The Tati Concession was a land and mining concession created in the western borderlands of the Matabele Kingdom. The concession was originally granted by the Matabele King, Lobengula, son of Mzilikazi, to Sir John Swinburne in exchange for gold and arms. It was administered by the territory known as the Bechuanaland Protectorate after 1893, but was formally annexed to it by Proclamation Number 2 of 1911 by the High Commissioner of Bechuanaland. It was locally administered by a Justice of the Peace. The chief town of this region is

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

, now one of Botswana's major settlements.

Chronology

:* 1864: Gold is discovered by Europeans in

Tati River The Tati River is a river in northeast Botswana, a tributary of the Shashe River, which in turn is a tributary of the Limpopo River. The river flows through Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of ...

area (

Tati Goldfields The Tati Goldfields are a mineral-rich band in Botswana and Zimbabwe in southern Africa. The band runs approximately long by wide, and crosses the Tati River. It is the southernmost of the gold-bearing bands in the Archaen greenstone (schist) be ...

), then part of the Matabele kingdom. :* 1870: Concession granted to Sir John Swinburne's London and Limpopo Mining Company. :* 1880 The concession was revoked for failure to pay the annual fee, and the concession was granted instead to the Northern Light Mining Company, a syndicate formed by Danial Francis, Samuel Howard Edwards (1827–1922) and others. The Northern Light Company was later renamed the Tati Concessions, Ltd. :* 1893: Tati Land was detached from Matabeleland and placed under the jurisdiction of the British

Resident Commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. :* 21 January 1911: Annexed to Bechuanaland (now

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 ...

) via the ''Tati Concessions Land Act'', with a special agreement to preserve rights of access for Rhodesian Railways (now the

National Railways of Zimbabwe The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), formerly Rhodesia Railways, is a state-owned company in Zimbabwe that operates the country's national railway system. It is headquartered in the city of Bulawayo. In addition to the headquarters, it has ...

). Tati Concessions Limited was formed by Sir John Swinburne after agreement was reached with Chief Lobengula, King of the Matabele, son of Mzilikaze, in which Lobengula and the Matabele received gold and arms, in exchange for rights to mine and occupy this area of land in Western Matabeleland. It was also given the right by the British Government to issue its own

Revenue stamp A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, ...

s in 1896 for use on legal instruments. The Company ran into financial difficulties in 1914 and sold much of its land to a successor company, Tati Company Limited, originally domiciled in the United Kingdom, now in Botswana. Soon after independence, new owners of the Company agreed generous land deals with the Botswana Government under

Sir Seretse Khama Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980) was a Motswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980. Born into an influential royal fam ...

, in which all the undeveloped land in Francistown, and much of the Company's agricultural land was donated to Government, or sold for nominal value, for the benefit of the Batswana people, especially those with limited means. This led to bustling, modern-day Francistown. Those agreements were followed by a subsequent agreement, the acquisition by Government of the Company's mineral rights, for nominal value in 1974. All mineral rights are vested in Government, the norm throughout the country. Because of those enlightened agreements, Tati Company Limited is a much respected and honored company in Botswana.

Notes and references

;Sources
WorldStatesmen- Botswana

Chronology

Notes and references

Further reading