Moshoeshoe summary

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Moshoeshoe , or Mshweshwe, (born c. 1786, near the upper Caledon River, northern Basutoland—died March 11, 1870, Thaba Bosiu, Basutoland), Founder and first paramount chief of Sotho (later Basutoland; now Lesotho). In the 1830s and ’40s he carefully played off British and Boer interests against one another. Involved in a series of wars, he proved a skillful tactician. In 1868 the British annexed Sotho, and Moshoeshoe’s power waned. His descendant Moshoeshoe II (1938–96) was the first king of independent Lesotho.

army Summary

Army, a large organized armed force trained for war, especially on land. The term may be applied to a large unit organized for independent action, or it may be applied to a nation’s or ruler’s complete military organization for land warfare. Throughout history, the character and organization of

Lesotho Summary

Lesotho, landlocked country in Southern Africa. A scenic land of tall mountains and narrow valleys, Lesotho owes a long history of political autonomy to the mountains that surround it and protect it from encroachment. Since the Neolithic Period, the mountain kingdom was the domain of

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not

Western colonialism Summary

Western colonialism, a political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. The age of modern colonialism began about 1500, following the European discoveries of a sea route around Africa’s southern coast (1488) and of