BULAWAYO RAILWAY, from the LATE 1800S to 1960S A
UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN BECHUANALAND: THE DYNAMIC ROLE OF THE MAFIKENG – BULAWAYO RAILWAY, FROM THE LATE 1800s to 1960s A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada © Bafumiki Mocheregwa, 2016 History M.A. Graduate Program May 2016 ABSTRACT Underdevelopment in Eastern Bechuanaland: The Dynamic Role of the Mafikeng – Bulawayo Railway, From the Late 1800s to 1960s. Bafumiki Mocheregwa This thesis offers a comprehensive look at the changing roles of a colonial built railway in what is now eastern Botswana. It was built for the extraction of mineral wealth and migration of cheap African labour in Southern Africa but it later assumed a different role of shaping the modern Botswana state. The thesis deals with several other issues related to the railway in Bechuanaland including land alienation, the colonial disregard of the chiefs’ authority, racial discrimination and the economic underdevelopment of Bechuanaland. Since there were no other significant colonial developments at the time of independence, this thesis argues that the railway was the only important feature of the British colonisation of Bechuanaland. From early on, the railway attracted different cultures, identities and religions. It was also instrumental in the introduction of an indigenous capitalist class into Bechuanaland. Keywords: Bechuanaland, colonisation, railway development, racial discrimination, underdevelopment, society, capitalism and capitalist class, labour migration, Botswana, trade, Rhodesia, the Rand. ii PREFACE On September 30th, 1966, Bechuanaland was declared an independent country. The discussion to make that move had begun a few years prior.
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