Basutoland—home of the Basotho people—has been under…

Basutoland—home of the Basotho people—has been under the nominal control of the Cape Colony (of the British Empire) since 1871 (it had beena British protectorate from 1868 until 1871), but the territory has remained essentially autonomous in the early years of colonial rule, with traditional Basotho authorities wielding effective power.

Only in the late 1870s had Cape authorities attempted to consolidate power over the region and enforce its laws.

Basutholand, an independent state as recently as 1868, chafes under the new restrictions and attempts to reduce the authority of its chiefs.

Matters had come to a head in 1879, when Governor Henry Bartle Frere had reserved part of Basutoland for white settlement and demanded that all natives surrender their firearms to Cape authorities under the 1879 Peace Protection Act.

The Cape government of Sir John Gordon Sprigg has set April 1880 as the date for surrendering weapons.

Although some Basotho, with great reluctance, are willing to surrender their guns, the majority refuse; government attempts to enforce the law bring fighting by September.

Within months, most Basotho chiefs are in open rebellion.

Colonial Cape forces sent to put down the rebellion suffer heavy casualties, as the Basotho have obtained serviceable firearms from the Orange Free State and enjoy a natural defensive advantage in their country's mountainous terrain.

The rebels rely primarily on guerrilla warfare, ambushing isolated units to negate the British/Cape superiority in firepower.

In October, Basotho forces ambush a mounted column of British Army lancers at Qalabani (present-day Lancers Gap, near Maseru), killing thirty-nine.

The defeat of an experienced and well-armed cavalry column discourages Cape authorities.

The costs of the war, when added to the earlier war with the Xhosa and renewed troubles in the Transkei, are dragging the Cape Colony towards bankruptcy.

The war is also becoming increasingly unpopular, and the Sprigg government is replaced by the Thomas Scanlen government.