The Early History of the Postal Service in Botswana, 1847 to 1889

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to summarise the steps taken by early European visitors in Southern Africa
to communicate with their friends and relatives in their homelands. It should, of course, be borne in mind
that prior to the arrival of Europeans, Africans had their own systems of letter-delivery which operated in
conjunction with the delivery of spoken messages between African communities. Within these systems,
a central role was played by African rulers, European hunters, and traders. As literacy was adopted by
more Africans, many of them wrote and sent letters themselves, such as letters from African writers (in
Setswana) to the editors of mission-published newspapers during 1857-1859 and 1883-1896.