Research On The Relationship Between Chief Bejnaran And The Colonial Authorities (1885-1945)

The Bechuanaland region existed in the form of a British protectorate from 1885 to 1966.During the Protectorate period,the United Kingdom adopted main and indirect rule system.Which core was the use of indigenous chiefs for local management.The chieftain became the bridge to maintain the relationships between local people and colonial rule.This article attempts to explore the transformation and the causes of the relationships between the chiefs of Bechuanaland during this period,especially the most powerful Enwato tribes and the colonial authorities,and summarizes their particularities in the British African colonies.The main body of this article will explains the changes in the relationships between the colonial authorities and the chiefs of Bechuanaland during this period and explores the reasons for the changes.The transformation of the relationship between the two sides can be roughly divided into three stages: The first stage was to from the establishment of the Protectorate to 1920 s.Although attempted to transfer the protection country to the British South African Company and the union of South Africa during this period,British didn’t interfere too much with the chiefs’ internal power when it came to the local administration.Meanwhile,the chiefs He also accepted British colonial rule and learned to use Britain to maintain the rule of themselves.The second stage was from the late 1920 s to the mid-1930 s.During this period,due to the changes in the international situation,the chaos of the domestic management in protection country,and the uncooperative attitude of the new generation of chiefs,the colonial authorities wanted to change the policy of the protectorate and strengthen the control and management to the chiefs.While the chiefs,especially the Enwato tribal chief,Tshekedi Khama,were hostile to any behavior that would change the chieftains’ powers and tried to block them.The third stage was from the mid-1930 s to the end of the Second World War,during which the British government faced the shadow of the world war and realized that cooperating with the chiefs would be more beneficial to them to manage the protectorate.Therefore,during this period,the colonial authorities restored most of the traditional powers of the chiefs by establishing indigenous treasury and promulgating the 1943 announcement.The chiefs were also willing to cooperate with the colonial government to assist them in matters such as the Second World WarIn the last part of this paper,the particularity of the relationships between the colonial authorities and the chiefs is summarized from the purpose of the protection of the country,the "indirect rule",and the chief’s familiarity to the colonial system.