Editing Lesotho (section)

===Basotho land===
[[File:King Moshoeshoe of the Basotho with his ministers.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Moshoeshoe I|King Moshoeshoe I]] with his ministers]]
[[Basutoland]] emerged as a single [[body politic|polity]] under King [[Moshoeshoe I]] in 1822.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/1190108/the-basutos-the-mountaineers-their-country-being-a-narrative-of-events-relating |title=The Basutos : the mountaineers & their country : being a narrative of events relating to the tribe from its formation early in the nineteenth century to the present day / by Sir Godfrey Lagden. 1909 |author=Sir Godfrey Laden |access-date=2025-04-02  }}</ref> Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor [[tribal chief|chief]] of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own [[clan]] and became a chief around 1804. Between 1820 and 1823, he and his followers settled at the [[Butha-Buthe]] Mountain, joining with former adversaries in resistance against the [[Mfecane|Lifaqane]] associated with the reign of [[Shaka]] Zulu from 1818 to 1828.

Further evolution of the state emerged from conflicts between [[British Empire|British]] and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] colonists leaving the [[Cape Colony]] following its seizure from the French-allied Dutch by the British in 1795, and also from the [[Orange River Sovereignty]] and subsequent [[Orange Free State]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://britishonlinearchives.com/collections/130/british-colonial-rule-in-the-cape-of-good-hope-and-basutoland-1854-1910 |title=British Colonial Rule in the Cape of Good Hope and Basutoland, 1854–1910 |author=Shula Marks |website=britishonlinearchives.com |access-date=2025-04-05  }}</ref> Missionaries Thomas Arbousset, Eugène Casalis and Constant Gosselin from the [[Paris Evangelical Missionary Society]], invited by Moshoeshoe I, were placed at [[Morija]], developing Sesotho [[orthography]] and printed works in the [[Sesotho language]] between 1837 and 1855.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/exch/29/3/article-p264_5.xml |title=MISSIONARY CONTRIBUTIONS OF FRENCH PROTESTANTISM IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY |author=Marc R. Spindler |website=brill.com |access-date=2025-04-26 }}</ref> Casalis, acting as translator and providing advice on foreign affairs, helped set up diplomatic channels and acquire guns for use against the encroaching Europeans and the [[Griqua people]].

[[Trekboers]] from Cape Colony arrived on the western borders of Basutoland and claimed rights to its land, the first of which being Jan de Winnaar who settled in the Matlakeng area in 1838. Incoming [[Boers]] attempted to colonise the land between the two rivers and north of the [[Caledon River|Caledon]], claiming that it had been abandoned by the Sotho people. Moshoeshoe subsequently signed a treaty with the British Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir [[George Thomas Napier]], that annexed the Orange River Sovereignty where Boers had settled. These outraged Boers were suppressed in a skirmish in 1848. In 1851, a British force was defeated by the Basotho army at the city of Kolonyama. After repelling another British attack in 1852, Moshoeshoe sent an appeal to the British commander that settled the dispute diplomatically, and then defeated the Batlokoa in 1853. In 1854, the British pulled out of the region, and in 1858, Moshoeshoe fought a series of wars with the Boers in what is known as the [[Free State–Basotho Wars|Free State–Basotho War]]. As a result, Moshoeshoe lost a portion of the western lowlands. The last war with the Boers ended in 1867 when Moshoeshoe appealed to [[Queen Victoria]] who agreed to make Basutoland a [[British protectorate]] in 1868.

[[File:1959 Basutoland National Council stamps.jpg|thumb|left|1959 stamps for the Basutoland National Council]]
In 1869, the British signed a treaty at [[Aliwal North]] with the Boers that defined the boundaries of Basutoland. This treaty reduced Moshoeshoe's kingdom to half its previous size by ceding the western territories. Then, the British transferred functions from Moshoeshoe's capital in [[Thaba Bosiu]] to a police camp on the northwest border, [[Maseru]], until eventually the administration of Basutoland was transferred to the Cape Colony in 1871. Moshoeshoe died on 11 March 1870, marking the beginning of the colonial era of Basutoland. In the Cape Colony period between 1871 and 1884, Basutoland was treated similarly to other territories that had been forcibly annexed, much to the humiliation of the Basotho, leading to the [[Basuto Gun War]] in 1880–1881.<ref name="cities">{{cite journal|first1=Sam|last1=Romaya|first2=Alison|last2=Brown|date=April 1999|title=City profile: Maseru, Lesotho|journal=Cities|volume=16|issue=2|pages=123–133|doi=10.1016/S0264-2751(98)00046-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Olson |first1=James S. |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire |last2=Shadle |first2=Robert S. |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-313-27917-9 |page=118}}</ref> In 1884, the territory became a [[Crown colony]] by the name of Basutoland, with Maseru as its capital. It remained under direct rule by a governor, while effective internal power was wielded by [[tribal chief]]s. In 1905, a [[Maseru branch line|railway line]] was built to connect Maseru to the railway network of South Africa.