The history of people living in the area now known as Lesotho goes back as many as 400 years. Present Lesotho emerged as a single polity under King Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basotho joined other clans in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with famine and the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Empire at the end of the Second Boer War in 1902. It is one of the three historical precursors to the present-day Free State province.
The Sotho, also known as the Basotho, are a prominent Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho and South Africa.
Moshoeshoe I was the first king of Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bamokoteli lineage, a branch of the Koena (crocodile) clan. In his youth, he helped his father gain power over some other smaller clans. At the age of 34 Moshoeshoe formed his own clan and became a chief. He and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain. He became the first and longest-serving King of Lesotho in 1822.
Wepener is a town in the Free State, South Africa, located near the border of Lesotho.
Lourens Jacobus (Louw) Wepener was born on 21 July 1812. He was the son of a German immigrant – Frederick Jacobus Wepener – and a Cape Colony woman – Johanna Maria Erasmus. Wepener was born in Graaf-Reinet and lived with his uncle – Lourens. He was christened by Reverend Andrew Murray of the Dutch Reformed Church. Wepener was first married to Hester Susanna Nel and then later to Hilletje Maria Levina Van Aardt. He had nine children with his second wife.
Josias Philip Hoffman was a South African Boer statesman, and was the chairman of the Provisional Government and later the first State President of the Orange Free State, in office from 1854 to 1855.
The Free State–Basotho Wars refers to a series of wars fought between King Moshoeshoe I, the ruler of the Basotho Kingdom, and white settlers, in what is now known as the Free State. These can be divided into the Senekal's War of 1858, the Seqiti War in 1865−1866 and the Third Basotho War in 1867−68.
The Boer Commandos or "Kommandos" were volunteer military units of guerilla militia organized by the Boer people of South Africa. From this came the term "commando" into the English language during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902 as per Costica Andrew.
Thaba Bosiu is a constituency and sandstone plateau with an area of approximately 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi) and a height of 1,804 meters above sea level. It is located between the Orange and Caledon Rivers in the Maseru District of Lesotho, 24 km east of the country's capital Maseru. It was once the capital of Lesotho, having been King Moshoeshoe's stronghold.
The Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
Christoffel Cornelis Froneman, commonly known as Stoffel Froneman, was veldkornet, general and Vice-Commander-in-Chief of the Orange Free State Boer forces during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902.
Wepener Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.
Morosi was a Baphuthi chief in the wild southern part of Basutoland. He led a revolt against the Cape Colony government in 1879, in defence of his independence south of the Orange River. The British refused to help the Cape Government. However, Letsie, the paramount chief and first son of Moshoeshoe, and many of the Sotho ruling establishment, rallied to support the Cape forces, and the rebellion was put down after several months of arduous fighting. Morosi was beheaded and his body mutilated by Cape troops.
Regiment Louw Wepener was an infantry battalion of the South African Army. As a reserve force unit, it had a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit.
The Battle of Berea was a battle between British forces under Sir George Cathcart and Basuto-Taung forces under King Moshoeshoe I that took place on 20 December 1852. The battle began when British forces broke into three columns and crossed the Caledon River in southern Africa, with the goal of seizing Basuto cattle as a form of punishment for past Basuto cattle raiding.
The Battle of Naauwpoort Nek refers to a clash between the Trekboers and Basotho warriors on 29 September 1865. Naauwpoort lies immediately to the north of the Free State town of Clarens.
Witsie’s cave is a sacred site in the Free State and is named after the grandson of Chief Seeka of Makholokoe. The cave is largely associated with Makholokoe – a tribe of the Basotho and has a rich history relating to this tribe, as well as the interactions between blacks and Boers in the 1800s. The cave has been claimed by Makholokoe as an important imprint in their history and is an important landmark in the Province.
Paulus Mopeli Mokhachane (1810–1897) was an African military leader. He was half-brother to King Moshoeshoe I. He was instrumental during the wars between the Basotho and the Boers. He moved with his followers to Qwaqwa following disputes over land on the Warden line.
'Mantsopa Anna Makhetha (1793–1908), often referred to as 'Mantsopa, was a Basotho prophetess, rainmaker, and storyteller. She advised King Moshoeshoe I and predicted the outcomes of several battles, including the Battle of Viervoet in 1851 and the Battle of Berea in 1852. She was exiled to Modderpoort in the late 1860s, where she converted to Christianity and was baptised in 1870. She fused Christianity with her own traditional Basotho customs.
