Mafikeng

Mafikeng or Mafeking (both: măf'uking) [key], town, North West prov., N central South Africa, near the border of Botswana. It is the twin town of the much larger Mmabatho, capital of North West prov., and is the market for the surrounding cattle-raising and dairy-farming area and is an important railroad depot. Mafikeng was founded in 1885 on the site of an African settlement. In the South African War (1899–1902) the British garrison there, under Lord Baden-Powell, withstood a Boer (Afrikaner) siege for 217 days; the fort is now a national monument. Mafikeng was the extraterritorial capital of the Bechuanaland protectorate until it became independent as Botswana in 1965.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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