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BACKGROUND
Land and Climate
Area (sq. mi.): 224,607
Area (sq. km.): 581,730
Botswana, a landlocked country in southern Africa, covers an area somewhat smaller than Myanmar or the U.S. state of Texas. Eighty percent of Botswana's territory (the area to the west of most cities) is covered by the Kgalagadi (Kalahari) Desert, which consists of savanna grasses and shrubs but virtually no water. Gently rolling hills form the eastern border. The Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta, is found in the north. Its wetlands harbor a wide variety of wildlife, including crocodiles, hippopotamuses, elephants, Cape buffalo, and African fish eagles. National parks and other protected wildlife areas cover 45 percent of Botswana's
Reservoirs provide water for major urban areas, but most water comes from wells. Small dams catch rain runoff for cattle, which far outnumber the human population. Drought cycles are common.
Summer is from October to April, with temperatures often above 100°F (37°C). During winter, which lasts from May to August, days are typically windy and sunny. Temperatures may drop below freezing at night in some parts of the country.
History
Tswana Settlers and Contact with the West
Tswana ethnic groups began moving into Botswana from the southeast in the early 1500s. They displaced and absorbed other peoples as they spread out to claim all land that had water or was suitable for grazing and agriculture. Various chiefdoms developed over the next few hundred years.
Ethnic disputes beginning in the mid-1700s left Tswana chiefdoms vulnerable to invasions by refugee armies from Zulu wars in Natal (now in South Africa). These wars began in the early 1800s and caused great upheaval in southern Africa. Also during this time, many Tswana chiefs allowed Christian missionaries access to their people. This opened the interior of Africa to exploitation by European hunters and
British Influence
However, Boer (white settlers of primarily Dutch descent) encroachment from 1852 onward led major Tswana chiefs, under the direction of Khama III, to seek protection through the British government. The British, eager to secure a labor supply for their South African mines and a route to newly discovered gold in Matabeleland (Zimbabwe), established the Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1885.
In the 20th century, unrest in the Rhodesias (now Zambia and Zimbabwe) and...