History of Lesotho, a young independent nation, goes back to millions of years. The fossils of dinosaurs and petrified wood discovered here bear the proof of a long natural history of this South African country. Cave paintings by the San (bushmen) have also been found in Lesotho. Read on for more information on the History of Lesotho.
History of Lesotho: Ancient history
As early as 40,000 years ago, Lesotho was inhabited by Khoi Khoi or Qhuaique. These people spoke Bantu and settled on this land while they were migrating to the south. The main reason that propelled these people to settle here was its extensive territory of fertile lands. These people were also fluent in a unique "South Sotho" dialect called seSotho. Due to the language that they spoke, they began to be called Basotho. In the early 19th century, the Basotho settlement was disrupted by the marauding Zulu clans, who were soon followed by the Voortrekkers
History of Lesotho: Basutoland
In the year 1818, the great tribal leader Moshoeshoe I consolidated various Basotho groupings and became their King. During his reign that lasted from1823 to 1870, the Basotho people were involved in a series of wars (1856-68) with the Boers who had taken control of traditional Basotho lands. As a result of these wars resulted, there was an extensive loss of land, which is now known as the "Lost Territory".
As many precious Basotho lives were lost in these wars, Moshoeshoe appealed to the British for help and in March 1868 the land was placed under British protection. The British ordered the Boers to leave the land and a treaty was signed at Aliwal in the year 1869 between the British and the Boer that defined the boundaries of the protectorate. According to this treaty, the highly fertile arable land west of the Caledon River remained under the Boer. After the death of Moshoeshoe in the year 1870, the protectorate was annexed to Cape Colony in 1871.
History of Lesotho: Present Day Kingdom of Lesotho
Finally the Kingdom of Lesotho attained full independence. On October 4, 1966 and was placed under the governance of a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral Parliament comprising of a Senate and an elected National Assembly.
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