence to the Congolese province of the Mali Federation, was a country in West Africa 1959-1960, formed by a union between Malawi Portuguese East Africa (Província Ultramarina de Moçambique) Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa (officially the State of East Africa) for almost 500 years a Portuguese Colony, 1498–1975.

See also: Portugal Sahara Occidental, Spanish name for Senegambia (region; former name of the confederation of Senegal and Gambia) Songhay (Songhai), in the 16th century a major empire of the Western Sudan, in the region of South-West Africa (SWA, German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika), a German colony from 1884-1915 Spanish West Africa (former name for Ifni and Spanish Sahara) Stellaland, Republic of; annexed by the Boers later British Bechuanaland, incorporated into the Cape Colony (1895) Tanganyika Territory, united with the islands Zansibar and Pemba it became Togoland (British Togoland), since 1957 part of Transkei (former Kaffraria and one of ten "black homelands" and nominal republic, in Southeast of ) Transvaal or ZAR - Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek; today the Province Limpopo of Ubangi-Shari (Oubangui-Chari) a former French territory in central Africa, whith independence on 13 August 1960 the country became the

 Central African Republic Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa was formed on 31 May 1910 as a parliamentary union of the four self-governing British colonies: the Cape of Good Hope Province (Cape Province; previously Cape Colony), Natal Province (Natal Colony), the Orange Free State Province (Oranje Vrij Staat/Orange River Colony) and the Transvaal Province (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek/Transvaal Colony).

The Union came to an end in 1961with a new constitution and became the "Republic of South Africa". Zaire, changed its name in 1997 to Zanzibar (island, east off the coast of Tanzania) a former protectorate of Britain. Zanzibar gained independence in1963 united with Tanganyika, today it is a semi-autonomous part of Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) or Transvaal colony; today the Limpopo province of Abkhazia (Region name is still in use) Bactria (Bakhtria) historical region of Greater Iran, located between the Hindu Kush mountain range and the Amu Darya (Amu river). The region was the birthplace of Zoroastrianism (Mazdaism) and later, also hosted Buddhism before becoming Muslim after the 7th century. The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Afghanistan with the remains of two huge standing Buddha statues which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

Circassia was located east of the Black Sea and west of the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region, it was the mountainous territory of the Circassians (Adyghe), it was wiped from the map in the late 19th century whenRussia conqueredthe Caucasus region. All Circassians were displacedfrom their homeland. Historians refer to the displacement of the Adyghe people by the Russian Empire to "the inventing of the strategy of modern ethnic cleansing and genocide". Circassia was situated north of today Georgia in the southern half of Russia's Krasnodar Krai, south of Kuban River,as well as in the Beshtau, an isolated mountainous region in Stavropol Krai, and in todays Russian Republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and North Ossetia–Alania, in south west Russia . East Turkestan; Eastern Turkestan; Chinese Turkestan Part of western China (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ) Kashmir (region) is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent.

Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the Vale of Kashmir, the valley between the GreatHimalayas (in northeast) and the Pir Panjal mountain range (in southwest). Today the term Kashmir refers to a larger area that includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (including the Kashmir valley and Jammu and Ladakh), the Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and the Azad Kashmir provinces, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. state during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, it is the ancient name of Cyprus Dilmun, mentioned in ancient texts as a trade partner of Mesopotamia, although the exact location of Dilmun is unclear, it is associated with Bahrain , the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia , Qatar , Oman and nearby coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf. Galilee, Galilea is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country.

See: Map of Israel Judea, Judäa,(region) Hebrew: יהודה was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BC (Assyrian rule) to the 2nd century AD, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt. Muscat and Oman, Sultanate of Muscat and Oman until 1970 North Yemen or Yemen Arab Republic was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the western part of what is now Yemen. Ottoman Empire the Turkish empire, established in northern Anatolia by Osman I (Osman Gazi Khan) at the end of the 13th century and expanded by his successors to include all of Asia Minor and much of southeastern Europe. After setbacks caused by the invasion of the Mongol ruler Tamerlane (Timur) in 1402, the Ottomans captured Constantinople (today Istanbul) in 1453, and the empire reached its zenith under Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520 to 1566).

At the height of its power, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire controlled territory in southeastern Europe, southwestern Asia, and North Africa. It had greatly declined by the 19th century and collapsed after World War I. also known as the Trucial States, Trucial Oman, and the Trucial Shaykdoms Tylos, was referredby the Greeks to today Bahrain United Arab Republic (UAR) The United Arab Republic or U.A.R., was a union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal Abdel Nasser. During most of its existence (1958–1961) it was a member of the United Arab States, a confederation with North Yemen.

Egypt , Syria , Yemen Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) The Yemen Arab Republic, also known as North Yemen, was a country from 1962 to 1990 in the western part of what is now Yemen, its predecessor was the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962), also known as the Kingdom of Yemen, its capital was at Taiz (Ta'izz). Yemen __Eastern Asia Cathay, (English) Cathay is the Anglicized version of "Catai" the name used for northern China, and an alternative name for: Choson, Chosen the Korean peninsula today split into Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) Formosa (island) Dutch Formosa, period of a colonial Dutch government (1624–1662), the Dutch East India Company established its presence on Formosa to trade with China and Japan and to prevent Portuguese and Spanish trade and colonial activities in East Asia. Spanish Formosa, a Spanish colony established in the north of of the island (1626–1642).

Taiwan Great Korean Empire was the name of the Korean empire that existed on theKorean Peninsula, from the Proclamation of the Korean Empire in October 1897 to the Annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910. The Great Korean Empire was an absolute monarchy with a constitution. Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) Kingdom of Tungning (1662 - 1683) The kingdom was founded by Koxinga (official name: Zheng Chenggong),on the island of Formosa. Koxinga was born in Hirado, Japan to Zheng Zhilong, a Ming dynasty admiral-pirate-merchant, and his Japanese wife. The Kingdom of Tungning was run by the Zheng family, supporting the Ming Dynasty in mainland China which was replaced by the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty in 1644. Koxinga wanted to use the island as a base of operations to train its Ming military forces and recapture the mainland from the Manchus. Hedied in 1662 six month after the conquest of Formosa.

His son Zheng Jing ruled the next 20 years from its court at Tainan. Annam, Anam (1883-1954) French protectorate in Central Vietnam Ayutthaya, Kingdom of; (Siam) covered Thailand , half of Cambodia , most of Laos and large areas of present day Myanmar (Burma) Bengal, region in the northeast of South Asia today divided between Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), and the India n federal stateWest Bengal. Balochistan or Baluchistan a region on in the Iranian Plateau in Southwest Asia, named after the local Baloch tribes of Persian origin. part of the region is now the province Balochistan in Pakistan , other areas of the region were part of today's Iran and Afghanistan . Baluchistan States Union existed between1952 and1955 in southwest British North Borneo, former British protectorate and crown colony, occupies the northern tip of the island of Borneo.

Burma, changed its name in 1989 to Ceylon in 1972 thename of the country was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka", in 1978 the name was changed to "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" Map of Sri Lanka Dutch East Indies (Netherlands East Indies) was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalized colonies of the former Dutch East India Company that came under the administration of the Netherlands in 1800. Indonesia East Pakistan, a former province of Pakistan. East Pakistan was created from Bengal Province based on the 'Mountbatten Plan' in what was then British India in 1947. Eastern Bengal was given to the Dominion of Pakistan and became a province of Pakistan by the name East Bengal. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan in 1956 and later became the country of Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, which took place after the General Elections of 1970.

British West Indies - the colonies of the British in the Caribbean: today the term refers to the British Caribbean overseas territories which are: Anguilla , Bermuda , British Virgin Islands , Cayman Islands, Montserrat , Turks and Caicos Islands. Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark - Norway in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917. US Virgin Islands French West Indies, the French overseas departments Guadeloupe and Martinique , as well as the French Caribbean Départments d'Outre Mer, include the Guadeloupe dependencies of the French part of the island St. Martin and the islands Saint-Barthélemy, Les Saintes, Marie-Galante and La Désirade.

Haiti, the Arawaks name for the island of Hispaniola New Spain (Nueva España) colonial territories of the Spanish Empire in North and Central America, including Somers Islands is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean better kown as New Spain (Nueva España) colonial territories of the Spanish Empire in North and Central America, including Mexico , Guatemala , Belize , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , Costa Rica and parts of South-West USA New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The settled areas are now part of the Mid-Atlantic States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The provincial capital, New Amsterdam, was located at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan on upper New York Bay. Today British Guiana was a British colony on the northern coast of South America, what is now the independent nation of Guyana. Capital was Georgetown . Guyana Dutch Guiana (Netherlands Guyana) Dutch colonization of the Guianas began in the beginning of the 17th century.

The colonies of Essequibo and Demerara (Demerary), Surinam, and Berbice were Dutch settlements, trading posts and plantations in the coastal areas ofthe north eastern part of South America, a region which is known as the Guianas, today divided into the countries of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and the north eastern part of Brazil. Capital city was Fort Zeelandia ( Paramaribo ) Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana , and the Amapá province of Brazil. Gran Colombia (1819-1830), the former republic consisted ofthe territories of present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. Inini, an inland territory of French Guiana, its capital was Saint-Élie. New Holland (2), Nieuw Holland, or also known as Dutch Brazil, was a former dutch colony on the northeast coast of Brazil 1630 - 1654. Capital city was Mauritsstad, today part of the city of Recife .

Province of Pernambuco, Brazil Terra de Santa Cruz , in the early 16th century when the Portoguese realized it was not an island but part of a continent they were about to conquer, they renamed it from 'Ilha de Vera Cruz' (Island of the True Cross) to Terra de Santa Cruz (Land of the Holy Cross). Today the region is known as Brazil. Map of Moldova Pridnestrovia (Transnistria) formerly part of the Soviet Union ( Russia ), today a breakaway state of Moldova also known as Transnistria, which claims territory between the Dniester river and the eastern border of Moldova with Ukraine . It declared independence in 1990 but is unrecognised by any United Nations member state. Transnistria is one of four post-Soviet "frozen conflict" zones. (see: Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia) After the dissolution of the USSR, tensions between the newly created Moldova and the de facto sovereign state of Pridnestrovia escalated into a military conflict. Unlike the rest of Moldova Pridnestrovia had not wanted to separate from the Soviet Union.

Because of the Russian military contingent present in Transnistria, the European Court of Human Rights considers Transnistria "under the effective authority or at least decisive influence of Russia". Map of Moldova Prussia, Preussen a former kingdom of the German Empire.Originally a small country on the south eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, under Frederick the Great it became a major European power covering much of modern northeast Germany and Poland. Capital city was Königsberg (today Kaliningrad, Russia), later Berlin . (region; former name for Carpatho-Ukraine) Map of Ukraine Silesia, (in German: Schlesien) historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts in the Czech Republic and Germany, its largest city and capital was Wrocław(Breslau). Poland , the Czech Republic and Germany . Soviet Union (1922 - 1991) short form of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), a former federation of Communist republics occupying the northern half of Asia and part of eastern Europe, capital city was Moscow . 12 constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 as independent post-Soviet states.

Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Estonia , Georgia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Latvia , Lithuania , Moldova , Russian Federation (Russia) , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Ukraine , Uzbekistan Scotland, the former independent kingdom is today one of four constituent nations which form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, capital city is Edinburgh Botswana historical place names and terminology Back to contents || Back to top Bamalete Old form of BaLete (the polity with capital now at Ramotswa). See Bamangwato for discussion of this form of the name. The form Bamalete is still found on signs in Ramotswa. Back to contents Bamangwato The Ngwato state which the British encountered in the 19th century was a multi-ethnic one. Its core group was the Ngwato clan whose totem was phuti (duiker). However it also included a variety of other groups, including other Tswana groups, Kalanga, BaKgalagari, and Basarwa. Perhaps about one-fifth of the population were Ngwato in the strict sense.

(The 1942 census counted 17,850 Ngwato in a total African population of 100,987 in the Bamangwato Reserve: Schapera Ethnic Composition of Tswana Tribes (1952) p. 65.) According to the linguist Desmond Cole, writing in 1955, the simple form BaNgwato is more recent than the forms which became Bamangwato: ... in some of the cases where the tribal name derives from the name of a former chief, as most of them do, possessive forms are used, thus: (batho) bagammaNgwato ((people) of the mother of Ngwato), (batho) bagaMalete ((people) of Malete), (batho) bagaMotlhware ((people) of Motlhware. {Footnote 2: Sometimes, but less typically, bammaNgwato (hence the popular "Bamangwato"), baMalete and baMotlhware.

Why bagammaNgwato should incorporate mma- (mother of) is not clear, though this occurs often in names of men in the Eastern dialects...} Even in these cases, nevertheless, the modern tendency is to follow the practice elsewhere and to use the simple nouns Bangwato, Balete, Batlhware... [Desmond T. Cole, An Introduction to Tswana Grammar (Cape Town: Longman Penguin Southern Africa, 1992) [first published 1955] p. xx.] (As regards the -ga- particle, Cole notes: In typical Tswana dialects, possessives formed from singular personal nouns of class 1a require the insertion of the element -ga- between the possessive concord and the stem. However, this -ga- is omitted by many speakers, particularly in the eastern dialects. [Ibid., p. 161, section 9.4] The term 'Bamangwato' seems to have been used, in the 19th and early 20th century, for the morafe as a whole, including Tswana of other totems and non-Tswana.

It is unclear what usage was before this; the core group may possibly originally have been known as BaPhuti. Some writers have used the terms Bamangwato and Ngwato to make a distinction: Without its prefix, 'Ngwato' implies a stricter ethnic distinction - the nuclear group which can trace its descent back to its founder called Ngwato. The term 'Bamangwato', on the other hand, is used by groups of other descent to identify themselves as nationals of the Ngwato state. We are faced with the paradox that only one-fifth of the 'BamaNgwato' are in fact 'Ngwato'. [Q. N. Parsons, "Khama III, the Bamangwato, and the British, with Special Reference to 1895-1923", (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1973), Note on spelling and abbreviations.] By this usage, the term Bamangwato was used for the people as a whole. Hence the "Bamangwato tribe" was the kingdom ruled by Sekgoma I and Khama III.

The term "Bamangwato" is no longer current, having been replaced by the shorter "BaNgwato", and younger Batswana often do not even understand it. Some have the impression that it was an inaccurate colonial form like "Gaberones". (However, the form GammaNgwato has survived as a term for the Ngwato state or territory.) "BaNgwato" has the effect of replacing MmaNgwato with Ngwato as the eponym. BaNgwato is now the only current form. Many of the people who would in the old days have been "Bamangwato", however, do not identify as BaNgwato, but as Kalanga (etc.) who live in the Central District (the local government district which replaced the old Bamangwato Reserve). The probable cause of this development is that, after Independence, the chiefs lost most (though not all) of their former direct authority and the concept of a polity subject to a chief is no longer applicable. Instead, BaNgwato identity tends to be now more ethnic in nature.

The traditional origin of the phuti totem is that Ngwato, the founder of the morafe, escaped his pursuers thanks to the unusual behaviour of a duiker which misled them. This story has parallels in the traditions of some other merafe and it has been suggested that the phuti totem may in fact be much older than Ngwato. On the other hand it should be noted that there are definite historical examples of totems being changed to mark some major change such as a split. Interestingly, in current oral tradition Ngwato is sometimes replaced by a more recent figure, Khama I, with the pursuers becoming Matebele. As with Bamalete, the form Bamagwato still survives in a few places, such as in "Bamangwato Toyota" and "Bamangwato Concessions Ltd" (a mining company). Back to contents Bantu The "Bantu" languages are the members of a very large langauge-family stretching across central, Eastern and Southern Africa. (It is a part of the larger Niger-Congo group.) The name is taken from the word for "people" which appears (in various forms) in most.

(In Setswana the word is "batho".) The term was sometimes used to refer to a supposed cultural group who spoke these languages, but academic opinion is that this is a mistake, and that the term should be restricted to languages. In the apartheid era, the South African government used "Bantu" as a racial term, postulating a supposed Bantu racial group. The term "Sintu" has been proposed as an alternative - using the "Si-" (in Setswana, "Se-") prefix which indicates languages rather than groups of people, to avoid the confusing implication of the "Ba-" in "Bantu". However, this is not yet established as common. Back to contents Basarwa Setswana term used in Botswana to refer to members of the Khoisan-speaking communities. Singular: Mosarwa; language: Sesarwa. In an earlier draft of this page, I wrote "The terms Mosarwa and Basarwa are of recent origin, and were formed by the modification of the older terms Lesarwa (singular) and Masarwa (plural).

The le/ma- prefixes are often considered to be derogatory in modern Setswana, whereas the mo/ba- prefixes are used for Tswana groups and sound more polite." Since then, Dr Jeff Ramsay has pointed out to me that the form "Basarwa" in fact appears to be older than "Masarwa", at least in SeKgalagari. This could indicate that the "Basarwa" were demoted to "Masarwa" as their subjugation progressed. See also note above on the older mo/ma usage . Anthropologists generally use the terms San and Khoe (the latter in several variants), and Khoesan for the language group as a whole. "Khoe" is a more accurate representation of pronumciation and is thus increasingly replacingly the older "Khoi" etc. Khoe and San are linguistic terms, not ethnic terms, and hence "Khoe-speaking" is sometimes preferred as more precise.

Neil Parsons comments: (H-SAFRICA, 13 May 2005) Khoe [is] one of three major linguistic divisions of the Khoesan languages: Khoe in and around the Kalahari middle (though later also spread to the Cape), with Northern San to the north and Southern San to the south. The great majority of so-called "Bushmen" or "Basarwa" in Botswana and probably Namibia are Khoe-speakers. The word khoe meaning "person" in Khoe languages, while San means something like "them others" or worse in Khoe languages. Hence Khoe people who are told that they are sometimes called San in the outside world can be quite virulent in their rejection of the term. The people themselves have not as yet agreed on a single terminology. Some activists and organizations prefer "San", which is probably the most "politically correct" usage. However, in many places this term is not recognized (or is actively disliked, see above) by the people concerned, who often use either "Basarwa" or "Bushmen". Unfortunately both of these are also disliked by some.

"Basarwa" seems to some merely a euphemism for "Masarwa", a name given by the oppressors. "Bushmen" sounds somewhat derogatory to many Southern Africans, though to western ears its connotations seem more positive. (This may be connected with the fact that while to westerners "bush" evokes nature in a positive/romantic sense, to Southern Africans "bush" indicates the opposite of civilized.) An example: the Dqae Qare project, a venture in cultural tourism owned and operated by the Ncoakhoe people near Ghanzi (see page on historical/cultural tourism ) is described on the publicity leaflet as "A community based tourism project of the Bushmen of D'Kar, Ghanzi District, Botswana". Inside a note reads: "We are called San, or Bushmen. We call ourselves Ncoakhoe, the 'red people'." On the other hand, Kuela Kiema writes: "We are known by many names, most of them imposed by our oppressors. We are called San, Bushmen, Khoisan and/or Basarwa....

[In this book] I use the name Kua to refer to all the San or Basarwa as perceived by the Dcuikhoe and the Dxanakhoe." (Kuela Kiema, Tears for my land: A Social history of the Kua of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Tc'amnqoo (Gaborone: Mmegi Publishing, 2010) p. 12. Kiema has a detailed discussion of the various terms in use on pp. 67 - 71 of this book.) It should be noted that often a particular group such as the Ncoakhoe is being referred to, in which case it is normally appropriate to use their name, rather than any of the generic terms. In summary, therefore, it will be seen that no universally acceptable usage is yet available. In the present situation, the main thing is to be sensitive to the problem, and to respect the wishes of the people concerned in particular cases. Term Back to contents Batswana Plural of Motswana, i.e. Tswana people (plural). However, in modern use the words Motswana and Batswana are also used to mean "citizen(s) of Botswana".

A Kalanga-speaking citizen of Botswana is not a Tswana person, but is a Motswana in the sense of citizen. This leads to some confusion; for example in a recent local newspaper report a writer expressed puzzlement about a statement in which San were distinguished from "Batswana". To avoid this confusion, it is useful to use the form "Tswana" (even when prefixes are being used for other Bantu names) to indicate Tswana ethnicity, since "Tswana" is only used in the ethnic sense and not in the sense of "citizen of Botswana". This usage is supported to some extent by Oxford's A Dictionary of South African English (Oxford: OUP, 1996), which notes under "Tswana" that "'Bechuana' has been replaced in S. Afr. Eng. by 'Tswana' (usually meaning a seTswana-speaking South African) and 'Batswana' (often meaning the citizens of Botswana, but see MOTSWANA ." (p. 749). Under "Motswana" it gives (1) a member of the western Sotho [Tswana] ethnic/linguistic group (2) citizen of Botswana. (p.

479). Back to contents Bechuana Old spelling of Batswana, i.e. the Tswana people. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term was often used in English without regard to the plural implication of the Ba- prefix: e.g. "He was a Bechuana man"; "They were Bechuanas". Back to contents Bechuanaland The country of the Bechuana. Pronounced "betch-WAH-na-land". Note that (as used in early written accounts) this was not exactly the same area as modern Botswana. In the 20th century, however, it tended to mean the Bechuanaland Protectorate . (See also British Bechuanaland .) Some early travellers used instead terms such as "Boochuana", representing the word now spelt Botswana (country of the Tswana). Back to contents Bechuanaland Protectorate The British Protectorate established initially in 1885 and later extended: this colony became independent in 1966 as Botswana. Sometimes abbreviated BP. Not to be confused with British Bechuanaland .

Back to contents Boleswa Abbreviation of "Botswana-Lesotho-Swaziland". The three colonies' shared status as "High Commission Territories" (q.v.) gave them a number of common interests, especially in the period of apartheid. The three initially shared a common university, founded as the University of Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland (UBBS) in 1964; later the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS). See the historical note on the main UB web-site. The three now have separate universities, which however continue to maintain special Boleswa links, notably the long-running series of Boleswa conferences in Theology and Religious Studies. Back to contents Bophuthatswana The Tswana "homeland" established in the apartheid period, ruled by President Lucas Mangope until its collapse in 1994 shortly before the South African elections. The name was familiarly shortened to "Bop". Its territory was a bizarre patchwork of enclaves, and, as with the other "homelands", its supposed independence from South Africa was not recognized by the rest of the world.

South Africa and Bophuthatswana seem to have hoped to pressure Botswana into some sort of recognition, and the name certainly succeeded in confusing many people not familiar with Southern Africa. Back to contents Botswana In Setswana, "the country of the Batswana". In modern use, the Republic of Botswana which was founded in 1966. During the colonial period the word was not normally used in English (see "Bechuanaland") but it is found in some early pre-colonial sources, written as (e.g.) "Boochuana", meaning the wider Tswana-dominated area known in late pre-colonial sources as "Bechuanaland" rather than the present (more limited) territory of the Republic of Botswana. Back to contents Botswanan This adjective from Botswana (recorded by OED from 1967 on) is commonly seen in foreign newspapers etc., but is not favoured within Botswana. Use " Motswana/Batswana " for people, and "Botswana" for reference to the state, e.g. "the Botswana government" or "the Botswana economy".

(The author of this page once discovered to his dismay that a foreign proof-reader had altered adjectival "Botswana" to "Botswanan" at the last minute and that it appeared in print under his name.) The OED correctly notes "Motswana/Batswana" but states that " Tswana " is used as the adjective for the country: this is indeed sometimes found, but "the Tswana government" or "the Tswana economy" are certainly not normal. The variant form "Botswanian" is also recorded by OED. See 2nd ed., entry Botswana. Back to contents British Bechuanaland The southern part of "Bechuanaland", which became a British colony separate from the Bechuanaland Protectorate, with which it is often confused. After a brief period in which this southern area was a protectorate, British Bechuanaland (the area including Mafikeng) was annexed as a Colony , while the northern area was its hinterland protectorate .

Such arrangements, with a Colony and a larger, secondary Protectorate territory, were found in other parts of the Empire, but in 1895 British Bechuanaland was transferred to the Cape Colony, leaving the Bechuanaland Protectorate separated. Back to contents British Bechuanaland Protectorate [incorrect form] There was a Colony of British Bechuanaland , which became part of Cape Colony in 1895, and a separate Protectorate, the Bechuanaland Protectorate , which became Botswana in 1966. Confusion between the two has sometimes led to references to the non-existent "British Bechuanaland Protectorate". The "British" in "British Bechuanaland" distinguished it as being a Colony, and hence British soil, unlike the Protectorate, and so the incorrect addition of the word to the name of the Protectorate should be avoided. Back to contents Colony This term is slightly ambiguous. In the technical sense, a Colony in the British Empire was a territory which had become British soil (in Africa, usually by annexation), with its inhabitants being British subjects, as opposed to a Protectorate , which was theoretically "foreign" land under British control.

In this sense, Basutoland (Lesotho) was a Colony while the B.P. and Northern Rhodesia (after 1924) were Protectorates. However, the term "colony" is also used in a generic sense for all colonized dependent territories; in this sense all three would be "colonies". The technical difference in status was not usually of great importance in how colonies were treated. (There were also other types of British dependency which would mostly be "colonies" in this sense.) British Bechuanaland , not to be confused with the Bechuanaland Protectorate, was a Colony in the technical sense. In fact the "British" in the name indicated this distinction (this is found in several colony names). Back to contents Gaberones In nineteenth-century practice, Tswana capitals were often referred to by Europeans by the name of the kgosi (king or chief). This was partly because of the fact that these settlements relocated fairly frequently (see Neil Parsons, "The Abandonment of Phalatswe" ) and so place names were less stable than names of dikgosi.

Thus, the BaNgwato capital, at Soshong, Phalatswe or Serowe, could be referred to as "Khama's village" or simply "Khama's". The village of the BaTlokwa was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries therefore known as "Gaberone's" after the wily and extraordinarily long-lived Kgosi Gaborone. Just across the Notwane from this village was a major colonial base (or "Camp"): this became known as Gaberones, the apostrophe somehow being lost. At Independence, Gaberones was selected as the site for a new capital to replace Mafeking (which was not even in the country). This was named Gaborone, the correct spelling of the late kgosi's name. The traditional village of the BaTlokwa is now known as Tlokweng. A fairly common convention in Botswana historical writing is to use "Gaberones" for the government base, and "Gaborone" for the modern city. As well as avoiding anachronism, this has the advantage of reminding the reader of the difference between a government Camp and a city.

"Gaborone", incidentally, means "It [chieftainship] is not unbecoming". Back to contents Gaborone The capital city of the Republic of Botswana, built just before Independence (as the capital could hardly remain in Mafeking, and Lobatse, the earlier favourite, had been rejected for various reasons). Gaborone was built next to the old Gaberones (q.v.) government camp, the area of which is now known in Gaborone as "the Village" - a rather pleasant area in which many UB staff live. Gabs Abbreviation of "Gaberones", still used locally for Gaborone. (For example, it appears in the Botswana telephone directory.) Back to contents High Commission Territories The three territories of Basutoland (Lesotho), Swaziland, and the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The name refers to the peculiar system of colonial adminsistration. Whereas most British African colonies had a governor who reported to London, the HC Territories had a Resident Commissioner who came under the High Commissioner for South Africa.

This was a somewhat accidental hang-over from the nineteenth century; the three being the remnants of an origianlly more extensive system of regional supervision by the High Commissioner as a sort of super-governor. It led to "Boleswa" (q.v.) links which still continue. Back to contents Kalahari The "Kalahari desert" in the centre and west of Botswana is not a true sand desert, and is sometimes called a "thirstland". The original significance of the word is disputed. In modern Setswana the word is "Kgalagadi", and this has sometimes been described as "more correct". However, the older (Sotho-Tswana) populations of the area are not Setswana speakers, but a group known as BaKgalagari (or BaKgalagadi, or BaKalahari), and in their langauge the word is closer to "Kalahari" than to "Kgalagadi". The BaKgalagari have remained a marginalized group, and the language is not yet well-established in a written form. I have seen "SheKgalagari" in a recent multi-lingual church publication.

The Setswana forms "BaKgalagadi" and "SeKgalagadi" are probably still the most common in academic use. It is notable that early European visitors (even in areas now regarded as Setswana) recorded a number of words in forms which look more like modern SeKgalagari than modern Setswana. (E.g. Morimo = modern Setswana Modimo, God.) Back to contents Masarwa Older form, with connotations of out-group and/or subordination, of "Basarwa". See Basarwa above. As with " Bechuana ", in pre-colonial and colonial times this plural form was sometimes used in English as if a singular: e.g. "She was a Masarwa." As with "Bechuana", this (logically erroneous) usage can be found in the work of writers who were fully aware that it was actually a plural, and in some cases spoke Setswana, so no conclusions can safely be drawn about the linguistic knowledge of the user. Back to contents Matebele, Matabele Now refers to the Ndebele of Zimbabwe, but it does not seem to be a Setswana corruption of Ndebele.

Rather Matebele appears to be a Sotho-Tswana term applied to Nguni invaders which refers to their tactic of crouching behind large shields (either "go teba" sink or "thebe" shield) -- this according to the OED. Ndebele may possible derive from Matebele. In Botswana, the term "Matebele" has often been used in a loose sense for foreigners who might or might not actually be Ndebele. Hence references to "Matebele" should not necessarily be automatically "corrected" to Ndebele. Monare Setswana term for missionary, from Afrikaans meneer ("sir"). Often given untranslated in 19th century texts in English. Back to contents Morafe Setswana word often translated "tribe" or "nation". Plural merafe. Pre-colonial Batswana were organized in a number of relatively small independent kingdoms or chiefdoms, showing a definite fissiparous tendency, but also showing an ability to absorb and recoalesce. Refugees etc. joined as junior partners.

This pattern assisted the merafe in the north and west to successfully integrate large numbers of non-Tswana during the 19th C. in conditions of varying levels of subordination. By the later 19th C. the largest merafe, such as GammaNgwato under Khama III were emerging as multi-ethnic but Tswana-dominated states. Thus as applied to the Tswana-ruled precolonial states of the Bamangwato, BaTawana etc. and their colonial-era successors "morafe" is perhaps better rendered "polity" since they were essentially political rather than ethnic units. Prefixes The grammatical difference between English and the Bantu/Sintu languages has led to a variety of practices. Prefix omitted: This style is the most common in English writing world-wide, and is favoured by anthropologists. Thus "Sotho" is used without prefixes. "They spoke Sotho." "They were Sotho." This is probably the style most often used in most historical work published in the west.

However, it is sometimes disliked by speakers of the languages, on the grounds that the form is spurious - that is, there is no word "Sotho" as such in the Sesotho language, only the words "Basotho", "Sesotho" etc. Hence "Sotho" is like talking about the "Engl" people and language. Prefix included, word capitalized as a single English word. E.g. "Setswana", "Motswana". This is the most common style in Botswana (used in both official and journalistic writing in English), and is used in T.Tlou and A. Campbell, A History of Botswana . Prefix included but not capitalized, stem capitalized. E.g. "He spoke seTswana." This is found (e.g.) in some articles in Botswana Notes and Records Prefix included, both prefix and stem capitalized. E.g. "They spoke SeTswana" This is used in The Birth of Botswana . All these have advantages. Writing in Botswana, Lesotho etc. has long been especially likely to retain prefixes, including prefixes of non-Sotho-Tswana languages (e.g. "the Wayeyi").

The fourth option, "SeTswana", has the advantage that it fits in with both the logic of English grammar (by capitalizing the first letter of a name) and the logic of Bantu grammar (by capitalizing the stem). The author of these notes favours using this style but with the option to vary it when convenient (as in "Sotho-Tswana" etc. etc.) Some special problems: Including the prefix can present problems when less familiar Bantu languages are being referred to, as the prefixes will vary from language to language. Hence prefixes are least likely to be retained when writing about a wide range of languages. "Batswana" has the dual meaning of "Tswana-speaking people" and "citizens of Botswana". Hence the trend to use "Tswana" for the former meaning (even if the writer is using prefixes otherwise) in order to avoid ambiguity. See Batswana . Back to contents Protectorate The concept of a Protectorate, an arrangement by which one state had some sort of oversight or control over another state or territory, developed over time.

The earliest type was that of the control of states which continued to exist as subordinate entities, but in the 19th century Britain increasingly used Protectorates in Africa as a form of control which avoided the responsibilities which went with actual annexation (see Colony ). At the end of the 19th century, partly as a result of the takeover of Bechuanaland, the distinction became increasingly blurred, and in the 20th century protectorates differed little from colonies in law. Its inhabitants were British Protected Persons rather than subjects, and in an important case (The King v. Earl of Crewe: Ex parte Sekhome[1910] 2 K.B. 576) it was ruled that (at least in the B.P.) they lacked certain rights they would have had in a colony. The fact of the B.P. having been a Protectorate rather than a colony is frequently but mistakenly given as the reason for the relatively low level of British interference.

That the key really lies in the circumstances of the territory can be seen from the fact that Basutoland (Lesotho) was an annexed Colony, yet treated similarly to the B.P., whereas Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), a colony with powerful settler influence, was a protectorate. The history of protectorate status is a very difficult subject which requires study of both historical and legal technicalities, and caution is advised. The classic work is W. Ross Johnston, Sovereignty and Protection: A Study of British Jurisdictional Imperialism in the Late Nineteenth Century (1973). For the B.P. see A.J.G.M. Sanders, Bechuanaland and the Law in Politicians' Hands (Botswana Society 1992). The High Commission Territories were often referred to informally as "the Protectorates". Back to contents South Africa Until 1910 "South Africa" was a general term for the region, like "West Africa" today. Britain tried to manage the region as a whole through the "High Commissioner for South Africa".

In 1910 four British colonies - the Cape Colony, Natal, the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal - were combined as a new Dominion, the Union of South Africa. From this point "South Africa" began to be restricted to this state, but the process took a long time. Doris Lessing's characters, living in Southern Rhodesia, talk in the 1930s of being in "South Africa". The ambiguity was significant in the case of the three High Commission Territories, as the Union of South Africa hoped and expected to "incorporate" them as the 1909 South Africa Act had envisaged). In 1961 South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. The Union became the "Republic of South Africa" (RSA), which should not be written "South African Republic", as the South African Republic (q.v.) was one of the 19th century Boer republics. The RSA was readmitted to the Commonwealth after the end of apartheid. The Orange River Colony and the Transvaal were the former Boer republics, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic.

Back to contents South African Republic The official title of the Boer republic in the Transvaal. The name is abbreviated "ZAR" (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek - the spelling is Dutch rather than Afrikaans, which did not become an official language until the twentieth century). "ZAR" is also the abbreviation for "South African Rands". Back to contents Tiger Leopards were at one time usually called "tigers" in Southern Africa. This usage was very common in the early twentieth century, but seems to have declined in mid-century. By the late twentieth century old references to "tigers" often caused confusion. In his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandela recalls how the prisoners on Robben Island had a long-running and energetic debate on whether there had ever been tigers in Africa. Back to contents Totem In Tswana (and many other African) societies, each individual has a totem, which is usually an animal. In Tswana society totems are inherited from the father and thus pass like English surnames. The totem animal had traditionally a status of veneration and avoidance: in particular, it was important not to eat one's totem.

In modern Tswana society this is not as strictly observed. Merafe have their totems, which are the totems of the core group, but not all members of the morafe will necessarily share this. This reflects largely the way in which the larger Tswana merafe were built up out of various groups in a complex multi-ethnic system. It tends to be assumed that groups with the same totem are related, though this is not necessarily true. Totems have occasionally been changed to mark some major change: a traditional example is the adoption of the duiker (phuti) by the BaNgwato (see above), but there are other examples within historical record. The older Tswana group names tend to refer to the totem: e.g. BaKwena, they of the crocodile (Kwena) (although Bakwena tradition posits an eponymous Kwena).

The word "go bina" (usually translated "dance") is used in connection with totems, as Livingstone noted: They also use the word "bina", to dance, in reference to the custom of thus naming themselves, so that, when you wish to ascertain what tribe they belong to, you say, "What do you dance?" It would seem as if that had been a part of the worship of old. [David Livingstone, Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa , chapter 1.] No direct evidence of such a dance ceremony, however, has been found in Tswana culture, and other writers have argued that the word may never have meant "dance" in this context. It is interesting to note that among the Khoesan peoples of Botswana there are indeed important animal dances in which, for example, a dancer dances the eland, the lion, etc. Back to contents Tribe This term causes a great deal of confusion. In the pre-colonial and colonial periods, there was a general idea among Europeans that African society was "tribal", without, however, a clearly agreed definition of what this meant.

Most commonly "tribe" has been used to denote ethnic groups, such as Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda, and it is in this sense that the pejorative term "tribalism" is understood. (Modern Africans are often ambivalent about the term, pointing out that in Europe the Serbs are "ethnic" whereas in Africa groups are "tribal". Europeans use "tribal" for their own conflicts only when wishing to harshly condemn the participants, as in some impatient British comment on Northern Ireland.) However, in the Bechuanaland Protectorate tribe was used to translate morafe. While "morafe" does have a general sense of "nation", the 19th C. and colonial-era merafe had become polities of multi-ethnic composition. (See merafe ). Hence the "Bamangwato Tribe" was the multi-ethnic polity ruled by Khama III and Tshekedi Khama. Official post-independence Botswana usage has continued this meaning of "tribe".

However, the term has also been used in Botswana (both before and after Independence) to denote ethnicity, as in for example "the Kalanga tribe" or "the Wayei tribe" - ethnic groups which in colonial times were part of multi-ethnic Tswana-ruled polities. Discussions, such as the recent debates in Botswana over the proposal to extend the membership of the House of Chiefs, has often been seriously confused by failure to distinguish the two quite different senses. AFRICAN FIRST PEOPLES: THE BUSHWO/MEN WHO ARE THE OPPRESSORS ? The Tswana - and their western corporate stirrup holders The Tswanas are a tribe who migrated from Central/East Africa to southern Africa during the 14th century. The origin of the name �Tswana� is a mystery, but is applied to a number of groups who all speak the same language, have similar customs, but separate names. The Tswana migrated into central southern Africa in the 14th century. Tswana is also the language spoken by the Batswana people. This is a group of tribes of Bantu origin, making up a significant part of the population of the country of Botswana.

Tswana is a Bantu language of Niger-Congo origin and alternatively called also CHUANA, COANA, CUANA, SETSWANA, SECHUANA, BEETJUANS. It is one of the national languages of Botswana, where it is spoken by over 1,000,000. It is also spoken by nearly 3,000,000 in the country of South Africa and by lesser numbers in Namibia and Zimbabwe. Tswana (singular moTswana or Motswana, plural baTswana or Batswana) is the name of these people, and of its Bantu language. In the 19th century, a common spelling and pronunciation was Bechuana, and the area where they lived was known as Bechuanaland. The Tswana today comprise several groupings, the most important of which, numerically speaking, are the Hurutshe, Kgatla, Kwena, Rolong, Tlhaping, and Tlokwa. They numbered about four million at the turn of the 21st century.

As herders and cultivators the Tswana found the high plains to their liking, because the grass was excellent for cattle, there were no serious endemic livestock diseases and the soil was deep and easy to cultivate. Sorghum, beans, pumpkins, sweet melons and gourds were planted, and the Tswana found that maize, introduced by the Portuguese into the country, was also highly productive. The origin of the name �Tswana� is a mystery. It is applied to a number of groups who all speak the same Bantu language, have similar customs, but separate names. None of them ever knew themselves as the Tswana. As with several other people in South Africa, their name was given by foreigners. The meaning is unknown. The history of the Tswana people is one of continual dissension and fission where disputes, sometimes over chieftain ascendancy, resulted in a section of the tribe breaking away from the main tribe, under the leadership of a dissatisfied chief's relative, and settling elsewhere. Often the name of the man who led the splinter group was taken as the new tribe's name. Today there are 59 different groups in South Africa who now accept the overall name of Tswana.

About three-fourths of the Tswana people live in South Africa. Only about one-fourth live in Botswana, the country named after them. The modern republic of Botswana, formerly known as the colony of (British) Bechuanaland, is named after this people (Bantu languages often use prefixes, in this case bo-, for grammatical flexions and for word derivations, rather then endings and suffixes as is more usual in Indo-European languages).

Seven of the country's eight 'major' tribes (the only exception being the baMalete or Balete) are Tswana, and still have a traditional Paramount Chief styled Kg�sikgolo and entitled to a seat in the House of chiefs , all dynasties being related (some have known splits in two or three competing lines), all but one in officially recognized tribal reserves : baR�l�ng (reserve created in 1935) baKw�na (reserve created in 1899) baNgwaketse (reserve created in 1899) bamaNgwato (reserve created in 1899) baTawana (reserve Ngamiland created in 1899) baTl�kwa (reserve created in 1933) baKgatla (no reserve). As the Batswana constitute the majority population of Botswana , the word is also sometimes used to cover all citizens of Botswana, i.e. including other tribes, such as various Khoisan .

South Africa and homeland (bantustan) The largest number of baTswana live in South Africa , were they are one of the larger black minorities whose language is official status. Until 1994 they were notionally citizens of Bophuthatswana , one of the few bantustans that actually became reality as planned by the Apartheid regime. The Chiefs of the following tribal baTswana polities are all styled Kg�si (less lofty then Kg�sikgolo) : baTlhaping, split before 1800 in baTlhaping bagaPhuduhudu and baTlhaping bagaPhuduhutswane (further split in 4, later 5, dynastic lines).

baTl�kwa baR�l�ng baRratlou, split into baR�l�ng baRratlou booMariba (further split in two dynastic lines) and baR�l�ng baRratlou booSeitshiro baR�l�ng baSeleka baR�l�ng baRrapulana baHhurutshe (split before 1800 into two nameless ruling lines, the second of which split again into baHhurutshe ba booMokgatlha and baHhurutshe bagaMoilwa, and later further split). The Tswana are closely related to the Sotho (of Lesotho and South Africa). The Sotho-Tswana are bonded in language and customs. They claim a common ancestor, Mogale. They share an agrarian culture, social structures, political organization, religious and magical beliefs and also a family life. All the Sotho and Tswana languages are inherently intelligible, but for political and historical reasons, they have generally been considered as three languages. The larger sub-tribes are often considered as separate tribes with their separate languages.

Tswana, also known as Setswana, is a Bantu language. Tswana is the national and majority language of Botswana, whose people are the Batswana (singular Motswana). The majority of Tswana speakers are in South Africa (where it is an official language), but there are also speakers in Zimbabwe and Namibia. Internationally there are about 4 million speakers. Before South Africa became a multi-racial democracy, the bantustan of Bophuthatswana was set up to cover the Tswana speakers of South Africa. Setswana is a Bantu language, belonging to the Niger-Congo language family. It is most closely related to two other languages in the Sotho language group, Sesotho (Southern Sotho) and Northern Sotho (Sesotho sa Leboa). It has also been known as Beetjuans, Chuana (hence Bechuanaland), Coana, Cuana, and Sechuana. Traditional Tswana society included men, women, children and "badimo" (ancestors, living dead, having metaphysical powers). A Tswana does not think in terms of individual rights, but of responsibilities to his family and tribe.

The father is to be obeyed and respected by his wife and children at all times. The Sotho-Tswana are organized by lineages, which developed as the tribe grew. The lineages are organized in subunits and communities. Every level exhibits the same social organization, such as the Kgotla, the traditional court, with various officials assigned various duties in the social structure at each level. In traditional Tswana religion (tribal animism) "Modimo" is the great God, or "The Great Spirit." But the christian churches have today a strong hand on all the Tswana communities. The Bible translation into Tswana started in 1857 and was concluded in 1993. Because of the fact that job availability in Botswana is changing from rural to urban, many Tswanas are leaving the villages and are not returning. Thus the Tswana are fast becoming a modern secular society, in Botswana as well as South Africa. The rich Tswana upperclass, who is at the forefront of oppressing the peoples living their traditional live, derived their wealth from diamond deals and cattle as well as from European Union funding. Tourism (incl.

significant sex-tourism mainly during the days of the Apartheid regime) was and is a backbone of the economic development for the ruling strata of todays mainstream society in Botswana. In collaboration with western enterprises and often through middlemen in South Africa the economic ventures of the ruling elite are vastly diversified, while the UN human development report 2005 states that Botswana is lagging behind in human development in a world in which inequalities are a barrier to growth Sources: compilation from various encyclopaedia and various broad and scientific publications

Question: Botswana was formerly known by what name?
Answer: (BRITISH) BECHUANALAND