The Battle of Dimawe was fought between several

Batswana The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the pop ...

tribes and the

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

s in August 1852. Under the command of Kgosi

Setshele I Sechele I a Motswasele "Rra Mokonopi" (1812–1892), also known as Setshele, was the ruler of the Kwêna people of Botswana. He was converted to Christianity by David Livingstone and in his role as ruler served as a missionary among his o ...

of the

Bakwena The Bakoena or Bakwena ("those who venerate the crocodile") are a large clan in Southern Africa. They form part of the Sotho-Tswana Bantu people and can be found in different countries such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini ...

tribe, the Batswana were victorious at Dimawe Hill.

Background

According to

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (or ...

, a chief called Moselele the chief of Bakgatla-ba-ga mmanana had committed several murders in the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...

and then fled to

Sechele I Sechele I a Motswasele "Rra Mokonopi" (1812–1892), also known as Setshele, was the ruler of the Kwêna people of Botswana. He was converted to Christianity by David Livingstone and in his role as ruler served as a missionary among his own ...

, who refused to hand him over to the

s, saying "Who wants Moselele can come and fetch him out of my stomach". He meant to convey that Moselele was as safely hidden with him as the food which he had eaten. When the Boers arrived Sechele I send a messenger to Commandant Scholtz to say that he would do nothing to him on the morrow, as that was a Sunday, but that he would duly settle the account on the Monday. At the same time he demanded coffee and sugar, probably in return for his amiability in "letting the Boers off" for Sunday. Commandant Scholtz send back word that he had coffee and sugar, but none to give away. He promised to give him pepper on Monday.

Battle

Initial battle

The Battle began on Monday morning. During the battle Paul Kruger was injured by friendly fire ricochet, and was also stuck in the chest, tearing apart his jacket. The Bakwena had knowledge of the surrounding hilltops and used them as watchtowers and hiding places. When the Boers were spotted, Kgosi Setshele ordered the women and children to hide; Setshele's own pregnant wife was hidden in Mmasechele Cave several kilometers away. As the Boer troops climbed the hills, Setshele's warriors rolled large stones down the hillside to crush the Boers. Reportedly using captured Africans as

human shields A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...

, forcing the Batswanans to hold their fire, the Boers captured Dimawe, and they succeeded in forcing Setshele to flee. They also captured about 400 civilians, mainly women and children, which they then used as "inkoboekelinge" to work in farms, which was, according to David Livingstone, slavery. Afterwards the Boers raided the house of

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

at the

Kolobeng Mission Kolobeng Mission (also known as the Livingstone Memorial), built in 1847, the third and final mission of David Livingstone, a missionary and explorer of Africa. Located in the country of Botswana, west of Kumakwane and west of Gaborone off th ...

. And found a complete workshop for repairing guns, and materials of war, in breach of the Sand River Convention of 1852.

Batswana counter-attack

Despite, the initial Batswana defeat, Setchele soon returned and conducted several retaliatory raids using European guns against the Boers, which inflicted several casualties on its enemies, forced the Boers to retreat, and enabled the Batswana to recover their lost territory. After pushing the Boers back, the Batswana raided and plundered several Boer farms until a peace treaty was signed.

Aftermath

After the battle, the Tswana tribes split; the

traveled to Ditlhakane and Dithubaruba while the Bahurutshe finally settled in the Kolobeng River valley around Dimawe Hill. An agreement was signed between the Boers and the Batswana in January 1853. Setshele attempted to travel to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

to ask for further protection from the Boers, but he only made it to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

before being turned back. The British did not want to make an agreement with the Batswana as that would hurt relations with the Boers. However, this first failed attempt may have inspired a second successful trip to Britain in 1895 during which Kgosi Khama III, Kgosi

Sebele I Sebele I was a chief (''kgosi'') of the Kwena —a major Tswana tribe (''morafe'') in modern-day Botswana— who ruled from 1892 until his death in 1911. During his lifetime, he resisted the 1885 Bechuanaland Protectorate"Sechele’s t ...

, and Kgosi

Bathoen I Bathoen I (1845 – 1 July 1910) was a ''kgosi'' (paramount chief) of the Ngwaketse people (1889-1910). Together with Khama III and Sebele I he is credited with saving the young British Bechuanaland Protectorate, a predecessor of Botswana, from b ...

asked for Botswana's incorporation into the

Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885, by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) in Southern Africa. It became the Republic ...

, a separate entity from

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expect ...

or the

. While Kgosi Setshele was en route to Britain, a group of Setshele's army encountered a small group of Boers. The Boers were so frightened that they arranged to have Setshele's children, who were captured and enslaved by a Boer commandant, returned to him.

Citations

References

* *Fysh, Graham (2018
Massacre at Dimawe Hill
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimawe, Battle of Conflicts in 1852 Battles involving the Boers History of Gaborone Wars involving Botswana 1852 in Africa August 1852 events