The three Basotho Wars (1858- 68) and the formation of Lesotho

The conflict between the Basotho people and White settlers in what is now the Free State/ Lesotho area, consisted of three wars (1858- 68). The purpose of these three wars was the maintenance of territorial rights in the area between the Caledon and Orange Rivers; from present day Wepener to Zastron, and the area north of the Caledon River, which includes present day Harrismith and the area further westwards.

The Basotho wars were preceded by the mass migration of several Nguni groups. This migration occurred during the reign of the Zulu King Shaka, who conquered several Nguni groups, which were absorbed into the Zulu kingdom. Other Nguni tribes fled and settled in other areas during this time- which is known as the Mfecane period.

Mfecane - Zulu name, also known as the Difaqane or Lifaqane in Sesotho), is an African expression which means something like "the crushing" or "scattering". It describes a period of widespread chaos and disturbance in southern Africa during the period between 1815 and about 1840.

In 1818, King Moshoeshoe, who was the son of the chief of the Bakotela branch of the Koena/Kwena (Crocodile) clan, helped to gain power over smaller fugitive and displaced clans. In 1820, Moshoeshoe became chief of a larger unit of Southern Sotho groups, who had fallen under his centralized authority due to competition for resources, which was intensified by a drought.

This competition for resources caused these larger groups to seek protection from other marauding groups, and Moshoeshoe and his people retreated to the mountain fortress of Thaba Bosiu in 1824. Moshoeshoe gave assistance to his defeated enemies by giving them land, which led to the establishment of the Basotho nation.

In the late 1820s, a group of Kora (a group of Khoikhoi settlers also known as the Korana) and Dutch speaking people of mixed descent arrived in the vicinity of Moshoeshoe's kingdom. As they were mounted on horseback and armed with guns, the Basotho retreated. This also led to Moshoeshoe deciding to arm his people and give them horses.

The arrival of White settlers in the area, due to the Great Trek, was initially useful to Moshoeshoe, as the settlers created a buffer between the Basotho and the Kora. These White settlers (known as Boers) crossed the Orange River from the Cape Colony in the mid-1820s. Although these settlers allegedly asked for this permission to settle there, they later claimed it - despite Moshoeshoe's view that he had lent it to them.  

In 1845 a treaty was signed, which recognised White settlement in the area; however no boundaries were drawn between the area of White settlement and Moshoeshoe's kingdom. This dispute led to inevitable border clashes and a discernible boundary became necessary.

The British, who then controlled the area between the Orange and Vaal Rivers (the Orange River Sovereignty) eventually proclaimed the Warden line (after Major Warden). This line divided territory between British territory and the Basotho under Moshoeshoe, and stretched from Cornetspruit and the Orange River through Vechtkop to Jammerbergdrift on the Caledon.

The Warden line caused much resentment, as the fertile Caledon River Valley served as a vital area in terms of agriculture for both the British and the Basotho. This border line was therefore not acceptable to Moshoeshoe, and hostility followed, which led to conflict between the Basotho and the British, who were defeated by Moshoeshoe at the battle of Viervoet in 1851. In 1851, Moshoeshoe also offered Andries Pretorius an alliance against the British in the sovereignty.

As punishment to the Basotho, Sir George Cathcart then brought troops to the Mohokane River, and Moshoeshoe was ordered to pay a fine. When he did not pay the fine in full, a battle broke out on the Berea Plateau in 1852, where the British suffered heavy losses due to the armed Basotho cavalry. This sealed the fate of the sovereignty, even though Cathcart was initially in favour of withdrawal.

In 1854, the cost of maintaining the sovereignty became too much for the British and they therefore handed over the territory to the Boers through the signing of the Sand River Convention. The Boers therefore claimed the land beyond the Caledon River, naming it the Republic of the Orange Free State. This began further conflict over land and undefined boundaries with the Basotho, who regarded themselves as the rightful owners, and who continued to use the land for grazing.

References

• About Lesotho: History [online] Available at: www.lesotho.gov.ls [Accessed 10 June 2009]
• Cameron, T. (ed) (1986) An Illustrated History of South Africa. Published by Jonathan Ball Publishers: Johannesburg. p. 137, 138, 143, 147-9, 169.
• Free State Basotho War [online] Available at: www.wikipedia.org [Accessed 10 June 2009]
• Ladybrand History [online] Available at: www.cranberrycottage.co.za [Accessed 10 June 2009]
• Potgieter, D.J. (ed) (1971) Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa. Vol. 2 and Vol. 10. Published by NASOU Limited: Cape Town. p. 200- 2; 69.
• "Sesotho Online: Basotho in Lesotho" [online] Available at: www.sesotho.web.za [Accessed 10 June 2009]
• "The encounter between the Basotho and the missionaries of the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society, 1833--1933: some perspectives" [online] Available at: www.unisa.ac.za [Accessed 10 June 2009]

back to top