From the imposition of white rule in the 1840s to the beginning of the new millennium, the African people in the North West Province experienced dramatic changes. Some of these would be readily apparent just from an observation of the regional environment. Apart from the obvious and conspicuous footprints of economic and social transformation (roads, railways, bridges, mission stations, churches, urban housing and telecommunications) one can note further features. First, the black population was forced to reside in reserves set aside for them, or on privately acquired ‘tribal’ farms, and many still live here or have a foot in these areas. The reserves, although still home to thousands of people, are for the most part barren and barely offer the chance of accumulation on any significant scale. Second, large tracts of land, mostly in the ‘maize triangle’ of the old western Transvaal, are still concentrated in the hands of commercial farmers. Third, the earth is scarred by the imprint of numerous mines, and the rivers and air polluted as a consequence. Finally, the region's wildlife has been herded into game parks, now a source of considerable profit. This book records and analyses a number of the key moments and developments in the human history of the North West Province.

During and following the so-called difaqane, a number of opportunistic, determined and well connected young men brought together the remnants of ethnically affiliated people and independent groups and began to reoccupy land in the bushveld and the thornveld area south of the Molopo River. To do so they had to negotiate with the unpredictable trekboers establishing themselves from the late 1830s around the available water sources of the region. This required astute leadership skills and the ability to negotiate on equal terms with the white authorities. These skills were exemplified by Moiloa of the baHurutshe. Historians have resorted to the frequent use of the terms ‘collaboration’ and ‘resistance’ to describe the reaction of African societies to colonial rule. While these terms still have relevance, the response to colonial rule of Africans such as Moiloa and all the significant nineteenth century baTswana leaders defy neat compartmentalisation into collaborators or resisters – there are many subtleties and ambiguities within and between these rather stark contrasts.