The Story of Botswana and Sierra Leone

Botswana is an unlikely candidate for one of the fastest growing economies and healthiest African nations, it's arid, small, and has next to nothing. Whereas Sierra Leone is much larger, and has many more resources, so why did Botswana become the richest nation on the continent and Sierra Leone one of the poorest on the planet?

#h0ser #africa #history

0:00 Botswana vs. Sierra Leone
1:37 Precolonial Eras
6:08 Colonial Days
9:41 The Botswana Success Story
12:51 Blood Diamonds from Sierra Leone

[RapinatorOhYeah]

> Reject being a Royal
> Flew to UK and meet your wife in an amazing story
> Flew back to Botswana and push for independence
> Run as the President
> Won
> Reform the country making it one of the fastest growing economy in the world while maintaining democratic principles
> Run for re-election 3 more times and won all of it
> Won 3/4 of the country on a *free and fair election* on your last election
> dies on office

[Scriptedviolince]

TLDR: Botswana's 🇧🇼 leaders actually gave a damn. Smart men with good intentions, and a deep sense of responsibility to their people made hard choices that ultimately paid off in the long run. Morality is not weakness. Good things come to those who are patient enough to see it through.

[kepalolles]

Anyone realise the country that did best in practically all of Africa did so becuase the british left it mostly alone?

[Mr_Blacksmith]

As a Motswana, I sometimes find it hard to appreciate my country. There's a lot of things Botswana hasn't got right but there's a lot more that gone right for the country. The more I travel and watch videos like these the more I get to appreciate how far we've come.

[eamparbeng]

As a Ghanaian, all I can say is that the people of Botswana did it right. Y'all set the standard of excellence that other African countries need to replicate

[hdmotsadi]

I am from Botswana and i am so proud of my country. we are really trying, to all who want to live in a peaceful country, Botswana is the place to be.. no wars, nothing.. the weather might be the problem.. its very hot. the people in Botswana are really kind, love to party.. pay us a visit and explore our culture.. tourism is good this side..

[LouvreGlassFrance]

I'm Sierra Leonean and this sounds so sad. Hopefully we'll rise from this situation and eventually we will by God's grace.

[Guyro]

I think Sierra Leone still has the potential to turn it around as it’s democratic and free enough to let the people of the country innovate(compared to many other African and west African countries). Although from my research of the country it will certainly take a lot of effort. But my favorite thing about Botswana is that it never exploited its people to get where it is today unlike other successful countries.

[mrrodriguezHLP]

Botswana and Norway have a lot in common. The secret ingredients are: build up your infrastructure, create reliable social programs, diversify your public investment portfolio, and above all DON'T BE CORRUPT.

[ananon]

really shows how a country getting on the right track can lead it to greatness.

[matheuroux]

The point is, because Botswana was such a quiet corner of the world, the British mostly left them alone and thus their society was preserved. Even if they were poor, the economy wasn't exploitative. That's what people don't realise about colonialism: the Europeans came in and made functioning economies with infrastructure, sure, but the whole system got set up in a way that cannot bring advantage to locals. Remember, the DR Congo was the 2nd most industrialised country in Africa, yet it was perhaps the worst colony to live in.

[malemrajoinam]

Love to Botswana from India 🇮🇳♥️🇧🇼 (and Sierra Leone too)

[VerreViolette]

It would be interesting to see a similar video on Ghana and Côte d 'Ivoire, the two having similar ethnic compositions (Akan, Gur etc.) and both adopting cacao as a significant cash crop yet due to British and French colonisation styles the two have had very different trajectories regarding economics and diplomacy post independence.

[atlashistorical]

africa finally industrializing is gonna be wild for geopolitics

[curtistino]

My Botswana, my pride. I love my country. Thanks for the informative video!

[jonathanwilliams]

Sierra Leone wasn’t actually populated by freed slaves but by the people illegally kidnapped by captains who became pirates under British law
When the Royal Navy intercepted these ships they decided they couldn’t just send these people home or they’d be kidnaped again so they dumped them in Sierra Leone

[red_hrlow]

I love the African Videos. This channel gives me the same feeling brains4breakfast did before he passed. Thank you.

[thatguynoonelikes]

It just shows the power of democracy and how a country's history can influence their nations state today

Having that Foundation of democracy being just historically a part of the country like a status quo before a modern government was even put in place was almost like a head start you know

[finnworldwide]

I really appreciate how you put music native to the countries in the background. So awesome! Really immersed you in the country.

[kamogelomosweu]

I would say Botswana success comes from Batswana themselves, our core values. we always had good governance even before colonization or arrival of Europeans, our court system is so good they Europeans were impressed and it still exists even
today as a part of government system. we never valued violence unless it was necessary. Our main solution to any problem has always been negotiation instead of killing each other, we even managed to negotiate with the British to protect us from the Boers who were surrounding us. We can set aside our differences to come together to talk for the good of our community and country. Botswana is not perfect we still have a long way to go but what is good about my country is my people. As for Sierra Leone i can't say anything because i don't know a lot but we walked a different walk with them which means their journey may have contributed to their problems today, i wish them success.