E is for Eswatini

Fast Facts

• Named for: King Mswati (formerly Swaziland, also KaNgwane after King Ngwane)
• Capital: Mbabane (executive); Lobamba (legislative) interesting that they differ
• Long/Lat: 26.3 S/31.3E, 19 hours/ 10,000 miles East of Castro Valley
• Population: 1.3 million, 20x Castro Valley, concentrated in cities.
• Size: 6700 sq mi, 370 CVs
• Avg temp in April: 74 F/21 C, but 50 F at night. Multiple climates.
• Median household income: $2,800, very poor
• Ethnicity: 84% Swazi/10% Zulu
• Main industries: Sugar, agriculture

Eswatini, formerly called Swaziland, is almost an enclave. An enclave is a territory surrounded entirely by another territory. Lesotho—also in South Africa—and San Marino are enclaves. An exclave, by the way, is a piece of a territory stuck inside someone else’s, like if you built your castle walls all around the barn outside my house. The Nakhchivan region in Azerbaijan is an exclave, but we’ve already passed “A.”

How could an enclave—or even just a small country—exist among all the big ones? We saw this before with Andorra: tension. And there is a lot of tension in Eswatini.

In the 1880s, as European powers were sailing and marching all over, there was a period now called the “Scramble for Africa.” Between 1870 and 1910, the colonization of Africa by Europe spiked from 10% to 90%. The British had blanketed South Africa, the French Mozambique and the islands (like the Comors), the Germans Tanzania, and so on. However the Boers, who originally worked for the Dutch East India Company in the previous centuries but settled in South Africa fought back against the British.

The indigenous tribes, like the Nguni and the Embo-Diamini–the actual Africans who had originally been there–were also still there. They sided with the British. The British granted land to King Mswati II in 1881, and, although South Africa absorbed Eswatini as a protectorate in 1890, they lost it as “High Commission Territory” back to the British in 1899. (Lesotho and Botswana were also HCTs taken back by the British).

Eswatini kept the monarchy, too, and still has one of the oldest absolute monarchies. Part of its longevity was due to the rule by Sobhuza II, who ruled from 1899 to 1982. Yes, that’s not a typo, 82 years. However, Eswatini has a dual monarchy because the king (also called ngwenyama or lion) rules in tandem with his mother, the Queen Mother (also called nlovukati or elephant). The Queen Mother is often regent, if the king is young when his father dies. She continues to exert influence as well.

Meanwhile, the people have been complaining for decades about their lack of political power, not just from their erstwhile colonizers, but also from the monarchy. Eswatini has a parliament, but occasionally the king has taken back power from them. Hence, in 2025, when the Trumpites deported 5 people to Eswatini, the agreement was made with the King directly (who was paid $5 mm of US tax dollars to imprison the deportees). Parliament was told later.

The biggest cultural event in Eswatini is the Umhlanga Reed Dance, a festival where some 40,000 young women gather and dance for the king. It is an honor to participate and a rite of passage. The girls must be virgins, so you can imagine the international outcry over whether and how to test them. Even with the complicated (dubious) cultural basis for this ritual, one purpose of which is selecting wives for the king, it is undoubtedly an exciting community experience for the young women. The reeds they collect are to create a screen for the Queen Mother.

The cultural legacy is further complicated by Eswatini’s other “claim to fame,” which is having the world’s highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection at 27%. All of the highest remaining HIV rates are in the surrounding countries (South Africa, Mozambique, etc.) The region’s poverty, certain cultural practices, poor access to medicine, and a unique strain of HIV have contributed to its ongoing rate. Eswatini earns money from sugar production, but much of their GDP is kept by the royal family.

However, recent efforts in the country, with the help of the international medical community, have shown promise. Beginning in 2002, the Reed Dance has been used as an opportunity to provide information about HIV, safe sex practices, and self-test kits. Ironically, this somewhat-antiquated ritual may provide an opportunity to share vital knowledge with the people who most need it in a safe setting, where young women can construct strategies to talk to their partners.

In that case, keep on dancing!