The establishment of the protectorate (part 13) - �The syndicate�

From 1890 Sebele’s claim to be Kweneng’s “Sovereign of the Soil,” in direct contradiction to the sovereign authority asserted by the British Crown through the Orders-in Council of 1890-91, was reinforced by his partnership with the Anglo-German “Secheleland Syndicate.”

The history of the Sechele Syndicate is wrapped in layers of conspiracy. It began as four separate concessions, granted between August 1889 and June 1890, which were in each case registered by a certain Sidney Morris. In summary, they granted to Morris and his partners commercial rights in Kweneng including monopolies over mining and the potential construction of railways. In return, Sebele, initially on behalf of his ailing father Sechele, received an annual retention fee of 650 pounds as well as legal recognition of his own claim as sovereign of the soil.