Emerging colonial frontiers
King
Moshoeshoe
| GRADE LEVEL | THEME | TOPIC | DURATION |
| 7 | SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY | EMERGING COLONIAL FRONTIERS | x LESSONS |
Emerging colonial frontiers |
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B: King Moshoeshoe Moshoeshoe, the father of Lesotho, was born in 1786 in Menkhoaneng. His father was Mokhachane or Mokoleti (1765 – 1855) and his mother Kholu of the Bafokeng. He brought together several scattered groups of Sotho people to form the Basotho nation. His people were driven apart by Zulu and Ndebele raids during the Mfecane and the Mahlatule famine. His father had been a sub-chief of the Koena (Crocodile) clan and leader of the Bakoteli or Bamokoteli. Moshoeshoe became a minor chief, leading a group of young men his own age after he had helped his father win power over some smaller groups in the early 19th century. By the middle of the 1920’s he ruled over about 25 000 people at his mountain fortress, Butha Buthe. Although his city was well guarded and positioned his enemies still attacked him. He decided to look for a better place to live with his people. Moshoeshoe ruled at the same time as Shaka, the king of the Zulu people. Shaka wanted to expand his nation and conquered smaller clans on the eastern coast of South Africa, including the Sotho, to do this. His aggressive campaign sparked off the Mfecane, a period of war and displacement. Moshoeshoe was a good diplomat and he created the Basotho nation by protecting and supporting the enemies he had defeated, refugees seeking a safe place to live, and even the cannibals living in the interior of the country. He supported other, poor tribes by lending them cattle he had stolen in raids so that they could become independent again. He also allowed Christian missionaries into his kingdom, which eventually led to conflict between European settlers and local people. By the late 1800s Moshoeshoe had established Lesotho and became “Morena o Moholo oa Basotho” or the Great King or Chief of the Basotho. During this time he was also under pressure from the Afrikaners from the Orange Free State. There was a series of Free State-Basotho wars from 1858 to 1868. When the Boers started to get the upper hand, Moshoeshoe asked for British help. This resulted in Lesotho becoming a British protectorate in 1868. He died on 11 February 1870 in Thaba Bosiu and was buried in his city the next day. Moshoeshoe was the king of the Basotho from 1822 to 1870. Learning Outcome: Learning Outcome: The learner is able to compile and organise information from images to obtain evidence about Moshoeshoe, to use that information to present answers to questions and to describe and make links between reasons for and results of events and changes, and to communicate knowledge and understanding by formulating arguments based on evidence from sources.
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Exercise