Achievements and problems faced by Chief Moshoeshoe

Achievements and problems faced by Chief Moshoeshoe


His achievements were mainly positive;
By the time he died, he placed his state with a record- that is; it survived the period of M'fecane and created a defensive state.
He founded a new nation of Basuto land, which is presented day Lesotho.
He ruled his multi-tribal nation for over 100 years without major revolts from his people.
He created a new nation of one people, language and culture. He then defended this new nation against African leaders or Boer and the British enemies.
He is remembered to have given birth to a spirit of nationalism among the Basuto people.
Moshoeshoe was a great African leader in the nineteenth Century. He is ranked with the great leaders and statesmen outside Africa during the nineteenth Century.
He collected people of many different tribes, which made them to recognize him as their rightful leader.
Problems faced by Moshoeshoe
Those people in his community who were far away from the center managed their own affairs and because of this many groups could break away from the main Sotho- Confederation.
There was no standing army to defend the state from internal and external enemies.
Moshoeshoe was faced with hostile neighbors especially the Tlokwa and Ngwane who constantly attacked and look away his cattle.
He was also attacked by refugees who raided his people for cattle and food harvest.
The Boers also attacked his country in their desire for land.
This was the period of scramble for Africa and he constantly faced aggression from George Cathcart, a British colonial agent.
He faced hostile neighbors like the Zulu, Boers, Swazi, and Tlokwa among others.
Many of his people were mostly refugees who were too poor too provide themselves with everything. Hence he had to cater for them.
The Boers constantly fought him over land and cattle.
The Zulu and Ndebele, Tlokwa, Swazi also resented him for land, cattle, and young able bodied men and women.
He faced threat from the Boers and the British who wanted to colonize the Basuto.
In 1848, the British from the Cape annexed the Orange Free State, as they tried to grab Basuto land to attach it to the Cape colony. This led to war from 1850 to 1852.
During the war the Basutoland defeated the British supported by the Tlokwa and the Rolong tribes. The Cape colony Governor Sir George Cathcart forced Moshoeshoe to pay a fine of 10,000 herds of cattle for his victory. He managed to provide 3,500 herds on the appointed day, but the Cape forces attacked him to recover the rest.
After the 1854 Bloemfontein Convention, conflict resulted between the Boers in the OFS and the Basuto people over land.
In 1858 the first Orange Free State- Basuto war was fought which ended in Basuto were defeated by the Boers.
In 1868 due to pressure to the British his area was declared a protectorate.
He was constantly troubled to create and preserve his state.
He rivaled many larger states in the region-Ndebele, Zulu.
He lived in fear of raids over cattle and land from Shaka, Sekoyale, and Mzilikazi among others.
His state was a young nation in comparison with old kingdoms like the Ndebele and the Zulu.
European rivalry and suspicion over his state.