This article is about the nominally-independent bantustan. For the modern-day country, see Botswana.
Republic of Bophuthatswana
Repaboleki ya Bophuthatswana(Tswana) Republiek van Bophuthatswana(Afrikaans)
1977–1994
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto: "Tshwaraganang Lo Dire Pula E Ne"(Tswana) "If we stand together and work hard we will be blessed with rain"[a]
Anthem:Lefatshe leno la bo-rrarona[b](Tswana) This Land of our Forefathers
Location of Bophuthatswana (red) within South Africa (yellow).
Status
Bantustan (de facto; independence internationally unrecognised)
Capital
Mmabatho
Official languages
Tswana[1]
English[1]
Afrikaans[1]
President
• 1977–1994
Lucas Mangope
Legislature
Parliament
• Parliament
President and National Assembly
• National Assembly[f]
24 regional representatives[c]
12 non-voting specialists[d][e]
72 elected MPs
History
• Self-government
1 June 1972
• Nominal Independence
6 December 1977
• Coup d'état
1988
• Coup attempt
1990
• Insurrection / coup d'état
1994
• Dissolution
27 April 1994
Area
1980[2]
44,109 km2 (17,031 sq mi)
Population
• 1980[2]
1,323,315
• 1991[3]
1,478,950
Currency
South African rand
Preceded by
Succeeded by
South Africa
South Africa
^Bophuthatswana at Flags of the World.
^Constitution of the Republic of Bophuthatswana as amended in 1984, Schedule 1.
^Appointed.
^Appointed.
^With or without citizenship.
^ibid., Chapter 5.
Historical states in present-day South Africa
before 1600
Kingdom of Mapungubwe (1050–1270)
Kingdom of Mutapa (1430–1760)
1600–1700
Dutch Cape Colony (1652–1795)
1700–1800
Mthethwa Paramountcy (c.1780–1817)
Ndwandwe (c.1780–1817)
Swellendam (1795)
Graaff-Reinet (1795–1796)
Cape Colony (1795–1802)
1800–1850
Dutch Cape Colony (1802–1806)
Cape Colony (1806–1910)
Waterboer's Land (1813–1871)
Zulu Kingdom (1818–1897)
Adam Kok's Land (1825–1861)
Winburg (1836–1844)
Potchefstroom (1837–1848)
Natalia Republic (1839–1843)
1850–1875
South African Republic (1852–1902)
Orange Free State (1854–1902)
Republic of Utrecht (1854–1858)
Lydenburg Republic (1856–1860)
Griqualand East (1861–1879)
Griqualand West (1870–1880)
Diggers' Republic (1870–1871)
1875–1900
Stellaland (1882–1885)
Goshen (1882–1883)
Nieuw Republiek (1884–1888)
Klein Vrystaat (1886–1891)
1900–present
Cape Colony (1806–1910)
Union of South Africa (1910–1961)
Transkei (1976–1994)
Bophuthatswana (1977–1994)
Venda (1979–1994)
Ciskei (1981–1994)
Republic of South Africa (1961–present)
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Bophuthatswana (/ˌboʊpuːtətˈswɑːnə/BOH-poo-tət-SWAH-nə, lit.'gathering of the Tswana people'),[4] officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (Tswana: Repaboleki ya Bophuthatswana; Afrikaans: Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland", an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity) that was declared (nominally) independent by the apartheid regime of South Africa in 1977. However, its independence, like the other Bantustans of Ciskei, Transkei and Venda was not recognized by any country other than South Africa.
Bophuthatswana was the second Bantustan to be declared an independent state, after Transkei. Its territory constituted a scattered patchwork of enclaves spread across what was then Cape Province, Orange Free State and Transvaal. Its seat of government was Mmabatho, which is now a suburb of Mahikeng.
On 27 April 1994, it was reintegrated into South Africa with the coming into force of the country's interim constitution. Its territory was distributed between the new provinces of the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West Province.[5]
^ abcConstitution of the Republic of Bophuthatswana, chapter 1, section 5 "Tswana, English and Afrikaans shall be the official languages of Bophuthatswana"
^Sally Frankental; Owen Sichone (1 January 2005). South Africa's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook. ABC-CLIO. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-57607-674-3. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
^Cite error: The named reference BSTNdist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Raper, P. E. (2004). South African Place Names. Jonathan Ball, Jhb & Cape Town. p. 34. ISBN 1-86842-190-2.
^"The Homelands". South African History Online. 17 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
Bophuthatswana (/ˌboʊpuːtətˈswɑːnə/ BOH-poo-tət-SWAH-nə, lit. 'gathering of the Tswana people'), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (Tswana: Repaboleki...
The 1994 Bophuthatswana crisis was a major political crisis which began after Lucas Mangope, the president of Bophuthatswana, a nominally independent...
The Bophuthatswana Defence Force (Afrikaans: Bophuthatswana Weermag; BDF) was established on 6 December 1977 from trainees of the South African Defence...
defend the dictatorial government of Lucas Mangope in the homeland of Bophuthatswana. The AWB, along with a contingent of about 90 Afrikaner Volksfront militiamen...
that four of the South African Bantustans were independent—Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei (the so-called "TBVC States"), but this declaration...
with effect from 26 October 1976. The Status of Bophuthatswana Act 89 of 1977 granted Bophuthatswana "independence" with effect from 6 December 1977....
the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana in the 1970s, before the adjoining town of Mmabatho was established as capital when Bophuthatswana became nominally independent...
The Bophuthatswana Air Force (BAF) was the aviation branch of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force. The BAF existed from 1987 until 27 April 1994. The primary...
the former "Bantustan" of Bophuthatswana, separated from the adjacent Mafeking which temporarily remained outside Bophuthatswana. Following the end of apartheid...
Block E (blockhouses). Mabopane was incorporated into the bantustan of Bophuthatswana from 1977 to 1994. Parts of Mabopane, Blocks F, G and H became Soshanguve...
West Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Bophuthatswana Division and the North West High Court, and commonly known as the Mahikeng...
Bophuthatswana was an independent Bantustan between 1977 and 1994. There were only two coins struck. Both of them were issued in proof coinage only. Bophuthatswana...
1923 – 18 January 2018) was the leader of the Bantustan (homeland) of Bophuthatswana. The territory he ruled over was distributed between the Orange Free...
This article lists elections for legislative or quasi-legislative bodies in South Africa. 15 September 1910 20 October 1915 20 March 1920 8 February 1921...
Mangope of Bophuthatswana declares that the homelands will not be registering for the April elections. Unrest breaks out and the Bophuthatswana Defence Force...
Volksfront militia to protect the bantustan president, Lucas Mangope, in Bophuthatswana against a coup d'état. Despite being requested not to participate in...
Bophuthatswana Government did make a contribution to the development of the area albeit it under an unpopular political context. The Bophuthatswana government...
undermine the election, particularly in the wake of the conflict in Bophuthatswana and the Shell House massacre—incidents of violence involving the AWB...
Bechuanaland Protectorate. The Bophuthatswana Territorial Authority was created in 1961, and in June 1972 Bophuthatswana was declared a self-governing...
declared independent by the South African government: Transkei in 1976, Bophuthatswana in 1977, Venda in 1979, and Ciskei in 1981 (known as the TBVC states)...
with effect from 26 October 1976. The Status of Bophuthatswana Act 89 of 1977 granted Bophuthatswana "independence" with effect from 6 December 1977....
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