The Story of Botswana and Sierra Leone
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- Botswana is an unlikely candidate for one of the fastest growing economies and healthiest African nations, it's arid, small, and has next to nothing. Whereas Sierra Leone is much larger, and has many more resources, so why did Botswana become the richest nation on the continent and Sierra Leone one of the poorest on the planet?
#h0ser #africa #history
0:00 Botswana vs. Sierra Leone
1:37 Precolonial Eras
6:08 Colonial Days
9:41 The Botswana Success Story
12:51 Blood Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Anyone realise the country that did best in practically all of Africa did so becuase the british left it mostly alone?
Yes we were never colonized we were protectorate, we asked for that protection. We were once the most poorest nation in the world with nothing at all during independence in 1966 because they British never built towns or cities like in SA or other colonies. My people started their own development from 0, we built our own first University by contributing a cow each family in Botswana with no help from anyone. We never depended on anyone for help except our self. We are one of the few countries in Africa with the lowest debt and we are managing it well.
Very true, it's because they didn't know of our diamonds. I thank God they left before they found them. Otherwise our history would be different.
Places with British engagement have often benefited, the amount of resources extracted from Africa is usually exaggerated. Those that embraced cooperation & technology have done better than those focused on neo-marxist grievance narratives.
@@assertivekarma1909 The only countries that have benefited of british colinzation where those where the native people where either erradicated or segragated e.g south africa canada the us or australia. On the rest of countries like india most of africa the brithish just exploited there people and destroyed their industry like in india.
nah that's not the reason, otherwise Ethiopia would be rich af, the reason is that they didn't fall for the Communism story, instead looked at their neighbors (Rhodesia & SA) and why they were so rich (free market) and imitated them
> Reject being a Royal
> Flew to UK and meet your wife in an amazing story
> Flew back to Botswana and push for independence
> Run as the President
> Won
> Reform the country making it one of the fastest growing economy in the world while maintaining democratic principles
> Run for re-election 3 more times and won all of it
> Won 3/4 of the country on a *free and fair election* on your last election
> dies on office
> refuses to elaborate further
You forgot the part where many people did not approve the interracial marriage of him and his wife which ended up him relieving his royal duties then end up running as president and got his true honor back by the people and returned it by doing his duty as a royal of his tribe in the first place.
Botswana President Grind
One of the most legendary presidents
yottachad
TLDR: Botswana's 🇧🇼 leaders actually gave a damn. Smart men with good intentions, and a deep sense of responsibility to their people made hard choices that ultimately paid off in the long run. Morality is not weakness. Good things come to those who are patient enough to see it through.
Because the British didn't care enough about the land to bother destroying local government structures and declare one random tribe to be the masters over everyone else. Other countries didn't suddenly become lawless kleptocracies when the colonial powers left. Those were the structures and people they had installed themselves.
While I agree, writing off the resource curse would just not be correct.
@@Yora21 That's exactly what I realised recently, the colonial administrations were explicitly designed to be kleptocracies, so it is not at all surprising that when the colonists left the people who took over were perfectly happy to keep that going
@@Yora21 Blatantly false. Europeans invested more money into their colonies then they received. The colonial structure was a grab-bag depending on the context of the locality. Tribal war has been a feature of African society (and human history) since the beginning of time. It was not an import of European powers. These structures already existed and the European powers exploited them.
@@Yora21 you are wrong. We were almost entirely whipped off by the Brits, Dutch and huge tribes like the Zulu. 2/3s of our tribe is in South Africa. Most of Botswana land was taken by the colonizers in SA from Gauteng, North West and Northern Cape. We just rebuild with the little we had and although divided by borders we are still way small of a tribe in the southern region but where ever we are we built for the future generation and we regain what’s lost, from platinum land or farming. The core value I say is respect, respect for our fellow human beings and being humble.
As a Motswana, I sometimes find it hard to appreciate my country. There's a lot of things Botswana hasn't got right but there's a lot more that gone right for the country. The more I travel and watch videos like these the more I get to appreciate how far we've come.
The fact that you can write this CZcams comment instead of fighting in the wilderness with an AK47 over the diamond mines in order to enrich some corrupt politician or warlord is already almost a miracle in your part of the world.
@@MrRedsjack For Batswana peaceful living is a fact of life. Fighting is simply a foreign idea.
Man, your country is awesome! I visited about 10 years ago and you could already tell and feel how different it was from the neighbouring countries that we had visited (S.A., Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe). You could instantly tell that corruption was low, and people genuinely seemed happy. Everything we did and saw there was great.
When we came back I looked up Botswana and was happy to read that it was doing great in terms of education, anti-corruption, healthcare,... Ever since, I've been fascinated by Botswana (it's why I clicked on this video). Every African ranking or statistic that gets posted online I immediately look for my favorite country, and Bam! Here it is climbing the charts like always.
You've got yourself a country to be proud of. I hope I can visit again soon to see how it has changed and I'm really glad it has been on such a great path. I'm sure it still has problems to solve, every country has, but in the case of Botswana it seems like problems are just rooms for improvement.
@@MrRedsjack Africa is not plugged in wars anymore. Only less than 5 countries are fighting in armed conflicts. Those blood diamond wars ended a long time ago. Most problems Africa is facing are for example dictatorship, corruption, huge unemployment, lack of infrastructure, and policies that only enrich the elite.
@@MrRedsjackI don’t think you know much about Africa then
As a Ghanaian, all I can say is that the people of Botswana did it right. Y'all set the standard of excellence that other African countries need to replicate
Ghana is also amazing. You are also very lucky with black Americans coming to stay. Imagine what that could mean if their talents are put to use.
@@the8thchurch461 true but it’s hard for us to get a VISA whereas in east Africa it’s fairly easy
Ghana, Rwanda, Botswana and Namibia are fantastic nations. Here's hoping for your future successes.
@@RotneybotOfficial Rwanda is really something different. They are quite the nation, Singapore lite really.
@@harshjain3122 I hope they will continue to prosper for the future. Their comeback story will echo throughout the ages.
Answer: Botswana has the better flag
hell yeah lmao
Eh, they are both fine, Sierra Leone is boring because it's a basic tricolour
@@andriusgimbutas3723 yeah and botswana looks a lot like a tshirt i own, also hi fellow eastern european flag pfp guy
@@DeSlagen8 A fellow baltic dweller as well I assume?
Estonia's flag is similar to Botswana's
I'm Sierra Leonean and this sounds so sad. Hopefully we'll rise from this situation and eventually we will by God's grace.
man i hope sierra leone gets better, atleast sierra leone got a gorilla at thumbnail (its cute)
i like your flag
Same here we should just keep praying for our country
Do you live in Sierra Leone or did you move to either canada or britannia?
Also do you wish your country remained under british rule?
All the best! But do you have a Sierralian who has been to Great Britain? I think he will help you well in the development of the country, if he is a politician ;)
I am from Botswana and i am so proud of my country. we are really trying, to all who want to live in a peaceful country, Botswana is the place to be.. no wars, nothing.. the weather might be the problem.. its very hot. the people in Botswana are really kind, love to party.. pay us a visit and explore our culture.. tourism is good this side..
How are the woman there? LOL
I really do admire Botswana and want to visit it sometime, it’s incredible what you guys achieved especially with the situation in Africa, you are the real Wakanda
@@knight1506 From zero to hero.. We thank you ❤❤❤💯 If only we could stop depending on resources and offer services instead.. Botswana would be one of the biggest economy in Africa.. As they say Rome was not built In one day, we trust the process..
@@hdmotsadi Tourism is indeed a good alternative. Try looking at Costa Rica and go for eco tourism for instance. Still well done and keep it up Botswana.
@@MrSicc274 and they say islam objectifies women.
I think Sierra Leone still has the potential to turn it around as it’s democratic and free enough to let the people of the country innovate(compared to many other African and west African countries). Although from my research of the country it will certainly take a lot of effort. But my favorite thing about Botswana is that it never exploited its people to get where it is today unlike other successful countries.
European countries didn't always exploit their people.
I agree with Doublethink. The damage that has been done to Sierra Leone is too great. It would take a whole generation for SL to just be marginally functional.
Ebola: I'm about to end this man's whole career.
@Doublethink on databases that study freedom internationally Sierra Leone is doing way better than Congo, and could potentially reach a level like Senegal. Problem is it has ample corruption and good policies that benefit others are very weak and easily exploited, a big problem with many west African countries known for coups.
Not for women though , they have a high rate of women imprisonment . The Tswana government also spends most of their income on maintaining and improving the country whereas in SLE , that is a question mark .
really shows how a country getting on the right track can lead it to greatness.
As long as the British stay away
That's how it works
Botswana and Norway have a lot in common. The secret ingredients are: build up your infrastructure, create reliable social programs, diversify your public investment portfolio, and above all DON'T BE CORRUPT.
cough OIL and DIAMONDS cough
@@srirampatnaik9164 Norway got Oil and Botswana got Diamonds
@Sriram Patnaik The mineral wealth is the part that makes it difficult, not easy. Controlling oil wells or diamond mines requires only a few percent of the population. You don't need to even listen to the rest of the people.
It may seem like damning him with faint praise, but it's noteworthy that Sir Seretse Khama was an honest man. He had every opportunity to become one of the wealthiest individuals in history, by paying off the chiefs and generals and keeping the rest of the diamond revenues for himself. Most leaders of mineral-rich countries have done just that, and most who didn't were ousted in a coup or invasion.
Nigeria has oil wells its not developed why ? Corruption
Also invest heavily in education
Love to Botswana from India 🇮🇳♥️🇧🇼 (and Sierra Leone too)
thanks I'm Indian in botswana
Love to Sierra Leone from Jamaica
Im a motswana i love indians bro
@@DangeistYT is that what citizens of botswana are called? or it's like some tribe or something?
@@Minecraft-Gamer784 What are you doing over there? I have been to the iskon temple there once.
The point is, because Botswana was such a quiet corner of the world, the British mostly left them alone and thus their society was preserved. Even if they were poor, the economy wasn't exploitative. That's what people don't realise about colonialism: the Europeans came in and made functioning economies with infrastructure, sure, but the whole system got set up in a way that cannot bring advantage to locals. Remember, the DR Congo was the 2nd most industrialised country in Africa, yet it was perhaps the worst colony to live in.
The difference is , Bachuland / Botswana was a British Protectorate. And not an exploitive colony like India .
This comment needs to be emphasized more. There is a key factor here in that botswana wasn't exploited. It's said multiple times in the video. In addition to leaders moving in a direction that benefited their country there was no exploitation from Europe. Perhaps something to consider
Yeah but, its been toooooo looooong since then. India, Maldives, Singapore, Philippines Bangladesh, etc has stable societies and improving economies.
You can't fix economy without fixing societies
@@patriotenfield3276 If diamonds were found earlier in Botswana pre-independence, it would have suffered the same fate as Sierra Leone.
depends on how you manage those infrastructure, a road is a road , a port is a port and will always be advantageous to the locals, hongkong and singapore are heavily colonized and doing great among their neighbors. Zimbabwe used to be the bread basket of africa exporting food to neighboring countries because of colonial infrastructure, but when mugabe took over, he mismanaged everything causing zimbabwe to be a food importer.
It would be interesting to see a similar video on Ghana and Côte d 'Ivoire, the two having similar ethnic compositions (Akan, Gur etc.) and both adopting cacao as a significant cash crop yet due to British and French colonisation styles the two have had very different trajectories regarding economics and diplomacy post independence.
How are the two doing comparatively these days?
@@hpsauce1078 i think Ghana is doing much much better in terms of economic advancement, cote d'Ivoire had the misfortune of having eternal leaders whose sole goal in life was to kiss France's butthole
@@hpsauce1078 I think Ghana is doing better than the Ivory Coast.
It's a great idea, but i think we all know the gist of it. France never fully decolonised and still keeps it's african colonies in fiscal chains of whitewashed slavery. Eventually Ghana will outpace Ivory coast even if it's own story is a story of a slow climb out of a ditch and not like unicorn growth figures seen in asia and botswana. Ivory coast(like other subjects of the french empire) will never become developed unless they kick the french fu*ks out once and for all.
For reference the access to electricity rate in Ghana is 89% in Ivory Coast it’s 64%.
The Ivory Coast has had 2 civil wars in the past 30 years, Ghana has never had one.
Ghana is very similar to Botswana in the sense that the institutions of the pre-colonial country (Ashanti empire) survived the colonial era and into the post colonial period acting as a foundation to build their country off. Even look at the boarders of the Ashanti empire at its height vs modern day Ghana. Not too dissimilar.
Traditional Ashanti institutions had there branches of government (executive/king, house Of lords/aristocrats and a general assembly). They were essentially a representative empire with reps from different parts of the empire and some democratic elements. Not too dissimilar to institutions the British would have been familiar with.
They were also able to fight enough that the British took longer to fully colonise them than other places and eventually brought back Ashanti emperor back to the Gold Coast to help them govern.
Furthermore Britain was fairly hands off in the Gold Coast and mostly governed them as an extension of Nigeria. Up to and including using the Hausa guard from Nigeria to police the Gold Coast.
Finally Ghana had a shorter colonial experience than most in Africa being one of the last to be colonised and the first in ss Africa to gain their independence. These factors led to the survival of Ashanti institutions compared to say Ivorian institutions as ivc was one of Frances main colonies up there with Senegal (who ironically also retains many precolonial institutions although not to the same extent as Botswana, Rwanda a and Ghana).
The Ivory Coast did not have this an in fact (one could argue) it was the remnants of the pre colonial institutions in the north of ivc that were never properly incorporated into the nation that led to the civil wars to begin with.
Rwanda is another country that had its pre-colonial institutions survive.
Pre colonial institutions do not mean that a country will be ‘successful’ so to speak but more so that they will be efficient.
See Rwandas genocide. One of the most holistic in post colonial African history. If the CAR for example (a country with very few pre colonial institutions) wanted to spread a genocidal propaganda regime in the rural parts of the country they would fail. But on the flip side if they tried to become like modern Rwanda they will also fail.
One could argue all African countries retain some precolonial institutions but they exist on a spectrum
africa finally industrializing is gonna be wild for geopolitics
frrrr
@Giga Chad nah 2000s is asia century. china will be powerful only in first half and then demographics. but yeah 2100 is africa hopefully.
@@JustConConnor there’s not much hope for central/northern Asia.
And the Middle East is probably going to collapse this century.
The only countries that will grow faster than China in the late 2000s are in south and south east Asia.
I’m probably wrong because predicting the future is borderline impossible, but this is what I believe will happen from current trends.
So I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s Asia’s century.
@Giga Chad depends.
Automation in the west and east Asia will stop the rich countries from outsourcing there manufacturing.
Which I think will make it much harder for there to be a huge economic explosion like in China.
However, there are still many promising countries in Africa.
@@joshbentley2307 I agree about central/northern for sure. I think india and indonesia will grow way faster than china within the next 2 or 3 decades, like you said tho impossible to really predict.
Sierra Leone wasn’t actually populated by freed slaves but by the people illegally kidnapped by captains who became pirates under British law
When the Royal Navy intercepted these ships they decided they couldn’t just send these people home or they’d be kidnaped again so they dumped them in Sierra Leone
Hmm, didn't they settle former American slaves that fought for the British and settled in Canada for a time? And other freed slaves from other British realms?
Liberated illegal cargo, when speaking of humans, is a freed slave. When stolen electronics are recovered from stores, they are seldom returned to the store they came from. It's semantics, but there are also plenty of British ships caught in ports of Liverpool and Bristol post Emancipation Act of 1834 that were discovered with shackles and false flags and the Anti-Slavery squadron would serve them an ultimatum: "When you pick up your slaves, deposit them in Sierra Leone and not the colonies, or be hanged as a pirate." And lastly, a solid third of the slaves sent to Sierra Leone were sent from Jamaica.
So basically, the samething.
@@attemptedunkindness3632 on the contrary prior to the abolition of slavery there was a clear distinction between a freed slave and a victim of kidnapping that was never legally a slave
@@jonathanwilliams1065 Making a distinction between chattel slavery, bonded slavery, or otherwise is the same ugly distinctions the slavers used to justify their trade in the face of it's own abolition under British law. Evil institutions tend to go down swinging, much like your contrarian agenda, and saying bonded slavery(kidnapping) is different is like saying today that sexual slavery doesn't exist because, well, they are not property per se.
My Botswana, my pride. I love my country. Thanks for the informative video!
mothaka yo ware tsamaela 😉
I love the African Videos. This channel gives me the same feeling brains4breakfast did before he passed. Thank you.
Brother?
rest in peace brain4breakfast :(
If you really want a channel exactly like b4b before his passing, check out Kraut (countryballs)
rest in peace brains4breakfast
@@ezekiel0606 what happened to him?
I would say Botswana success comes from Batswana themselves, our core values. we always had good governance even before colonization or arrival of Europeans, our court system is so good they Europeans were impressed and it still exists even
today as a part of government system. we never valued violence unless it was necessary. Our main solution to any problem has always been negotiation instead of killing each other, we even managed to negotiate with the British to protect us from the Boers who were surrounding us. We can set aside our differences to come together to talk for the good of our community and country. Botswana is not perfect we still have a long way to go but what is good about my country is my people. As for Sierra Leone i can't say anything because i don't know a lot but we walked a different walk with them which means their journey may have contributed to their problems today, i wish them success.
That's the problem , many panafricanist hate the idea that Africans had to rely on European assistance to ensure their countries survival . They want the British empire to be seen as this evil overlord on the continent however Africans gained alot by making alliance with them and that should always be in our history
@@manovrsb yes we have less problem with the Europeans except in tourism sector in the Chobe and Okavango area where they own prime land and they invest most of their profit outside our country made from the beauty of our country. people who dominate our economy are Indians more than Europeans, but some of investment like building of private hospitals and buildings are done by Batswana through investments for Botswana. But still Indians are taking over slowly like they are doing in SA, they are buying land from my people and since sometimes we Africans lack vision and ambition we choose quick solutions rather than looking at long-term benefit of owning a land.
You guys literally have the highest rape stats in the world.
@@manovrsb What alliances?
Would you say that being an ethnically homogeneous country, 73% being Tswana, helps social and national cohesion? As opposed to Sierra Leone, which is a mess of different tribes and rival ethnic groups?
It just shows the power of democracy and how a country's history can influence their nations state today
Having that Foundation of democracy being just historically a part of the country like a status quo before a modern government was even put in place was almost like a head start you know
Mostly yes, but some society arguably better ruled by and consciously wishing for somekind of benevolent dictatorship.
@@fajaradi1223 agreed
I support democracy as an idea but there are societies that were ruled by dictatorships and go well like Singapore and Rwanda
The danger really comes in when even if it can be a lot more beneficial than democracy to only have one ruler when the ruler genuinely cares about the prosperity of the country and its people but there is no guarantee the next ruler will be the same
Like tito was great, but as soon as he died everything he worked for fell apart (not to say it was entirely the fault of his death that it did, there where many other factors but still),
And the king of Oman is a cool guy who genuinely helped the country but not long ago the old King did Terrible Things
People don't last forever you know and the problem with dictatorship is not only is it usually made by people who don't care about the country but also when it is made by people eho care then unlike democracy there's much much less of a guarantee that the next ruler will be nearly as good or competent
Wouldn't have anything to do with Botswana being majority Christian and Sierra Leona not being majority Christian. Libya was rich under Gaddafi
@@lukesutton4135 very ture
Never said it had anything to do with Christianity after all I was just talking about the system of democracy
There are many poor countries that are majority Christian, religion and race don't dictate the success of a Nation it's about government structure and economic policies
The specific type of internal government was less important than having Stability overall, which then allowed the Government to play its hand correctly when something valuable was found to sell.
Botswana might be the beginning of new African economies becoming powerhouses. Nations like Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa all have the potential to become economic powerhouses, and Botswana might be on the right path here. It does also help them that they have the most diamonds in their country.
EDIT: to the nerds giving facts why I'm wrong- these nations have enough power and strength to suck it up and manage a good nation. You saw what Nelson Mandela did, now just imagine hundreds of millions of miniature Nelsons. These countries all have potential.
You forgot to mention Rwanda
@@syncout9586 their GDp per capita is only 800$
Nigeria is going to way to china debt trap
@@syncout9586 Eh, I think they can wait a bit until they're ready.
@@thanhnguyenduy3553 also very authoritarian government.
"an empty browser history tells a lot more than a full one"
-Marcus Aurelius
thanks sun tzu
you are an artist and a warrior
How?
@@KatlehoMo99 The reason it is empty is dude likely cleared it over porn
I pressed the video faster than my father going for milk
that is fast😲
*sigh...* same
Stop ueing that joke for the love of God
This guy breaking the speed of light
Oh boy zimbawaw comment section is gonna be interesting if he’s gonna cover. Just like a swarm
Botswana started off great (I literally love our history)...but the reliance on diamonds is not sustainable...we’ve been struggling for years to diversify this economy 😪...also, unemployment rate is too high & the leaders that have occupied office in the recent couple of years are incomparable to those that started so we could possibly be slowly going downhill...(which I pray & hope doesn’t happen of course)
First honest comment about Botswana. I salute you
We were so close. I remember in 2019 we hit a milestone where one industry outgrew diamonds for the first time ever. Tourism.
But this progress was destroyed by COVID and will take a while before it recovers
They are not that bad they are trying but the unemployement is a real problem especially for young people , it's worse for degree holders.
Thanks
Yep that’s Dutch disease for you .
The success of a nation always has to do with the quality of its leadership. Botswana had the good fortune to be ruled by Khama.
I believe you are right. Kgama was actually from a powerful ruling family and so didn't need to enrich himself. I think that is what happened. Most people who go into high office think about ways to enrich themselves. Kgama was born to be the father of the nation and even a servant in terms of serving the people.
@@the8thchurch461 Pretty much!
Love to Sierra Leone from Jamaica. We brothers
Not many are aware
No, screw them. Filthy slave traders.
@@nightslasher9384 please enlighten me?
Great video H. Here's hoping Botswana is able to expand and diversify their market to maintain their dominance. Diamonds are forever only in Bond movies after.
Random trivia fact,
Botswana is the location of where the music video of “Am I wrong?” by Nico & Vinz was filmed.
🇧🇼🇧🇼
Namibia, right next to Botswana, is also showing very good progress.
Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya.
These countries are the most prominent countries on the African continent.
I don't think you know what prominent means then, Botswana, Namibia, and Rwanda have small populations which means they will never be a prominent country on the continent. Kenya with nearly 60 million and a fast growing economy and is already one of the most prominent countries on the continent.
@@TheTroyc1982 Yo please cool down haha
@@TheTroyc1982 The bar is really low in Africa so i do think they can be "prominent" on the continent. I don't think it will happen though.
@@TheTroyc1982😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂as per 2019 censorship we were 47million ....we are about 50
Botswana is like this person who lives in a bad area with bad people around it. He/she doesn’t follow it but instead follows the footsteps of like western countries and it payed off. He/she had a horrible past and was bullied by the rich person (Europeon powers/ colonialism). Tell me what Botswana is like in your opinions. Pls don’t get offended. I did these comparisons before with Venezuela, DRC, Japan, and etc. Tell me what sierre Leon is like in your opinions
He is like a person who works hard is fair and everyday after work goes to his loving family and try to be positive even though his neighbourhood went to shit and Sierra Leone is that crazy hobo who will probably be dead on fentanyl .
so basically a typical dhar man video
She’s like a kid who lived with her two step sisters and an evil step mother who wanted nothing to do with her, till one day she found a (glass) slipper, found a prince and lived happily ever after 😮
@@casanova2469 Cinderella reference, I love it. Huge Disney Fanboy
Botswana was never a colony but protectorate . Also it is not greedy for global influence like western countries. It's not a diverse country at all ; from landscapes to people .
Thanks for making this. My country Sierra Leone doesn’t get a lot of attention besides the civil war.
What was that war even about?
@@jonathanwilliams1065 diamonds
@@LAV-III but why fight for the RUF or the government?
Love Sierra Leone from Jamaica
@@jonathanwilliams1065 because they can either pay you or they can kill you
I really appreciate how you put music native to the countries in the background. So awesome! Really immersed you in the country.
Please tell me the nave of the last one 😢
My high school.always had a kid from Botswanna (boarding school) and those kids were always great. Definitely an easy place to root for.
Botswana is underrated ngl.
come and visit m
Botswana sounds cool as hell and a crazy awesome place to live.
Specially with the Okavango delta
its cool to live in if you want to have a quiet life
If you don't mind living in really small population centres, sure.
@@zachryder3150 are you a interaction type guy?
There isn't actually entertainment .
Thanks for telling a story that I doubt many westerners would have ever heard
Botswana also took a pragmatic approach to independence, which I think helped it quite a lot in the post colonial era. Some african nations wanted a "clean start" (and in many cases you can't exactly blame them) and upon independence purged the government of all colonial politicians and civil servants in order to install their own african replacements. A couple even began expelling europeans from their country, or worse. Again, somewhat understandable in a lot of cases, but it often resulted in a government and civil service full of novices even in quite senior positions, which was a recipe for mismanagement and corruption.
Botswana avoided that by allowing many colonial era politicians and civil servants to remain in their posts until retirement or election. They provided the expertise for a stable transition, and were also able to train the people that would replace them so they would have the skills to run a stable, functioning democracy.
Singapore also retained names of places renamed during colonization so as not to appear to nationalistic & scare away foreign investment e.g. Ft Canning, which had been renamed from _Bt Larangan_ ('forbidden mountain/hill' in Malay)
A “be careful who you pick on in middle school” story like no other.
Great topic. I personally think that the economic history of Namibia (for example compared to Tanzania) would also be very interesting.
Namibia population is only 2.5 million so as Botswana you can't compare Namibia and Botswana to Tanzania we are very small..
Compare Tanzania to South africa or Angola
Just signed up with your link. Probably the only time an ad was helpful to me!
I really enjoy learning about African countries and how they fit into the current global paradigm. Thanks for the video!
I noticed the background music at the end lol. GOATED
hello from Botswana, appreciate the coverage
Botswana is a great example of the power of tactful dimplomacy when they read the room during the scramble for Africa
Honestly, after hearing the story of Botswana, I am glad they succeeded. Smart leaders early on that dealt with the situation at hand well, in an intelligent way. They did the best with what they could, and their ancestors are prospering because of it. Kudos, Tswana kings.
You added the Diamonds from Sierra Leon song. Nice!
Thank you Sir, for promoting Botswana. I have subscribed. Wish you the very best.
Don't be too impressed by Botswana's currency the 'Pula', it is directly tied to the South African 'Rand' and an international index. Its value has barely anything to do with Botswana itself.
so one pula won't buy me 1 rand 30 cents ?
@@la23s.a.22
It would. The Botswana Pula is pegged 55% & 45% to the values of IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and the South African Rand respectively. The SDR itself is pegged to the US Dollar, Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling. So the Pula will always be stronger than the Rand.
@@zachryder3150 ohk thx for the knowledge .
@@la23s.a.22 Not a problem.
Zack Ryder is a lieing. Im from botswana. the botswana currency is greater than south africa. 1 pula = 1.35 rands. google is your friend.
As a person from neighboring country South Africa I'm truly proud of Motswana people. 😌❤
Botswana seems like a good place to have Solar farms (based on the geography)!
Indeed. Until you run into a problem on how you export the electricity (or solar hydrogen/ammonia) out of the country.
@@lontongstroong true, could just be used for self-sustainability too but that problem could be fixed if Botswana is willing to help out other nations (unlikely since alot of its neighbours are still chaotic and a relatively risky idea)
@@magniwalterbutnotwaltermag1479 Its population and electricity demand are too small for it. I know it is a difficult undertaking which requires leap of faith for even a country like them, but I think the green ammonia pipeline has to go westward to Namibia's ports to allow exportation to energy-hungry faraway countries. The biggest challenge is that how to find some investors with deep pocket to finance the project, mainly due to the great and inhospitable distances.
The people of Botswana were lucky to have good early leadership and avoided being included into England's "places i f*cked up" list
I think the fact that Botswana was in a hard to reach place in a desert and with zero mineral resources as well as an infertile land, put the British off.
As someone who wants to explore the world in years, Botswana is the only African place I’m going to. Peace to Botswana, 🇧🇼 hope you’ll go on for more prosperity.
How about the Seychelles or South Africa?
@@Bjix Maybe Seychelles
cape verde? Thats a country with good beaches good standard of living more democracy and lower corruption than botswana
but if you only refer to the sub-saharan regions then botswana >>
You want to "explore the world" but will visit only 1 country on the 2nd largest continent on Earth?
Can u talk about kenya and/or Tanzania next?
Maybe The duality & potential future of Rwanda & Burundi would work for a good video since they we're both quite literally Cut From the Same Cloth being so similar you could call them twins yet one is the poorest in Africa and the other is one of the most prosperous despite both being dictatorships
although they're both growing at least
Which is which?
@@OmoriSupportsPalestine_143 Rwanda is prosperous and Burundi is poor
Rwanda prosperous ?Are you sure? With a GDP of USD 10 Billion and how much is per capita and much of the GDP is donor funded ,Do you know the meaning of prosperous nation ,What would be Norway be, Finland and Sweden among other Scandanavian countries ?Which Africa is prosperous when there is so many inequalities and poverty in all African countries including the so-called economic power houses like South Africa,Egypt and Nigeria?
@@thirdeyethirdeyeanalyst8666 First off
Try to be less of a snob in the future
Second off
Prosperous in comparison to its neighbors on the continent is what I meant but I thaught that was self explanatory to anyone with more than 2 brain cells so I didn't specify
Third off
If the standards for "prosperous" was norway & finland almost nowhere would be considered prosperous, not even USA or Canada, Nordics just so happen to be some of the most prosperous on earth
It's not like there's a line between Prosperous & shithole and if your country isn't 1,000,000% perfect it's not prosperous what so ever,
So when I say prosperous I just mean a generaly notable amount of happy/healthy citizens & political Stability
And if you knew literally anything about rwanda currently before you snobishly assumed it was A poor house hole in the ground than you'd know that despite it's questionable government it's 100% certainly politically stable and has extremely prosperous conditions compared to neighboring countries and many non african countries aswell
Filthy worthless know-it-all European hack
@@thatguynoonelikes4865No need to insult only people defeated insults brain cells and all what you said re read your message and see Rwanda is no where near prosperity am correcting you again even the level of happiness you watch a lot of You tube vlogs .Rwanda has a lot of very good PR you will never watch anything negative on Rwanda or any areas that are poor,Ask why and find out before disputing compared to all African countries where the bad and good parts are shown in Rwanda its only the best that is shown but is that the true reflection of Rwanda?
I think you should have way more subscribers than you do your videos are very informative and you clearly do alot of research I'll definitely be sharing as many of your videos as I can
i love how you played diamonds from sierra lione in the background lol. nice touch
it's really cool you cover Africa so often because it really is a continent that's just so overlooked historically
I love your videos please make them forever
As a South African I wish we had similar leadership like Botswana, imagine how it would be by today, but we can only be hopeful
I mean you had prior to 1994
@@Bolognabeef hmm yeah majority living in slums and unable to access basic social amenities prior 1994 seems like a good a governance
@@upendo.3570 They were sent there during apartheid. Where were they supposed to go after that?
@@Lulu-wv1nt yes that's what I am telling the first comment that said they had good governance prior 1994. There was no good governance before 1994 .
@@upendo.3570Rubbish! Even during Apartheid more blacks had access to basic services than all the rest of Africa's population combined. Don't suck up that anc propaganda
You really have a good music taste. Diamonds are forever!!
This was a really good video, i didnt pay attention to all the sierra leone stuff but the botswana stuff was execetuded well and it was very clear.
Loving the African content!! ♥️
Context : unattractiveness is not a bad thing it actually gives you a free space to slowly glow up
Thats why the north korean are glowing so much
I already know im gonna love it !!
I heard “diamonds are forever” in the background and all I can say is good song choice bro
1st correction. The Ngwaketsi, Ngwato and Kwena are in fact Tswana. They are the Setswana speaking people of Botswana.
2nd correction. Defeat of the Ndebele can be attributed to the BaNgwato whose territory borders present day Zimbabwe.
Botswana also had a hut tax and also had paramount chiefs. The term us still in use.
Seretse Khama was the king of the Bangwato. His story is a whole movie on its own.
The joint venture with DeBeers is called Debswana. I believe it went on to buy part of DeBeers.
Always a good day when hoser uploads
I love that bit where Cecil Rhodes said “it’s scramblin’ time!”
i really appreciate the background music in this episode, nice touch.
Do u know the music name that starts at 8:33
@@inactive3772 Sandstorm by Darude
I first learn about Seretse Khama and the success of Botswana just the other day, and now I swear I’m seeing them everywhere.
Good. Everyone should know.
How have I not heard of Botswana…
Are you from US?
Probably because South Africa is the larger and more outward-facing country in the region.
@aerixoxo_ i meant their economic prosperity but ok be rude.
i like how you played diamonds from sierra leone in the backround
Dope vid and im thankful for the beginning background music cause I forgot about that joint lol
Really good video
Forgot some *extremely* important point:
1) Botswana did not have a violent independence struggle. The decolonization was peaceful and the limited existing infrastructure wasn't destroyed.
2) Botswana being small did not attract the attention of the Soviet union like Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia etc... So the soviets never propped up Marxist/communist governments which almost always did lead to economic disaster.
3) the post colonial leader of Botswana was a 50% / 50% mixed black and white person. This, united with his great skills and education, made him able to always keep a peaceful relationship between whites and blacks without racial laws.
4) While other countries where expropriating white farmers Botswana instead tried to invite them to resettle there, offering lots of land (which usually needed work to be farmed, like canals, wells and pumps etc...) to these farmers at very good rates. This allowed Botswana to gain extremely experienced farmers and to make thousands of acres or barren land into taxpaying farms without any government investment besides offering cheap land; the improvement in the agricultural sector lead to nutritional self sufficiency and no famines as well as more jobs.
5) the diamond industry wasn't expropriated and made state owned (or more often "politicians" owned) like in many other African countries.
This prevented politicians from getting involved directly into the diamond industry which usually ends up in corruption and blood feuds.
6) Botswana being small and homogeneous as far as tribes, language and culture go so there was no return to tribal warfare after the colonial period.
7) Botswana always welcomed foreign investment and investors unlike the many Africa nations that took the communist/Marxist route such as Eritrea and didn't mistreat them, which in turn attracted more investment.
It's almost a miracle that a country like Botswana with no access to the sea and a very unfortunate geography has managed to develop to were it is today. So many right economical choices have been taken. One of a kind.
It's really crazy to think about given their geographical situation and their history with the English and other European powers.
Botswana was never a Colony. It was a Protectorate.
The Botswana government does not do much as take a shit without prior consent from big business.
Over 90% of Botswanans are of one ethnic group.
Plus the population is very small.
Most importantly there is law and order. They still have the death penalty. It makes criminals think twice.
I spent a year learning about Rhodesia , your video nailed that whole year in less than 30 sec
i only started appreciating my country Botswana after visiting a couplr of African countries, where you literally see poverty walking the sreets. may God keep us from falling into this African curse of greed and corruption
i am from botswana and it is actually a good country education is good cause instead of taking loans u are givin money during university to avoid high crime rate
Botswana no longer has the highest development index in sub saharan Africa as that honor goes to South Africa (HDI 0.713) compared to Botswana (0.693)
How unfortunate
Most developed in Sub Sahara is Mauritius (0.802)
Well that's surprising. But our neighbors to the north deserve the praise they get.
Hoser just made my Macro lecture a lot more interesting
The analysis at the end doesn't make sense. What hurt Sierra Leone and helped Botswana ultimately was slavery and a lack of slavery, relatively speaking. Plus Britain generally left Botswana alone and the lack of outside inference allowed the country to develop more substantively whereas Sierra Leone was constantly meddled with. Britain also didn't install an outside elite to run the country for decades. The story of the two countries shows how much mire beneficial countries with less colonialism not unlike how many European countries had the privilege of developing without slavery and colonialism
im from Botswana and this video got recommended to me.
Tell your countrymen to keep up the good work 👍
Botswana is like the "this is fine" meme but as a country lol.
Just found your channel and god I love it
Lovely song & beautiful voice...good going.. keep it up Ruchita..proud of you..All the best..❤
Ir sounds like Botswana could even teach Saudi Arabia a thing or too about being a resource rich country that still builds up its own native populace and diversifies its economy.
Nah both are still struggling to do so.
@y38ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuub Too little too late. They should've started doing this decades ago. The obvious thing to do would be to setup industry around the oil eg plastic producing factories instead of just selling the raw oil.
@@jgw9990 their vision 2030 is better late than not do thing them following UAE and Qatar footstep
Botswana is successful because they used to have nothing to be exploited for 🤯
The resource curse in reverse
Awesome! 👏👏👏👏
Even the commercials are good omgg
The Botswanans essentially built their country from the ground up. Now, imagine what kind of shit show Botswana would have ended up as if the British took over.
As a motswana I don't even want to think about it Botswana is a miracle a lot of things happened in their favor 🙏
I don't think it's only because Botswana had better leadership than Sierra Leone. Don't get me wrong, I think good leardership played a major part why Bostswana succeeded while Sierra Leone failed, but I feel like another major reason is how easy it was to extract resources from Sierra Leone, and simple geography.
by your statement 'easy to extract resources' in Sierra Leone I assume you are referring to the fact that the diamonds in Sierra Leone were easily accessible to anyone (from rivers etc.) and therefore difficult for the government to control their extraction whereas in the case of Botswana they are deep underground and more difficult to access and practically force people to work together to extract them.
I’m a Sierra Leonean and I totally agree.
Kimberley in South Africa also Tswana land, was exploited deep underground during the colonial era.
i like when hoser said "its uploadin' time" and uploaded all of us
Love your videos comparing countries. Please do a series on countries that got it right! We all need to learn from the best countries, especially those with no natural assets like oil.
If you cover Africa again in the near future, I'd love to understand why Sierra Leone's southern neighbor, Liberia, is in such a sorry state. It was the first and only time the United States ever tried to establish a colony the content with a unique yet pretty racist intent (compared to Europe) but after gaining independence, the country still tried to develop its constitution and society based on its American origin while capitalizing on the the regions rich resources. Despite that, Liberia has gone through such tribulation that it could be argued it's been a failed state for some time. What went wrong?
The freed slaves and born free black Americans agreed to go there, they weren't forced to.
it was doing well until a coup in the 80s which led to brutal civil war
The black colonists set up a slave plantation economy when they arrived. Which caused a civil war between them and the natives in the 80s.
Ex-slaves shouldn't be allowed to rule over countries. Look at Haiti.
It actually doesn’t really sound all that different to Sierra Leone. Only major difference is that the US was very hands off and completely ignored Liberias existence for most of its history
Learning about Sierra Leone is what made me care about and start studying Africa & geopolitics to begin with. A tragic tale.
Well made video.
Yoooo this chanel is dope!
Seretse is in his 57th playthrough on tropico, Africa version... real pro
It's too early too call any nation in Africa failed. Look at Rwanda people said it was a failed State after the genocide look at them today. Sierra Leone is a great country and it will be even greater, with good governance every nation in Africa will succeed in a span of a generation, so don't hype Botswana too much yet this is a marathon we are in not a Sprint. Good luck sierra Leone🇸🇱 with love from Kenya 🇰🇪
What do you mean he shouldn't hype Botswana too much? As a person from Botswana i don't understand why some people like to have issues with Botswana being talked about in a good light because for me any success story from Africa is my success also. Its not a competition we want Africa to succeed not to talk down on other African countries if something positive is talked about them.
imagine if more countries had presidents that genuinely cared about their people
Botswana's first president was actually a Sovereign in his own right so was brought up to be gracious, honorable and a concerned leader looking after the welfare of his people.
Diamond r forever instrumental in the background is just perfect my guy
We should take some notes from Botswana. That looks like a very good economic country. Great video!