Mohale's Hoek is the capital city of Mohale's Hoek District in Lesotho. It had a population of approximately 40,040 in 2016. [1]
Mohale's Hoek is the capital city of Mohale's Hoek District in Lesotho. It had a population of approximately 40,040 in 2016. [1]
Mohale's Hoek had first been inhabited by the San who were found there by the Baphuthi around 1795. The Baphuthi settled in Kubake, the small mountain fortress shaped like a castle, near the present Likuena High School while some settled at Thaba-Ts'oeu. Chief Moorosi of the Baphuthi is said to have been there during the journey to this new home. They later settled below the foothills of Thaba-Linoha, north of the present Bethesda mission and the area was later called Maphutseng, which simply means the plural of a certain variety of a pumpkin. In singular it is Lephuts'e. This was found in plenty on the fertile bank of Maphuts'eng River. Some Baphuthi inhabited the area bordering Senqu River, Morifi and across the river into what is now Quthing. After 1824, the area was inhabited by Mohale, the younger brother of Moshoeshoe around the 1830s.
On expansion of Moshoeshoe's kingdom into southern Lesotho, King Moshoeshoe sent his brother Mohale to administer the area where the Baphuthi and Basotho enjoyed a rather fragile friendship. After living for a while at Lifateng, Mohale established a substantial village at the place now known as Old Hoek (the present day Ha Ts'epo village) a few kilometres north of the present town. This village was destroyed in 1867 during the Seqiti War and was subsequently abandoned. In the year after the proclamation that made Lesotho British territory, an assistant commissioner was appointed to administer what was then called Cornet Spruit District - after the Makhaleng River. This would make Mohale's Hoek the second oldest of all the district headquarters towns in Lesotho, except that the town was completely destroyed during the Gun War of 1880. Southwest to the town near the St Patrick's Cathedral are the Motlejoeng caves which were used by the celebrated cannibal, Motlejoa during the Lifaqane. The town moved from Old Hoek to the present location because of a certain businessman of an English descent PB Jandrell.
| Climate data for Mohale's Hoek (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 25.6 (78.1) | 22.1 (71.8) | 18.9 (66.0) | 15.8 (60.4) | 16.2 (61.2) | 18.8 (65.8) | 22.6 (72.7) | 24.2 (75.6) | 26.1 (79.0) | 27.6 (81.7) | 22.8 (73.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 14.1 (57.4) | 11.8 (53.2) | 8.4 (47.1) | 4.7 (40.5) | 1.3 (34.3) | 1.1 (34.0) | 3.7 (38.7) | 7.1 (44.8) | 9.8 (49.6) | 11.6 (52.9) | 13.4 (56.1) | 8.5 (47.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 110.0 (4.33) | 94.9 (3.74) | 96.4 (3.80) | 57.2 (2.25) | 20.6 (0.81) | 16.8 (0.66) | 8.9 (0.35) | 26.4 (1.04) | 31.1 (1.22) | 68.5 (2.70) | 80.3 (3.16) | 98.4 (3.87) | 709.5 (27.93) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.5 mm) | 10 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 69 |
| Source: World Meteorological Organization [2] | |||||||||||||
Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. As an enclave of South Africa, with which it shares a 1,106 km (687 mi) border, it is the largest sovereign enclave in the world, and the only one outside of the Italian Peninsula. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest peak in Southern Africa. It has an area of over 30,000 km2 (11,600 sq mi) and has a population of about two million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. The country is also known by the nickname The Mountain Kingdom.
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.
Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho, bordered with the Cape Colony, Natal Colony and Orange River Colony until 1910 and completely surrounded by South Africa from 1910. Though the Basotho and their territory had been under British control starting in 1868, the Cape Colony was unpopular and unable to control the territory. As a result, Basutoland was brought under direct authority of Queen Victoria, via the High Commissioner, and run by an Executive Council presided over by a series of British Resident Commissioners.
Thaba-Tseka is a district of Lesotho. Thaba-Tseka is also the name of the district's capital or camptown, which is the only town in the district. In the east, Thaba-Tseka borders on the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on Mokhotlong District in northeast, Leribe District in north, Berea District in northwest, Maseru District in west, Mohale's Hoek District in southwest and Qacha's Nek District in the southern direction. The district is one of the major tourist attractions in Lesotho because of the second largest arch dam in Africa Katse Dam.
Mafeteng is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,119 km2 and a population in 2016 of 178,222. Mafeteng is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district. In the west, Mafeteng borders on the Free State Province of South Africa. Domestically, it borders on the following districts Maseru District in the northeast and Mohale's Hoek District in the southeast.
Maseru is a district of Lesotho. Maseru is also the name of the district's capital, and is the only city in the district and also the capital of the country. It is the largest urban area in the country, and therefore the only city. The city of Maseru is located on Lesotho's western border with the Free State Province of South Africa, the frontier being the Caledon River. Maseru borders on Berea District in north, Thaba-Tseka District in the east, Mohale's Hoek District in south, and Mafeteng District in southwest.
Mohale's Hoek is a district of Lesotho. Mohale's Hoek is the capital city or camptown, and only town in the district. In the southwest, Mohale's Hoek borders on South Africa, while domestically, it borders on Mafeteng District in northwest, Maseru District in north, Thaba-Tseka District in northeast, Qacha's Nek District in east, and Quthing District in southeast.
Qacha's Nek is a district of Lesotho. Qacha's Nek is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district. In the south, Qacha's Nek borders on the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and it has a short border with KwaZulu-Natal Province in the far east. Domestically, it borders on Quthing District in southwest, Mohale's Hoek District in west and Thaba-Tseka District in the northern direction.
Quthing, also known as Moyeni, is a constituency and the capital city or camptown of Quthing District in Lesotho. Quthing was established in 1877, abandoned in the Gun War of 1880, and then rebuilt at its present site – the southernmost town in Lesotho. It has a population of 27,314.
The Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion, was a conflict between the Basuto and the British Cape Colony. It lasted from 13 September 1880 to 29 April 1881 and ended in a Basuto victory.
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.
Thaba 'Nchu, also known as Blesberg, is a town in Free State, South Africa, 63 km east of Bloemfontein and 17 km east of Botshabelo. The population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established in 1873. The town grew larger following the 1913 Natives' Land Act that declared the area a homeland for the Tswana people.
The Senqunyane River is a river of central Lesotho. The river rises in the Maluti Mountains in northwest Lesotho, and flows southwards and then westwards for 120 kilometres before joining the Senqu River in the southwest.
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.
Qobong is a community council located in the Mohale's Hoek District of Lesotho. Its population in 2006 was 9,324.
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.
The St. Patrick's Cathedral or simply Cathedral of Mohale's Hoek, is a religious building in the town of Mohale's Hoek, part of the district of the same name in the African country of Lesotho.
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.
'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.
Mohale's Hoek travel guide from Wikivoyage
30°09′S27°28′E / 30.150°S 27.467°E
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