In 1885 three senior chiefs – Sebele I of the Bakwena, Khama III of the Bangwato, and Bathoen I of the Bangwaketse – traveled to London in 1885 to petition Joseph Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and while there, they were presented to Queen Victoria.
They petitioned the Queen for protection; and this was granted. The Bechaunaland Protectorate was established in the same year, thus circumventing the territory’s potentially disastrous incorporation into the British South Africa and forever altering the history of the country. It must be noted that the Dikgosi (three chiefs) prevented the country from coming under the control of Cecil Rhodes who most likely would have been a far more exploitative administrator. This move also kept Botswana from being absorbed intoSouth Africa and apartheid.
Do I fit in with these three?
The design is an open assembly space with the statues at one end. On either side are large monuments depicting Botswana values: Endurance, Global Responsibility, Independence, Refuge, Heroism, and Protection.
