The death of Basuto chief Moshoeshoe in…
1870 CE
The death of Basuto chief Moshoeshoe in 1870 marks the end of the traditional era and the beginning of the modern colonial period.
Moshoeshoe Day is a national holiday in Lesotho celebrated every year on March 11 to commemorate the day of Moshoeshoe's death.
Moshoeshoe had defeated the Boers in the first Free State-Basotho War in 1858, but during the second, which had broken out in 1865, the Boers had met with considerable success.
After an unsuccessful appeal to aid from the British Empire, Moshoeshoe had been forced to sue for peace in 1866 and the treaty of Thaba Bosiu had been signed, with Basotho ceding large territories to the Free State.
However, the Basotho weren't satisfied with the terms of the treaty and conflict had again arisen in 1867.
During this third war, the Free State stormed most of the Basotho strongholds, with Thaba Bosiu alone remaining impregnable.
The last war in 1867 had ended only when the British and Moshoeshoe appealed to Queen Victoria, who had agreed to make Basutoland a British protectorate in 1868.
The British are eager to check Boer advances, and Moshoeshoe, with advice from Eugene Casalis, had realized that continued pressure from the Boers would lead to the destruction of his kingdom.
In 1869, the British had signed a treaty at Aliwal with the Boers, defining the boundaries of Basutoland and later Lesotho; those boundaries have not changed today.
The arable land west of the Caledon River remains in Boer hands, and is referred to as the Lost or Conquered Territory.
This had effectively reduced Moshoeshoe's kingdom to half its previous size.
Although he had ceded much territory, Moshoeshoe had never suffered a major military defeat and had retained most of his kingdom and all of his culture.
Locations
Groups
Commodities
Regions
Southern Africa
View →Subregions
