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White people in Botswana

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White people in Botswana
Total population
64,000~[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Gaborone, Francistown, Ghanzi, Serowe, Lobatse
Languages
Afrikaans, English, Greek, Serbian
Religion
Predominantly Christianity, Judaism
Related ethnic groups
White people in Zambia, White people in Zimbabwe, White South Africans, White Namibians

White people in Botswana are Batswana whose ancestry lies historically within the continent of Europe, most notably the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and, more recently, directly from Serbia and other southern African nations.

White Africans account for around 3% of the country's population.[1]

The White population usually speak Afrikaans, with a small Serbian community in the country's capital. The Afrikaner population is centred around farming communities in the Ghanzi Region (descendants of the Dorsland Trekkers). After the Zimbabwean Land Reforms, a number of Anglo-Zimbabwean farmers moved to Botswana (as well as South Africa and Zambia) to start new lives.[citation needed]

History

European conquerors began to invade what is today the nation of Botswana in the 19th century. The Dorsland Trek in the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw thousands of Boers invade from South Africa to present-day Namibia by way of Botswana. Many of these people stayed, especially in Ghanzi, which is in the Kalahari Desert. White people in Botswana are primarily of Boer/Afrikaner descent, but smaller numbers are also of British/Rhodesian ancestry as well. These people entered territories already richly inhabited by indigenous Africans without the assent of the native people, and their aggressive, acquisitive behavior caused warfare between themselves and the indigenous peoples, and intertribal clashes that led to millions of deaths of the original inhabitants.[2]

Additionally, there is a fairly significant Serbian community in the country, mainly families of immigrants from Yugoslavia who came beginning in the 1950s. There is a Serbian Society in Gaborone, which regularly hosts a variety of cultural events. In 2016 construction began on the first Serbian Orthodox church in Botswana, the St. Nicholas Church.[3]

St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church operates in Gaborone.[4]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "CIA - The World Factbook -- Botswana". CIA. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  2. ^ The Evolution of Modern Botswana, p. 250 by Louis A. Picard (1985)
  3. ^ “Corner-Stone for a new Orthodox Church in Botswana.” Regular Session of the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church Begins | Serbian Orthodox Church [Official Web Site], Serbian Orthodox Church, 25 Nov. 2016, www.spc.rs/eng/cornerstone_first_orthodox_church_botswana.In-text Citation
  4. ^ "History of Serbs in Botswana" Saint Sava Botswana, Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Gaborone, Botswana.

Sources

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