It has to be one of the most asked questions on my Lesotho tours, whether it be a simple day tour up Sani Pass into Lesotho, or one of my overlands; Lesotho, why does it exist?
I cam across this fantastic short video of the history of Lesotho and thought it would make a great opportunity to give you an insight into the history of Lesotho and why it remains an independent enclave of South Africa even today.
It goes without saying however, that a short 3 minute video and a slightly longer blog post could never adequately capture the history of a people and country, so do read up about the history more at Wikipedia or other online resources.
Lesotho, Why Does it Exist?
A Little History of Lesotho
Very briefly, Lesotho’s history starts with King Shaka of Zulu people. In around 1817 he became the chief of Mthethwa people and in an effort to consolidate his rule, began to both diplomatically and through the use of warfare, overpower smaller clans around him.
By the arrival of the first deliberate European settlement led by Farewell in 1824, Shaka’s Zulu were the most powerful and feared indigenous nation in Africa.
Not all of those living in what is today Zululand, were happy to be ruled by King Shaka, some decided to rather move their clans out of reach of the Zulu forces. One such clan leader was a chief by the name of Moshoeshoe.
King Moshoeshoe I
Born sometime in the 1780’s in what is today northern Lesotho, Moshoeshoe became a minor chief of the Bamokoteli. Being a far smaller clan that that of the Zulu’s, King Moshoeshoe took the decision to move his people from an area known as Butha-Buthe in Lesotho to Thaba Bosiu.
By all accounts, Moshoeshoe was a wily leader and during the time of British colonial advances in the 1820’s along with the arrival of the Boers in the 1830’s King Moshoeshoe was able to ensure the survival of his lands and people through diplomacy.
Moshoeshoe and the Boers
Around the 1830’s a group of settlers known as the Boers (“farmer” in Afrikaans) left the British held Cape Colony due to unhappiness in the manner in which the Boers felt they were being treated – read up on the Great Trek, it’s an amazing story of perseverance!
I offer a number of different tours to Lesotho from Durban; a day tour via Sani Pass and a selection of multi-day tours. Visit my Lesotho tour page for more information on these tours from Durban.
Many of the headed north and began to settle on the western border of Lesotho, triggering a series of wars know as the Free State–Basotho War. King Moshoeshoe was on the losing side against the Boers and so he turned the British for help and in 1868 Lesotho become a British protectorate.
Independence from Britain
In 1966 Lesotho gained it’s independence from Britain and the Basotho National Party governed until January 1970. As is the case with so many African countries, coups, civil strife though today, stability has returned to the country.
The Lesotho Government is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister, Sam Matekane, is the head of government and has executive authority. The King of Lesotho, Letsie III, is the head of state and serves a “largely ceremonial function”; he no longer possesses any executive authority and is prohibited from actively participating in political initiatives. – Wikipedia
The End
And there you have it, a short history of Lesotho for those planning on one day visiting. Again, this is tiny intro into the history of Lesotho, there is certainly more to it than mentioned here or in the video.
I have a number of tours to the Lesotho that you may be interested in, from day tour to Lesotho via Sani Pass, to a 3 day trip in Lesotho. Visit my Lesotho page for more about the different Lesotho tours from Durban.







