chiefdom · Central and Southern Africa

Bangwaketse Chiefdom

1750 CE – 1885 CE (approx.) · capital Kanye

A Tswana chiefdom centred on Kanye whose rulers helped secure British protection rather than Company rule for Botswana.

Origins

The Bangwaketse separated from the Bakwena in the 18th century and settled in south-eastern Botswana. Under Makaba II in the late 18th and early 19th centuries they became one of the strongest Tswana states, until Makaba was killed in 1824 during the wars of that era.

Rule and society

Chiefs ruled from a large town through ward heads and the kgotla, drawing wealth from cattle and trade in ivory and skins with the Cape. After years of displacement, Gaseitsiwe re-established the chiefdom at Kanye, a defensible hill town. Missionaries of the London Missionary Society were influential.

Decline and legacy

The chiefdom joined the Bechuanaland Protectorate in 1885. In 1895 Bathoen I travelled to London with Khama III and Sebele I to oppose transfer to the British South Africa Company, and the protectorate was preserved. Ngwaketse is now a district of Botswana.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bangwaketse Chiefdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangwaketse-chiefdom
MLA
“Bangwaketse Chiefdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangwaketse-chiefdom. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bangwaketse Chiefdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangwaketse-chiefdom.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bangwaketse Chiefdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangwaketse-chiefdom (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻