Botswana before independence was the Protectorate of Bechuanaland, established in 1885 and run originally from Mafeking. It was landlocked, adjoining South Africa and very much at the mercy of the ...

Fifty years ago this month, Britain surrendered its Bechuanaland protectorate to self-rule — just as it had Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Basutoland (now Lesotho ...