Sechele I: founder of the nation

"All the Boers are still in laager, they have been in laager a long time. They dare not venture on their farms for fear of Sechele. Their cattle are dying fast being too many together, and disease is amongst them." - Diary of James Chapman, November 1852

Our eastern border with South Africa, from Mashatu to the Barolong Farms is a product of armed struggle. In 1852-53 Batswana merafe rallied under the leadership of Sechele I to defeat the Transvaal Boers. On this basis alone Sechele can rightfully be seen as having laid the foundations of modern Botswana.