MACKENZIE, JOHN

born Aug. 30, 1835, Knockando, Moray County, Scot. died March 23, 1899, Kimberley, Cape Colony British missionary who was a constant champion of the rights of Africans in South Africa and a proponent of British intervention to curtail the spread of Boer influence over the lands and tribes of the interior of South Africa. Mackenzie went to South Africa in 1858 and began his missionary work in Bechuanaland (now Botswana). Troubled by the growing encroachments on tribal territories by Boers from the Transvaal republic to the east, he was active from 1867 in attempts to have Britain declare Bechuanaland a protectorate, claiming that the British would safeguard African rights from Boer racism. In 1884 the protectorate was established with Mackenzie as its deputy commissioner. He lost this job to Cecil Rhodes in 1885 but remained in politics, retaining a great deal of influence. In 1889 he retired to resume his missionary activities.