Colonial Administration Pages
Introduction and Index

These pages are designed to give background information on colonial administration in the Bechuanaland Protectorate, for general readers and for researchers using archival sources in and on Botswana.

Page 1 illustrates changes in colonial administration between 1891-92 and 1966. Pages 2 and 3 are essays on administrative development up to 1937. Page 4 is an essay on colonial intelligence. There is also a list of known colonial officers (in and over the B.P.) by district and date.

See also Brief History of Botswana.

INDEX

• Page 1. Extracts from Documents (A-J):
  • A: "Palapye the Wondrous," 1893
  • B: Petition of Khama to Colonial Office, 28 June 1895
  • C: Simon Ratshosa on R.C. Williams, c.1931
  • D: SA Native Administration Act, 1927
  • E: Rey Diaries on Mafikeng Secretariat, Oct.- Nov. 1929
  • F: Fairlie on Molepolole district administration, 1949
  • G: The Suppressed "Harragin Report", 1959
  • H: Bathoen and the House of Chiefs, 1964
  • I: Report of Silberbauer's Bushman Survey, 1965
  • J: Planning Officer's Manual, 1986
• Page 2: "Charles Rey and previous commissioners of the Bechuanaland Protectorate"
• Page 3: "The Williams regime in the Bechuanaland Protectorate 1901-1906"
• Page 4: Intelligence Reporting In Colonial Botswana, 1895-1965
• Bechuanaland Colonial Administrators c.1884-c.1965

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

For African Primary Sources/ National Archives see Africa Research Central Clearinghouse. The Botswana National Archives and other archives have guest-pages there. The Namibia National Archives has its own full web-site, with lots of pages (including a register of theses on Namibia) and links. Go for Colonial Office and for Dominions Office/ Commonwealth Relations Office records categories on the rather limited web-site of the Public Records Office (English National Archives) in London. Stanford University has a page on Colonial Office Confidential Print on Africa 1870-1922.

See also Colonial Zimbabwe: Selected Bibliography, and for current books in print see Amazon Books and browse for History, then Africa, then Southern, then Botswana - or go for "Imperial History" on Book Search.

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Copyright © 1999 Neil Parsons
Last updated 22 April 2008. [PAGE ENDS]