It was uncommon for chiefs or their sons to marry outside of their tribes even though in Gammangwato, marriage revolved around cousins. This was nothing unique to Africa as Europeans practiced this and it helped in strengthening relations between tribes and nations. Tshekedi’s mother Semane was born in Ramotswa as Molete tribes woman and became the third wife to Khama III. The logic on such inter-marriages was that such actions served to strengthen relations between the two peoples. In the case of Seretse, he had chosen a bride among the people that considered his people to be inferiors. In some cases, the British regarded the African as of lower race as earlier captured in the words of Cecil John Rhodes. The new queen was coming from Britain which was the seat of power for the largest empire in the world at the time. At that time the British used to say; “the sun never sets on the British Empire”. Not only was Seretse’s actions pitting him against his tribe, it was also pitying his tribe against a supra culture of the British.
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