Illustration showing Unrest in Bechuianaland (Botswana): Boers levying unlawful duties on trader's Wagons. Cecil Rhodes helped secure much of Bechuanaland for Britain, in opposition to the Transvaal Republic. During the Scramble for Africa the territory of Botswana was coveted by both Germany and Great Britain. During the Berlin Conference, Britain decided to annex Botswana in order to safeguard the Road to the North and thus connect the Cape Colony to its territories further north. It unilaterally annexed Tswana territories in January 1885