The establishment of the protectorate (part 26) � �From Glasgow to Brighton�

Jeff Ramsay | Monday November 30, 2015 14:49

From Glasgow in the north to Brighton in the south they criss-crossed Mmamosadinyana’s kingdom, tirelessly pressing their case at each stopover against Botswana’s transfer to the control of Rhodes’ Chartered Company.

One of the larger crowds to greet the Dikgosi was at Brighton where, on a Monday evening (30/9/1895), an audience of some 3,000 jammed into the “Dome” as part of the annual General Assembly of the Congregational Union, which included a special appeal to support the chiefs’ mission. The Dikgosi, themselves, addressed the audience the following afternoon when Sebele once more reportedly “brought the house down” with his by now stock opening remarks linking the Batswana cause to the legacy of Livingstone and the transcendent love of God that “made no difference between black men and white men.

Growing public support for the Batswana cause was countered with renewed attempts to spread disinformation on the part of Rhodes’ press minions. Upon arriving at Liverpool the Dikgosi were confronted with recycled stories that they and Rhodes had already agreed to come to terms. Speaking at a large civic luncheon hosted by the Lord Mayor, Sebele directly condemned the false newspapers reports:

“I want you to know that this is a lie. We have never had a meeting with this company. We have not spoken about these things with them, and we say, as we said before, we want the Government and nobody besides (adding)...

“To this thing we ask your help, saying to you, ‘you, who are the people of this nation, can you not speak your thoughts and your words, so that your chieftains may not hand us over into the power of the company? As for us we have no power to restrain them, we are weak in the hands of those who are mighty. But you have the power, for is the nation not yours?”

More helpfully sympathetic newspapers were by mid-October circulating draft petitions in support of the Dikgosi. After a successful swing through Scotland, Khama also found himself unexpectedly featured in the high society pages when he, apparently accompanied by Simeon Seisa, joined other aristocrats in riding in Lord Galway’s annual foxhunt in North Nottinghamshire:

“Khama is a fine horseman. With a good seat and splendid nerve, he appeared quite at home, and derived great enjoyment from the experience.”

In-between their public appearances the Dikgosi filled their days with further press interviews and sightseeing. The later activity included a visit to Madame Tussaud’s already famous Wax Museum, whose collection then prominently displayed a dusty likeness of the late Dr. Livingstone.

The Dikgosi wound up their nationwide touring in the town of Hanley on October 29, 1895, returning once more to London. But, while they had been busy capturing British hearts and minds, back in Botswana ominous developments were taking place.

The transfer of the Barolong Farms and Gamalete to the Chartered Company, which the Colonial Secretary, Chamberlain, had quietly authorised before his departure, was formalised on the 18th of October 1895. As previously noted, this step allowed the appointment of Dr. Leander Jameson as the Resident Commissioner of Company territories in Bechuanaland. The transfer of the Gaborone block and Kgatleng followed.

The former commander of the Chartered Company’s forces against the Amandebele, Jameson then began to assemble a large military force at Pitsane Potlhoko out of units transferred from Zimbabwe reinforced by local border police. Newspapers reported Rhodes Company disinformation that the troops were amassing to strike against the “rebellious” Bakgatla of Linchwe.

Thus, by the beginning of November 1895 as Dikgosi Bathoen, Khama, and Sebele prepared for a further round of negotiations with the Colonial Office over the future of their territories, Rhodes’ Chartered Company was already moving quickly to consolidate its political control over other portions of the Bechuanaland Protectorate.

With the Colonial Office’s blessing, the Company further attempted to reach its own settlement with the three dikgosi. But a preliminary discussion between the two parties on November 2, 1895 broke down almost immediately when Rhodes representatives produced a map showing Gammangwato, Gangwaketse and Kweneng reduced to small “native reserves”, with the rest of the territory becoming the property of the Company. The Company’s blueprint for control over Botswana was formally rejected by the Dikgosi in a letter dated November 4, 1895, which went on to observe:

“You speak to us as if you had taken our land in war and we had to beg it from you. The land is ours, not yours, and we cannot speak of giving the best parts to you. We occupy the waters with our cattle and our gardens, and we cannot remove our people for the sake of selling our country.”

In a separate letter to the Colonial Secretary, Chamberlain, the Dikgosi re-affirmed that: “We do not wish to talk again with the company; we will talk with you.”