In the 1820s, the Basotho faced a number of cattle raids from the
Koranna. It was during this time that they first encountered horses and guns in a combat setting. After a number of initial setbacks, the Basotho managed to either capture or acquire horses and guns of their own, and began stockpiling gunpowder. By 1843, Moshoeshoe had accumulated more horses and guns than any other chieftain in South Africa. Nevertheless, most of the guns in Basotho possession were outdated
flintlocks, which had flooded the South African market after the introduction of
percussion lock muskets. In 1833,
missionaries from the
Paris Evangelical Missionary Society led by French missionaries
Eugène Casalis and
Thomas Arbousset began setting their outposts in Basotho lands following Moshoeshoe's invitation. They promoted a combination of Christianity, Western civilization, and commerce. They saw Basotho customs linked to obligatory labor and the dependence of the population on their chiefs as evil. They sought to undermine them by promoting private property, the commodization of production and closer economic ties with European settlers. In 1843, Moshoeshoe signed a treaty with the governor of the British
Cape Colony Sir
George Napier, whereby the British recognized the Basuto as their allies. The Basotho were tasked with countering
Boer incursions into the Cape during the course of the
Great Trek, receiving an annual grant of 75
£ in money or ammunition. The Napier Treaty greatly increased Moshoeshoe's status as a leader. While it deprived him of some lands he had laid claim to, it also recognized his rule over various ethnic groups living in the region. In 1848, Cape governor Sir
Harry Smith pressured Moshoeshoe into signing an agreement whereby he recognized British paramount authority over the lands north of the
Orange River; while retaining his traditional rights. The agreement also envisioned the creation of an alliance between the British and the Basotho. A series of similar ambiguously worded treaties with local African tribes effectively established the
Orange River Sovereignty. In the north-east, the Basotho and their
Taung allies regularly engaged in tit for tat cattle raids against their old enemies the
Batlokoa of
Kgosi Sekonyela and the Koranna of Gert Taaibosch. The British Resident in the Orange River Sovereignty Major
Henry Douglas Warden believed that the Basotho were more to blame for the continuous inter tribal warfare in the region. Warden began delineating borders between the various tribes in the north-east frontier, ignoring Moshoeshoe's long standing claims to several territories in the process. Moshoeshoe believed that the British had failed to protect him against Batlakoa and Boer encroachment, while many of his subjects accused him of cowardice in the face of British oppression. On 25 June 1851, Warden demanded that the Basuto restore cattle and horses to the victims of their past cattle raids. Warden had assembled a mixed force of British, Boer and African troops numbering approximately 2,500 men at Platberg. On 28 June, Warden moved his force against the Taung in an effort to seize stolen cattle. On 30 June, Warden's force was defeated by a Basotho-Taung army at the
Battle of Viervoet. In October Moshoeshoe wrote to both Smith and Warden, explaining that he had acted in self-defense and intended to maintain cordial relations with the British. In February 1852, the British agreed to redraw the boundaries in the south-west and to cease colonial interference into inter-tribal conflicts in exchange for the restoration of the cattle the Basotho had stolen since September 1850. Negotiations fell through and Smith's replacement Major-General Sir
George Cathcart was waiting for the
hostilities with the
Xhosa to wane before launching a punitive expedition against the Basotho. On 20 December 1852, a British expeditionary forced clashed with the Basotho in the
Battle of Berea. A combination of poor British planning and determined Basotho resistance resulted in a temporary British retreat from the area. Fearing that a second British assault would result in his military defeat, Moshoeshoe sued for peace attaining favorable terms and restoring amicable relations with the British. In 1853, Moshoeshoe grew tired of Sekonyela's raiding, deciding to decisively deal with the Batlokoa. In November 1853, the Basotho army defeated the Batlakoa and their Koranna allies at the battle of Khoro-e-Betloa, subsequently seizing their stronghold of Jwalaboholo. The bulk of the Batlakoa either scattered or joined the Basotho. The British pulled out of the region in 1854, causing the formation of the Boer
Orange Free State. In 1858, hostilities broke out between the Basotho and the Orange Free State. Initially achieving a victory in the first war, inferiority in both marksmanship and materiel of the Basotho caused a defeat in the
two wars that followed, which lasted until 1868. In 1866, the two sides signed the
Treaty of Thaba Bosiu, whereby Moshoeshoe ceded most of his kingdom's arable land to the Boers. Hostilities resumed soon afterwards and the Boers began employing a
scorched earth policy, leading to starvation among the Basotho. Fearing that the destruction of the Basotho people was imminent, Moshoeshoe, his sons and local missionaries began appealing to British
High Commissioner for Southern Africa Sir Philip Wodehouse and the
Colony of Natal for protection. Although initially reluctant to intervene, the British were worried by the disruption in trade caused by the war and the possibility of Boer expansion to the
Pondoland coast. In December 1867, the
Colonial Office approved Basotholand's annexation by Natal. Distrusting the Natal administration and believing that the
Cape Colony was not yet ready to absorb the new territory, Wodehouse disregarded those instructions. He blocked the supply of ammunition to the Free State and on 12 March 1868 proclaimed Basotho land to be a royal dominion. Moshoeshoe died on 11 March 1870 and was succeeded by his oldest son
Letsie I. == Family and lineage ==