TWENTY YEARS IN KHAMA'S COUNTRY

397pp. Original green buckram cloth with gilt title to spine and gilt floral embossing to front cover. B/W photo illustrations and map.

Light wear to cover extremities. Internally clean and tight. 

The Rev. J.D. Hepburn's eye-witness account of Khama's struggle for power and a testimony to the leadership and sagacity of Khama in church and state. He referred to Khama (chief of the Bangwato Tribe ('Kgosi')) as 'Khama the Good', also 'Khama the Great'. Khama was the grandfather of Seretse Khama. 

 'Khama became 'Kgosi' (king) in 1875, after overthrowing his father Sekgoma and elbowing away his brother Kgamane, his ascension came at a time of great dangers and opportunities. Ndebele incursions from the north (from what is now Zimbabwe), Boer and "mixed" trekkers from the south, and German colonialists from the West, all hoping to the seize his territory and its hinterlands. He answered these challenges by aligning his state with the administrative aims of the British, which provided him with cover and support, and, relatedly, by energetically expanding his own control over a much wider area than any "kgosi" before him. Khama converted to Christianity, which moved him to criminalize sectarianism and to deprecate the institutions favoured by traditionalists. At Khama's request stringent laws were passed against the importation of alcohol.' Wikipedia

Scarce first edition