Colony of Basutoland | |||||||||
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| 1884–1966 | |||||||||
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| Status | Crown Colony under partial local rule | ||||||||
| Capital | Maseru | ||||||||
| Languages | |||||||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||||
| Resident Commissioner | |||||||||
• 1884–1894 | Marshal Clarke | ||||||||
• 1961–1966 | Alexander Giles | ||||||||
| Paramount Chief | |||||||||
• 1884–1891 | Letsie I | ||||||||
• 1960–1966 | Moshoeshoe II | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 18 March 1884 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 4 October 1966 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 30,355 km2 (11,720 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1875 | 128,206 | ||||||||
• 1904 | 348,848[1] | ||||||||
| Currency |
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| Today part of | Lesotho | ||||||||
Basutoland was aBritish Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-dayLesotho, bordered with theCape Colony,Natal Colony andOrange River Colony until 1910 and completely surrounded bySouth Africa from 1910. Though theBasotho (then known as Basuto) and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868 (and ruled byCape Colony from 1871), the rule by Cape Colony was unpopular and unable to control the territory. As a result, Basutoland was brought under direct authority ofQueen Victoria, via the High Commissioner, and run by an Executive Council presided over by a series of BritishResident Commissioners.
It was divided into seven administrative districts:Berea,Leribe,Maseru,Mohale's Hoek,Mafeteng,Qacha's Nek andQuthing.
Basutoland gained its independence from theUnited Kingdom on 4 October 1966 and was renamed theKingdom of Lesotho.
Between 1856 and 1868 the Basotho engaged in conflict with theOrange Free State.[2] Their king,Moshoeshoe I, sought British protection.[2] On 29 August 1865, he wrote toSir Philip Wodehouse, theGovernor of Cape Colony:[2]
I am giving myself and my country up to Her Majesty's Government under certain conditions which we may agree on between your Excellency and me.
In July 1866, after referring to the former letter, the Chief said:[2]
All those things I have given up into your hands the last year..., they are still yours. I still continue to be the humble servant of Her Majesty.
Eventually, in January 1868, the Governor received a document dated 9 December 1867, signed by theSecretary of State for the Colonies, authorizing the annexation of Basutoland to theColony of Natal (not to the Cape as Wodehouse had wished).[2] On 12 March 1868, a proclamation declared theBasotho to be British subjects and Basutoland to be British territory.[3] It was not in fact annexed to Natal, as Natal attempted unsuccessfully to condition its acceptance on Basotho land being made available for European settlement; so for some time Basutoland remained under the direct authority of Wodehouse as British High Commissioner for South Africa.[2]
Three years later, Basutoland was annexed to theCape Colony by Act No. 12 of 1871 of theParliament of the Cape of Good Hope, confirmed by anOrder in Council of 3 November 1871.[2] The rule of the Cape Colony then proved unpopular with the people, leading to theBasuto Gun War of 1880–1881.
By an Order in Council dated 2 February 1884, which came into force on 18 March 1884,[4]royal assent was given to a Cape bill repealing the Act of 1871. Basutoland was thus brought under the direct authority of the Queen, with legislative and executive powers again vested in theHigh Commissioner.[2]
Moshoeshoe had been succeeded as paramount chief by his son,Letsie I, and he in turn was succeeded in 1891 byLerotholi Letsie I. These chieftains acted in concert with the British representative in the country, to whom was given the title of resident commissioner. The first commissioner was SirMarshal James Clarke. The period of warfare over, the Basotho turned their attention more and more to agricultural pursuits and Christianmissionaries entered the territory. Trade increased, and in 1891 Basutoland was admitted to the customs union, which already existed between Orange Free State, Cape Colony andBritish Bechuanaland. WhenAlfred Milner visited Basutoland in 1898, on his way toBloemfontein, he was received by 15,000 mounted Basotho. The chiefs also attended a large meeting at Maseru. On the outbreak of theBoer War in 1899, these same chiefs proclaimed loyalty to the British Crown. They remained passive throughout the War and the neutrality of the country was respected by both armies. One chief alone sought to take advantage of the situation by disloyal action, and his offence was met by a year's imprisonment.[5]
In pursuance of the policy of encouraging the self-governing powers of the Basotho, a national council was instituted and held its first sitting in July 1903. In August 1905 the paramount chief Lerotholi died. In early life he had distinguished himself in the wars with the Boers, and in 1880 he took an active part in the revolt against the Cape government. Since 1884 he had been a loyal supporter of the imperial authorities, and carried a reputation for high diplomatic gifts. On the 19th of September following Lerotholi's death, the national council, with the concurrence of the imperial government, elected his sonLetsie II as paramount chief. The completion in October 1905 of arailway connecting Maseru with the South African railway system proved a great boon to the community. During theBambatha Rebellion in 1906 the Basotho remained perfectly quiet.[5]
The first task of the Basuto National Council was to revise and draft the "old laws of Moshoeshoe I", which they did within three days. These new laws were called the " Laws ofLerotholi" after the sitting Paramount Chief. However the commoners believed that the Chiefs who sat on the council did not follow these laws, leading to opposition by the Commoners Council, one of the earliest political organizations in the territory.[6] This forced the council to pass reforms, recommended in a 1935 study of Basutoland by British official Alan Pim. This reduced the number of chiefs and their judicial powers. The legality of the National Council itself and the laws it passed came to the forefront in 1940, with a succession crisis caused by the death of Paramount Chief Seeiso Griffith. The regency for his two-year-old son was disputed by his brother Bereng Griffith and his first wife Mantsebo, who had the support of the Resident Commissioner. It was ruled in 1942 in the Basutoland High Court that the "Laws of Lerotholi" were not legally binding and that the BritishHigh Commissioner for Southern Africa could choose who they wanted as the Paramount Chief. This led to efforts by the Basotho to convert the National Council into a legislative institution.[7] The country was also badly affected by a combination of land shortages, drought and the arrival of railways. This led to the colony being a net importer of food and an exporter of labor, mostly to the neighboring South Africa. This was addressed in the 1935 study by Pim, who recommended increased investment in agriculture and efforts to stop soil erosion in the territory. This resulted in reforms by the Basutoland government to reduce erosion such as creating buffer strips and cattle grazing schedules. These were met with opposition from the native Basuto due to the fact that it was run mostly by South African administrators and often increased erosion in many places. Development projects that took place in the 1950s also met with similar opposition from the natives, due to the fact that they had very little input into how these projects were managed.[8]
From the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 the South African government made numerous overtures to take over the High Commission Territories, which included Basutoland.[9] However these demands were refused by Britain, wanting to consult with the inhabitants of the territories regarding their future. With the election of the National Party 1948 opposition to union with South Africa increased both amongst the Basuto and the British, due to the apartheid policies implemented by the new government. This hastened the progress towards independence. After WW2 progress towards self government and independence was slow due to opposition from local Basotho chiefs who feared losing their power and resistance from local colonial officials. In 1959 the Basutoland National Council, a body established in 1903, became a semi legislative body consisting of 80 members, half of whom were to be elected by the district councils. The others were tribal chiefs, nominated by the Paramount Chief and four officials. In the elections that followed the African nationalistBasutoland Congress Party achieved the overwhelming majority of elected seats.[9]
In 1964 a constitutional conference in London resulted in the enactment of a new constitution which gave the country full self government with the Paramount Chief at its head assisted by a bicameral Parliament. The British Resident Commissioner was left only with the responsibilities of external affairs, defense and internal security. It was also decided that one year after elections were held under the new constitution the new Parliament could request independence.[9] In the 1965 elections the conservative and pro South AfricanBasutoland National Party, under chiefLeabua Jonathon, won a narrow majority, with 31 seats out of the 60 seats in theNational Assembly. Independence came as promised a year later in 1966, despite opposition from both the Paramount Chief who resented the reductions in his power as established by the 1964 Constitution and the opposition, who feared that Jonathon's pro South African stance would result in the country becoming a vassal to the Apartheid regime.[9] The challenge the country faced at independence was that it was underdeveloped and completely economically dependent on neighboring South Africa. This was mostly due to a lack of interest from Britain in developing the territory. This fact was acknowledged by the last British Commissioner, Sir Alexander Giles who wrote:[10]
Britain's neglect over the past century has led to Basutoland's complete dependence on the Republic of South Africa, and that by granting independence with insufficient aid Britain is in fact 'selling out' the territory to the Republic. Impecunious independence will not be independence at all, and for this Britain must bear the responsibility
Basutoland's Executive Council members were the resident commissioner, who presided, threeex-officio members and four council members from the Basutoland National Council, appointed by the resident commissioner, one by the Paramount Chief and three nominated by the Council itself, selected by secret ballot.
The legislative council, known as the Basutoland National Council, consisted of a non-voting President appointed by the Resident Commissioner, four official members (ex officio), twenty-two Chiefs, forty elected members elected by District Councils, and fourteen nominated members appointed by the Resident Commissioner on the nomination of the Paramount Chief. The Resident Commissioner had the right to address the council.
The Commissioner had authority to make laws by Proclamation on certain subjects, such as external affairs, defence and the public service. These matters were excluded from the powers of the National Council, but the Commissioner was required to lay a draft of any Proclamation before the council and to consider their observations. The Constitution made special provision regarding particular objections made by the council.
There was a College of Chiefs of Basutoland whose function related to matters pertaining to the offices of the Paramount Chief, Chief and Headman. Their decisions and recommendations were submitted for acceptance to the Paramount Chief. They were subject to review by the High Court.
The Constitution vested a number of functions in the Paramount Chief. In exercising these, he was required in most cases to consult either with the Executive Council or with the Resident Commissioner, a Council member of the Executive and a member of the Basotho Nation appointed by himself.
Land in Basutoland was vested by the Constitution in the Paramount Chief in trust for the Basotho Nation, subject to lawfully acquired rights.
Considering the extensive area of uninhabitable mountain land it contained, the territory supported a mediocre population. The inhabitants increased from 128,206 in 1875, to 348,848 in 1904. Women outnumbered men by about 20,000, which was, however, about the number of adult men away from the country at any given period. The majority lived in the district between theMaloti Mountains and theCaledon River. The great bulk of the people were Basotho, but there were some thousands ofBarolong and other natives. The White inhabitants in 1904 numbered 895.Maseru, the seat of government, had in 1904 a population of about 1,000 including some 100 Europeans.[5]
Throughout the period of British rule the country remained economically underdeveloped and under the control of the tribal chiefs. This lack of interest in development can be explained by the fact that until the 1950s the primary focus of the colonial administration was the maintenance of law and order rather than economic development.[11] This, combined with a desire from theColonial Office in London not to spend much money through aid on what it considered a backwater and low government revenue meant that until independence little significant economic development took place in the territory.[12] This lack of development meant that the colony was reliant on food and health services from South Africa. Furthermore, key parts of its economy were also dependent on remittances from Basotho workers in South Africa.[12] This led to the perception amongst the Basotho that they were little more than a "Bantustan" of South Africa. However, as independence approached more international organisations, like the American Peace Corps and the World Bank began to provide funding towards economic growth and development. The British also began providing more money to the government through the Colonial Development Fund throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
| Incumbent | Tenure | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||
| SirMarshal James Clarke | 18 March 1884 | 18 September 1894 | Afterwards Resident Commissioner inZululand, 1894 |
| Godfrey Yeatman Lagden | 18 September 1894 | 1895 | |
| SirHerbert Cecil Sloley | 1895 | ||
| Godfrey Yeatman Lagden | 1895 | 1901 | |
| SirHerbert Cecil Sloley | 1902 | 1903 | |
| James MacGregor | 1913 | ||
| SirHerbert Cecil Sloley | 1913 | 1916 | |
| Robert Thorne Coryndon | 1916 | 1917 | AfterwardsGovernor of Uganda, 1918 |
| Sir Edward Charles Frederick Garraway | 1917 | Apr 1926 | |
| John Christian Ramsay Sturrock | Apr 1926 | Mar 1935 | |
| SirEdmund Charles Smith Richards | Mar 1935 | Aug 1942 | AfterwardsGovernor of Nyasaland, 1942 |
| SirCharles Noble Arden-Clarke | Aug 1942 | Nov 1946 | AfterwardsGovernor of Sarawak, 1946 |
| Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson | Nov 1946 | 24 October 1951 | |
| Edwin Porter Arrowsmith | 24 October 1951 | Sep 1956 | |
| Alan Geoffrey Tunstal Chaplin | Sep 1956 | 1961 | |
| Alexander Falconer Giles | 1961 | 30 April 1965 | |
The Chief Justice was the Chief Justice of theHigh Commission Territories (Basutoland,Bechuanaland Protectorate andSwaziland).[13] From 1951 the Chief Justices were:
| Incumbent | Tenure | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||
| Walter Huggard | 1937 | 1948 | |
| Walter Harragin | 1950 | 1952 | |
| Harold Curwen Willan | 1952 | 1956 | |
| Herbert Charles Fahie Cox | 1957 | 1961 | |
| Elyan | 1961 | 1962 | |
| Peter Watkin-Williams | 1961 | 1965 | |
| Benson | 1965 | 1966 | |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Cana, Frank Richardson;Hillier, Alfred Peter (1911). "Basutoland".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). pp. 503–506. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Cana, Frank Richardson;Hillier, Alfred Peter (1911). "Basutoland".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). pp. 503–506.
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