Could there have been a black victory?

For a black person, South African history is a depressing picture. While not lacking in bravery, leadership, and military organization, even the mighty Zulu empire was almost effortlessly humbled by the colonizers and imperialists. What becomes clear on looking back at these events is that astute political leadership was absent. Few black leaders were able to analyse and exploit the strengths and weaknesses of the Boers and the British. The single "success story" in this struggle against European theft of the land from South Africa's people is that of Mosheshwe, founder of the Basotho nation.

Mosheshwe came from a small clan called the Kwena living to the east of the Caledon River. When the Mfecane struck, Mosheshwe led a group of his people away from a Tlokwa raiding party to a flat-topped mountain about 50 miles to the south. Reaching the top in the darkness, they named it Thaba Bosigo for "mountain at night" As a military position, the mountain was ideally suit for defense, having abundant supplies of water and adequate grazing. Three narrow passes up its sides provided the only access to the top -- passes which could be easily controlled by the large armies which Mosheshwe began to develop. The threat of attack by Shaka's forces was prempted by Mosheshwe by paying tribute to the Zulu leader, thereby diverting his attention to the Tlokwa instead. Victories against an Ngwane attack and a Matebele siege enhanced Mosheshwe's standing and people flocked to place themselves under his protection. Mosheshwe was revered as a king, and his people became known as Basotho (the Sotho). Mosheshwe's reign was benign. In a land otherwise dominated by autocratic chiefdoms, Mosheshwe chose to govern by consensus rather than by decree, holding mass meetings to discuss matters of importance with all his people.

When in 1930, Adam Kok III and the Griqua people crossed Mosheshwe's territory undefeated, Mosheshwe realized how ineffective traditional African tactics were against soldiers on horseback with guns. The Basotho began to stockpile arms and acquire horses., and trained themselves in the use of those weapons. In 1932, Mosheshwe encountered Boers, and in exchange for some cattle, allowed them access to some Basotho land. What soon became clear was that while Mosheshwe meant that the Boers could use the land, the Boers thought that they owned the land. When the Boers confiscated Basotho cattle which wandered onto "boer territory", the Basotho retaliated with raids against the Boers.

Mosheshwe was unwilling to retaliate directly against the Boers. Seeing an opportunity to affect the balance, he persuaded the English to take on the Boers and demarcate territorial lines. The English, after some hesitation, did so, annexing the land between the Orange and the Vaal, which for six years became the Orange River sovereignity. The English then drew a boundary across this territory separating the Boers from the Basotho, but the line favoured the Boers. Mosheshwe protested to the British, who were unwilling to change it, so the Basotho people chose to ignore the boundary. This upset the British, who sent in troops to enforce the boundary. They were crushed by the Basotho, who set them free devoid of clothes and weapons.

Mosheshwe expected a retaliation, and began to prepare for it. In 1852, Sir George Cathcart marched on the Basotho with the intention of teaching Mosheshwe a lesson . Instead, he suffered a humiliating defeat at the battle of Berea. As Cathcart found himself with 38 dead and many wounded, he waited for Mosheshwe's well-organized army to deliver the death stroke. Instead, he received a letter from Mosheshwe:

Excellencies -- You have today fought against my people and taken possession of many cattle. You have thereby achieved the objective which you had in mind, which was to obtain compensation for the Boers. I pray you to content yourself with what you have taken. I beg peace of you. You have revealed your might. You have chastised me. Let it be enough I pray you, and may I cease to be considered an enemy of the Queen.1
Glad of the opportunity to save face, Cathcart withdrew. The British promised neutrality in their dealings between the Basotho and the Boers. The Boers promptly resumed their conflict with Mosheshwe sending forces against him in 1858. Mosheshwe retaliated by sending his men silently around the Boer force deep into the Free State to recover stolen cattle. The Boers realized too late their mistake and returned defeated and poorer. In 1866, the Boers attacked again, this time attempting to starve the Basotho into submission by reducing the surrounding agricultural land into submission. Mosheshwe's forces held out, but were forced to ask the British for help.

Mosheshwe, in his foresight, understood that incorporation into the Cape Colony would spell the end of his people. The only possible solution lay in the territory being annexed by the Crown, not the Colony. He accordingly appealed to the British to incorporate Basotholand into the British Empire. In 1868, faced with Boer governments in the South African Republic and the Orange Free State that were growing increasingly strong, and realizing the importance of acquiring the Basotho as allies instead of opponents, the British agreed to Mosheshwe's request. Basotholand was declared a protectorate of the British Empire, placing it out of reach of the colonial government and the Boers as a potential possession.

Mosheshwe was nearly 80 at the time. He had lost much of the best land, but had managed to hold his people together amidst forces that were devastating the rest of the subcontinent, and indeed, the world. Two years later, he died.

Even today, with the benefit of hindsight, it is difficult to fault Mosheshwe's astuteness in grappling with the forces engulfing his nation. It is due to his wisdom that the country of Lesotho now exists, surrounded and manipulated politically and economically by South Africa, but a still a proudly independent people.

  • 1. Text from picture reproduced in Peder Gouwenius, Power to the People! South Africa in Struggle: A Pictorial History, (Zed Press, London, 1981).