Mafikeng

Mafikeng (in the past called Mafeking ) is a Ville of South Africa, located in the Province of the North-West, of which it is the capital.

Amalgamated with Mmabatho in 1994, the name of Mafikeng replaced that of Mmabatho to indicate the capital of the new South-African province.

The name of Mafikeng means “place in the middle of the rocks” in tswana. Mafika is the plural of fika which means stone , and the termination - eng means " lieu".

Population

According to the census of 2001, the population of Mafikeng was of 49.300 residents. In 2007, the population would be of 250.000 inhabitants including 70.000 resident with the downtown area.

Geography

The city is located at 1500 m of altitude on banks of the Molopo river, to 260 km of Johannesburg.

History

Mafikeng takes its rise during the years 1880 under the impulse of British mercenaries who see themselves there granting grounds by a chief Tswana of the tribe of Barolong.

The place is called then Mafikeng but the British badly spell the name which becomes Mafeking.

The Siège of Mafeking is a famous episode of the Guerre of Boers. During 217 days, the small British garrison directed by the colonel Robert Baden-Powell, future founder of the movement scout resisted successfully and the tiny prices of losses (one sixty of dead), with the surrounding of the soldiers Boers.

Mafeking was used as capital of the Protectorat Bechuanaland of 1894 until the independence of the territory under the name of Botswana in 1965, and this although it was located apart from its borders. It was then indicated like capital of the Bantoustan autonomous then independent of the Bophuthatswana, a state not recognized by the international community. In 1980, whereas Mafeking takes again its name of origin of Mafikeng, the common neighbor of Mmabatho succeeds to him to be the capital of Bophuthatswana.

In 1994, whereas the Bantustan are reinstated in the Republic of South Africa, Mafikeng and Mmabatho are amalgamated to form only one city and municipality which quickly takes the name of Mafikeng relegating Mmabatho to the row of district.

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