Basutoland

Lesotho, 1884–1966. Draft, not yet reviewed

Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho. Basutoland was brought under direct authority of Queen Victoria, via the High Commissioner, and run by an Executive Council presided over by a series of British Resident Commissioners. On 12 March 1868, a proclamation declared the Basotho to be British subjects and Basutoland to be British territory. Basutoland gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 4 October 1966 and was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Seat of power: Maseru

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• Moshoeshoe I and his people took occupation of this mountain in July 1824. He named it Thaba Bosiu, loosely translated as Mountain at Night, because he and his people arrived at night.
• The plateau formed a natural fortress which protected the Basotho in times of war.
• The colony was divided into seven administrative districts: Berea, Leribe, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mafeteng, Qacha's Nek and Quthing.
• The first task of the Basuto National Council was to revise and draft the "old laws of Moshoeshoe I", which they did within three days.

Picture

Thaba Bosiu is a sandstone plateau located between the Orange and Caledon Rivers in the Maseru District of Lesotho.

Image: Marduk, CC0, file

Sources

• Basutoland (Wikipedia)
• Basutoland (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.