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The Khoisan inhabited Southern
Africa’s hills and mountains since at least
the 10th century AD, moving throughout
the region. Around the 16th century, the fertile
plain that today forms the Lesotho lowlands and
the Free State is where the Sotho people arrived
and settled. They married and intermingled with
the Khoisan people and small chiefdoms were formed.
Today the San are gone but rock paintings are
evidence of their habitation here. Trading links
were established with the different groups and
with people as far as the north of South Africa.
Boer farmers (Voortrekker pioneers)
arrived in the early 19th century, trading horses
for cattle. With the threat of Chaka Zulu’s
powerful nation and the constant threat from bandit
clans, the Basotholanders soon realised that extreme
pressure was being placed on their environment.
In 1820, the founder of the Basotho
nation, Moshoeshoe I (1786 - 1870) secured land
for the Basotho people. Many people, scattered
by the Zulu nation, were drawn to Moshoeshoe for
protection.
With the attack on Butha-Buthe in
1824, Moshoeshoe and his followers moved south
in search of a better stronghold. The mountain
of Thaba Bosiu (which means “mountain at
night”) proved to be a stronger fortress.
It was also on the left bank of the Caledon River
and consequently less open to invaders from Natal.
These people also held out against attacks from
the Ngwane, the Korannas, the Boers and the British.
Thaba Bosiu is about 30 kilometres from today’s
capital Maseru and is a national monument.
In 1833 King Moshoeshoe welcomed
missionaries from the Paris Evangelical Missionary
Society. They settled in Morija and maintained
a good working relationship with him, despite
Moshoeshoe never converting to their faith. Other
French Catholic missionaries founded Roma in the
1860’s and today, Roman Catholism is the
predominant religion throughout the Kingdom.
The Boers gained independence from
the British in 1854, and the Orange Free State
was established. Moshoeshoe won the 1858 Free
State / Basotho war but lost much of the western
lowlands in 1865. Due to increasing pressure from
the Boers, the Basotho region was placed under
British Government protection which forced Moshoeshoe
to lose even more of his good and fertile country.
Moshoeshoe the Great died in 1870
and a year later Basotholand came under the rule
of the Cape Colony. Eventually the Gun War broke
out which resulted in Britain once again taking
over control of Basotholand. This saved the Basotho
nation from being incorporated into the union
of South Africa.
Lesotho gained independence on the
4th of October 1966 and today is a democratic
country. King Moshoeshoe II became the first constitutional
monarch and today his son; King Letsie III is
monarch, the great, great grandson of King Moshoeshoe
I.
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