Bophuthatswana

American

[boh-poo-taht-swah-nuh] / ˌboʊ pu tɑtˈswɑ nə /

noun

a self-governing Bantu territory of South Africa, consisting of several landlocked areas, along the NE part: granted independence in 1977 by South Africa, but not recognized by any other country as an independent state. 16,988 sq. mi. (44,000 sq. km). Mmabatho.

Bophuthatswana British

/ ˌbəʊpuːtɑːtˈswɑːnə /

noun

(formerly) a Bantu homeland in N South Africa: consisted of six separate areas; declared independent by South Africa in 1977 although this was not internationally recognized; abolished in 1993. Capital: Mmabatho

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In Bophuthatswana, in north-central South Africa, troops and police rushed in to quell a popular revolt against President Lucas Mangope.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ciskei, Bophuthatswana and Venda are among ten territories made nominally independent or self-governing since 1972.

From Time Magazine Archive

The 30,000 blacks working at the Impala mines in Bophuthatswana, which produce about 25% of the world's platinum, seemed a natural constituency for the National Union of Mineworkers.

From Time Magazine Archive

In December a second homeland, Bophuthatswana, will officially become independent, and three more are likely to follow within the next two years.

From Time Magazine Archive

The government of the Bophuthatswana homeland also refused to participate and resisted reincorporation into a united South Africa.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023