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Table of Contents
Officially known as the Republic of Botswana, Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. This country is a member of the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations.
See the fact file below for more information on the Botswana or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Botswana worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
HISTORY
- For many thousands of years, people speaking the Khoisan, Khoe, and San languages have lived in Botswana.
- Bantu-speaking farmers then gradually brought their crops and Bantu languages southward from the Equator.
- In Botswana, the earliest dated Iron Age site is an iron-smelting furnace in Tswapong Hills.
- There is also evidence of an early farming settlement in the west of the Okavango delta, which is located in the Tsodilo Hills.
- The rise of the Mortisane culture, which is characterized by a site on Mortisane Hill near Gabane, is associated with the Khalagari or Kgalagadi chiefdoms.
- The Khalagari chiefdom is the westernmost dialect group of
Sotho or Sotho-Tswana speakers. - Rulers living on Toutswe Hill dominated the farming culture of Serowe.
- The main way to make a living was cattle herding.
- Toutswe people hunted westward into the Kalahari, and they also traded eastward along the Limpopo River.
- The Toutswe state has been conquered by the Mapungubwe state, but the triumph of the Mapungubwe state was short-lived, as the Toutswe state was superseded by the new state of Great Zimbabwe.
- A number of powerful dynasties began to emerge among the Tswana in the western Transvaal region during the 13th and 14th centuries.
- Rolong chiefdoms expanded westward over the lands controlled by the Khalagari peoples.
- Hurutshe, Kwena, and Kgatla were the main dynasties of Tswana, and they were derived from the Phofu Dynasty.
- In 1795, the Ngwaketse chiefdom was founded by Kwena and Hurutshe migrants in southern Botswana.
- In the 1840s, the Tswana states of the Ngwaketse, Kwena, Ngwato, and Tawana were reconstituted.
- Miners and prospectors flooded Botswana from 1867 to 1869 to start deep gold mining at Tati.
- In 1871, the diamond mines at Kimberley, south of Botswana, became Southern Africa’s first great industrial area.
- In 1885, the British proclaimed a protectorate over their Tswana allies and the Kalahari. It was named Bechuanaland, and it was extended to the Tawana and Chobe rivers in 1890.
- The administrative capital remained at Mafeking or Mafikeng, which is outside the protectorate’s borders in South Africa.
- In 1964, the British began to push for political change, and a new administrative capital was hurriedly built at Gaborone.
- In 1966, the country became the Republic of Botswana, and Seretse Khama became the first president.
- For years, Botswana was financially dependent on Britain.
- In 1974, Botswana, together with Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Angola, became one of the Frontline States.
- These Frontline States seek to bring majority rule to Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa.
GEOGRAPHY
- Botswana is bordered by Namibia to the west and north, Zambia and Zimbabwe to the northeast, and South Africa to the south and southeast.
- The size of Botswana is similar to Madagascar and France. It is also considered to be the 48th-largest country in the world in terms of land area.
- Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari Desert.
- The nation has diverse areas of wildlife habitats, including delta areas, desert areas, grasslands, and savannas.
- Botswana is divided into ten districts: Southern, South-East, Kweneng, Kgatleng, Central, North-East, Ngamiland, Kgalagadi, Chobe, and Ghanzi.
- Gaborone is the capital of Botswana.
ECONOMY
- Botswana has a free market economy with a strong tradition of central government.
- Diamonds are the major economic resource of Botswana, and they have been largely exploited since 1970.
- Diamonds are mined from some of the world’s largest diamond pipes.
- The central bank of Botswana is the Bank of Botswana, which is
the one that issues the national currency, the pula.
CULTURE
- Tswana is the dominant ethnic identity in Botswana.
- Setswana is what they use to describe the rich cultural traditions of Botswana.
- Most tribes in Botswana have different ways of greeting one another.
- Botswana has five television stations. One is owned by the government.
- Botswana cuisine is unique and mostly includes seswaa, which is pounded meat made from goat meat or beef.
- Football is the most popular sport in Botswana.
- Following right after football in popularity is a card game called Bridge.
TOURISM
- The country’s official tourism group is the Botswana Tourism Organization.
- There are different tourist destinations in Botswana. These destinations include the Lion Park Resort, Gaborone Yacht Club, Kalahari Fishing Club, Gaborone Dam, Mokolodi Nature Reserve, and Botswana National Museum.
Botswana Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Botswana across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Botswana worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Botswana which is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. This country is a member of the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Botswana Facts
- Know Botswana
- Test Yourself!
- Look Back
- Ten Ten Ten
- Promotion Time
- Hunt Them All
- Connect
- Bling Bling
- The Bridge
- Let’s Travel!
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Link will appear as Botswana Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, April 15, 2020
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.