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The
national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
flag of
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
(
Setswana
Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zone ...
: ''folaga ya Botswana'') consists of a
sky blue
Sky blue is a shade of light blue comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. The term (as "sky blew") is attested from 1681. A 1585 translation of Nicolas de Nicolay's 1576 ''Les navigations, peregrinations et voyages faicts en la Turquie'' in ...
field cut horizontally in the centre by a
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
stripe with a thin
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
frame. Adopted in 1966 to replace the
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
, it has been the flag of the Republic of
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
since the country gained independence that year.
It is one of the few
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n flags that utilises neither the colours of the
Pan-Africanist
Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...
movement nor the colours of the country's leading
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
.
History
In 1885, Bechuanaland became a
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
within
its colonial empire. This occurred after the leaders of the
Tswana people
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 popu ...
negotiated with the British to offer them protection from the
Boer
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...
s, who were invading their lands from the neighbouring
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 it ...
.
In spite of this newfound protection, South Africa continued to pressure the British to allow them to annex Bechuanaland into
their union.
[ ] This did not occur due to widespread opposition from the Batswana people,[ and Bechuanaland gained independence from Britain in 1966; the new nation was renamed Botswana.][
Before it gained independence, Botswana did not have its own distinctive colonial flag,][ with the ]flag of the United Kingdom
The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag.
The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801 which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in pe ...
serving as the ''de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' flag of the protectorate. When Botswana's national flag was created in 1966, it was symbolically designed to contrast with the flag of South Africa
The flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of South Africa's South African general election, 1994, 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928.
The flag has ...
, since the latter country was ruled under an apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime.[ Hence, the black stripe with the white frame came to epitomise the peace and harmony between the people of African and European descent who reside in Botswana.][ The new flag was first hoisted at midnight on 30 September 1966, the day Botswana became an independent country.
]
Design
The colours of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The light blue represents water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
—specifically, in its form of rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
, as it is a precious resource in Botswana, which relies on agriculture and suffers from frequent droughts[ due to the dry and arid climate of the ]Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...
.[ The blue also alludes to the ]motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
featured on the coat of arms of Botswana
The coat of arms of Botswana was adopted on 25 January 1966. The centre shield is supported by two zebras. The shape of the shield is that of traditional shields found in Southern Africa. On the top portion of the shield are three cogwheels tha ...
—''Pula'', which means "Let there be rain" in Setswana
Tswana, also known by its native name , and previously spelled Sechuana in English, is a Bantu language spoken in Southern Africa by about 8.2 million people. It belongs to the Bantu language family within the Sotho-Tswana branch of Zone ...
[—as well as life, which is sustained by water.][
The black band with the white frame has two meanings. Firstly, they symbolise the harmony and cooperation between the people of different races who live in Botswana, as well as the racial diversity of the country.] Furthermore, they represent the stripes of the zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...
, the national animal
This is a list of countries that have officially designated one or more animals as their national animals.
National animal
{, class="wikitable sortable"
! Country
! Name of animal
! Scientific name (Latin name)
! class="unsortable", Picture
...
of Botswana.[
]
Gallery
File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg, The Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
was used until the Independence of Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
File:Flag of the Botswana Defence Force.svg, Flag of the Botswana Defence Force
The Botswana Defence Force (BDF, tn, Sesole Sa Botswana) is the military of Botswana. The main component of the BDF is the Botswana Ground Force; there is also an air wing and a riverine patrol contingent attached to the ground forces, with 10 ...
File:Ensign of the Botswana Defence Force Air Wing.svg, Ensign of the Botswana Defence Force Air Wing
The Botswana Defence Force Air Arm is the air force of the Botswana Defence Force of Botswana in southern Africa.
Chiefs of the Defence Staff Air Wing
The former heads of the Botswana Armed Forces Air Wing were referred to while in office as ...
File:Roundel of Botswana.svg, Roundel of the Botswana Defence Force Air Wing
The Botswana Defence Force Air Arm is the air force of the Botswana Defence Force of Botswana in southern Africa.
Chiefs of the Defence Staff Air Wing
The former heads of the Botswana Armed Forces Air Wing were referred to while in office as ...
Colors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botswana, Flag of
Flags introduced in 1966
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
Flags of Africa
National flags
1966 establishments in Botswana