Founding of Lesotho

Lesotho, previously the British protectorate of Basutoland, became independent with King Moshoeshoe II as head of state and Leabua Jonathan as prime minister. The Basotho nation had been formed in the 1820s by Moshoeshoe I, who gathered scattered groups in the mountains and defended them against Zulu raiders and Boer settlers. Under pressure from the Boers, he asked for British protection, which was granted in 1868. Unlike neighbouring regions, Basutoland was never absorbed into South Africa, and the British turned down repeated South African requests to transfer it. Independence in 1966 left Lesotho a small mountain kingdom completely surrounded by South Africa, and political tensions and military interventions marked the following decades.

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