"My Beloved Home and Town - Francistown, Botswana" Francistown by Sergiodefilippo

As one of the oldest towns in Botswana and site of southern Africa's first gold rush, Francistown is a typical frontier town, strategically placed as the gateway to the north, with all the main roads to Gaborone, Zimbabwe, Maun and Kazungula passing through it. It manages to maintain its character despite being Botswana's second-largest urban centre and 'Capital of the North'.

The aboriginal inhabitants of Botswana, who have made the Kalahari their home for at least 30,000 years, are the San, or bushmen. The San number about 60,000 today, constituting a small but fascinating cultural minority in the country. Almost two millennia ago, a Bantu people known as the Tswana arrived, supplanting the San and now constituting the great majority of the population.
Botswana was granted protectorate status (as Bechuanaland) in 1885, though local authority was maintained with determination by the Tswana chiefs. In 1966, in the same wave of change that brought independence to much of the continent, Bechuanaland became the independent Republic of Botswana.
The very next year, the discovery of enormous diamond reserves in Botswana transformed the poor country's economic prospects. Today it enjoys one of the highest economic growth rates of any country in the world.