The Great Plague

Yet, as horrific as these figures were, the local impact of the 1918 Pandemic was overshadowed by a series of natural disasters that plagued Bechuanaland between 1896 and 1899; when a lethal combination of human and animal diseases coupled with drought and locust infestation resulted in up to 20% of the Protectorates’ population perishing, along with most of the territory’s livestock and much of its wildlife.

The catastrophic extent of the late 1890s ecological crisis was not immediately apparent. Botswana has always been a semi-arid country prone to drought. Poor rainfall was thus recorded in every decade during the nineteenth century, with the worst droughts occurring in 1845-51, 1856-62, and 1876-9, as well as 1896-99.