Page:The Past, Present and Future Trade of the Cape Colonies with Central Africa.pdf/11

 Bamashi between the Tshobe and the Zambesi. Then from the Central Zambesi, about 400 miles extending to the north, and from east to west extending about 450 miles, is the Martitse-Mabunda empire, which has been established upon the ruins of the Makololo empire, which does not exist any more. I divide these whole tracts of land into five sections. . These divisions I make not on account of any geographical reasons, or because the tribes would belong to different races, but only with reference to the trade alone. Thus I divide these different tribes and countries into five divisions, according to the different articles of barter which the trader brings into them, and according to the different articles which he gets instead. The first division comprehends the four most southern kingdoms of the Bechuanas, and one of the Batlapins, Barolongs, Banguaketse, and Bakwena. The second division comprehends the two Bamangwato kingdoms; the third division, the Matabele and Mashona kingdoms; the fourth division, the kingdom of the Marutse; and the fifth division, comprehends tribes which live to the east of the Marutse, and which pay tribute to them.

With regard to the different roads which lead into the interior, I may mention that in the first division we have three different roads; those roads unite together towards the north in the town of Shoshong, in the country of the Eastern Bamangwato. They start from two points, from the Diamond Fields and from Hope Town, while one from this place leads to Griqua Town, then from there to Kuruman, then Morokwene to Lothlakane, the residence of the king, Montsua (Montsiwe), and from there to Molopolole, the new residence of the king, Sechele (the same man that Livingstone mentions in his book of South African travels). And from there into Shoshong; the second goes from the Diamond Fields into Taung, the residence of the king of the Batlapins, and so on to Molemas Town and Kanja, the residence of the king of the Banguaketse, and then into Shoshong. The third, or eastern route, goes from the Diamond Fields, through the western provinces by the Transvaal Colony. These three different trading roads unite in Shoshong. From that we can already see the importance of this place; but we shall see it still more if we consider the different roads which go from there into Central Africa. We have again three main roads: the first one straight to the north, which goes already so far as eleven miles up to the junction of the Tshobe and the Zambesi, and as these rivers must be considered the demarcation lines between Central and South Africa, I suppose this must be considered the best point to reach Central Africa, and for reasons which I will mention further on. The second, the eastern road into