On This Day

Bechuanaland becomes a British Protectorate

British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government.

British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status whilst simultaneously offering protection. British protectorates were therefore governed by indirect rule. In most cases, the local ruler, as well as the subjects of the ruler, were not British subjects, but rather British protected persons. British protected states represented a more loose form of British suzerainty, where the local rulers retained absolute control over the states' internal affairs and the British exercised control over defence and foreign affairs.

Historical Significance

British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government.

Events Before

  1. American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in

    American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1916

  2. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

    Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

  3. First volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, is published

    The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house.

  4. Siege of Khartoum, Sudan, begins by Mahdist forces and lasts ten months

    The siege of Khartoum (also known as the battle of Khartoum or fall of Khartoum) took place from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885.

  5. American mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (28) weds Louise M. Spooner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    American mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (28) weds Louise M. Spooner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Events After

  1. Karl Benz patents the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world's first automobile with an internal comb

    Karl Benz patents the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in Karlsruhe, Germany, the world's first automobile with an internal combustion engine [1]

  2. Inventor Thomas Edison (38) marries 2nd wife Mina Miller (20) in Akron, Ohio

    Inventor Thomas Edison (38) marries 2nd wife Mina Miller (20) in Akron, Ohio

  3. William Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill in the British House of Commons

    The Home Rule movement (Irish: Rialtas Dúchais) was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

  4. Painter Paul Cézanne (47) weds Marie-Hortense Fiquet (36)

    Painter Paul Cézanne (47) weds Marie-Hortense Fiquet (36)

  5. Nationwide demonstrations and strikes demanding an 8-hour workday begin in the US

    Socialism in the United States has encompassed various types of tendencies, including utopian socialists, anarchists, democratic socialists, social democrats, Marxist–Leninists, and Trotskyists.

More from the 1880s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on September 30, 1885?
British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status whilst simultaneously offering protection. British protectorates were therefore governed by indirect rule.
Why is Bechuanaland becomes a British Protectorate significant?
British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government.

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