Mmabatho, formerly capital of the homeland of Bophuthatswana, has now joined up with Mafikeng to form a single built-up area. Mmabatho was founded only in 1977, when the South African government declared Bophuthatswana, a homeland consisting of a number of separate areas, an independent republic; in 1994, however, it was
re-incorporated in South Africa. Mmabatho (a name which in the local Tswana language means ''Mother of the People'') has the offices of various government agencies, a university (founded 1979), a sports stadium with seating for 60,000 and an airstrip.
Traditional branches of the economy are arable farming (wheat, maize, millet, groundnuts and sunflowers) and cattle-rearing. Mining and industry have gained in importance in recent decades.
Before the first whites crossed the Vaal River in the 1830s much of the territory of the present-day Transvaal provinces was occupied by the Tswana, a Bantu people, who resisted the Boer advance and asked Britain for support. This was not forthcoming until British interests were directly threatened. Britain then established the protectorate of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) and in 1885 made Mafikeng (then called Mafeking), a British settlement founded in 1867, its administrative center, even though the town lay outside the territory of the protectorate. Mafikeng retained that status until 1965.
When the town was besieged by the Boers in 1899-1900 the defense was commanded by Col. Robert Baden-Powell, who established a boys' cadet corps to carry messages and perform other errands. This was the inspiration for the scouting movement which Baden-Powell launched in Britain in 1907.
Mafikeng was incorporated in the homeland of Bophuthatswana in 1980.
The centers of Mafikeng and Mmabatho lie 4km/2.5 mi apart. Mmabatho is a town of wide streets and grand official buildings; Mafikeng is rather busier and has preserved a number of historic old buildings, including the Anglican church, which was designed by the famous architect Sir Herbert Baker.
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