Basutoland

Coordinates: 29°31′00″S 27°48′00″E / 29.5167°S 27.8000°E / -29.5167; 27.8000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Colony of Basutoland
1884–1966
English (official)
  • Sesotho
    • GovernmentConstitutional monarchy
    Resident Commissioner 
    • 1884–1894
    		Marshal Clarke
    • 1961–1966
    		Alexander Giles
    Paramount Chief
    		 
    • 1884–1891
    		Letsie I
    • 1960–1966
    		Moshoeshoe II
    History 
    • Established
    		18 March 1884
    • Disestablished
    		4 October 1966
    Area
    • Total
    		30,355 km2 (11,720 sq mi)
    Population
    • 1875
    		128,206
    • 1904
    		348,848[1]
    Currency
    Preceded by    		 Succeeded by
    Cape Colony
    Lesotho
    Today part ofLesotho

    Basutoland was a

    Resident Commissioners
    .

    It was divided into seven administrative districts: Berea, Leribe, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mafeteng, Qacha's Nek and Quthing.

    Basutoland gained its independence from the

    Kingdom of Lesotho
    .

    History

    Background

    Between 1856 and 1868 the Basotho engaged in conflict with the

    Governor of Cape Colony:[2]

    I am giving myself and my country up to Her Majesty's Government under certain conditions which we may agree on between your Excellency and me.

    In July 1866, after referring to the former letter, the Chief (John Cena) said:[2]

    All those things I have given up into your hands the last year..., they are still yours. I still continue to be the humble servant of Her Majesty.

    Eventually, in January 1868, the Governor received a document dated 9 December 1867, signed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, authorizing the annexation of Basutoland to the Colony of Natal (not to the Cape as Wodehouse had wished).[2] On 12 March 1868, a proclamation declared the Basotho to be British subjects and Basutoland to be British territory.[3] It was not in fact annexed to Natal, as Natal attempted unsuccessfully to condition its acceptance on Basotho land being made available for European settlement; so for some time Basutoland remained under the direct authority of Wodehouse as British High Commissioner for South Africa.[2]

    Postage stamp with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1963

    Three years later, Basutoland was annexed to the Cape Colony by Act No. 12 of 1871 of the Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope, confirmed by an Order in Council of 3 November 1871.[2] The rule of the Cape Colony then proved unpopular with the people, leading to the Basuto Gun War of 1880–1881.

    By an Order in Council dated 2 February 1884, which came into force on 18 March 1884,

    High Commissioner.[2]

    As a crown colony

    Moshoeshoe had been succeeded as paramount chief by his son,

    Boer War in 1899, these same chiefs proclaimed loyalty to the British Crown. They remained passive throughout the War and the neutrality of the country was respected by both armies. One chief alone sought to take advantage of the situation by disloyal action, and his offence was met by a year's imprisonment.[5]

    In pursuance of the policy of encouraging the self-governing powers of the Basotho, a national council was instituted and held its first sitting in July 1903. In August 1905 the paramount chief Lerotholi died. In early life he had distinguished himself in the wars with the Boers, and in 1880 he took an active part in the revolt against the Cape government. Since 1884 he had been a loyal supporter of the imperial authorities, and carried a reputation for high diplomatic gifts. On the 19th of September following Lerotholi's death, the national council, with the concurrence of the imperial government, elected his son

    Letsie II as paramount chief. The completion in October 1905 of a railway connecting Maseru with the South African railway system proved a great boon to the community. During the Bambatha Rebellion in 1906 the Basotho remained perfectly quiet.[5]

    Interwar period

    Visit of Colonial Secretary to territory
    Opening of the new Senqunyane Bridge

    The first task of the Basuto National Council was to revise and draft the "old laws of Moshoeshoe I", which they did within three days. These new laws were called the " Laws of Lerotholi" after the sitting Paramount Chief. However the commoners believed that the Chiefs who sat on the council did not follow these laws, leading to opposition by the Commoners Council, one of the earliest political organizations in the territory.[6] This forced the council to pass reforms, recommended in a 1935 study of Basutoland by British official Alan Pim. This reduced the number of chiefs and their judicial powers. The legality of the National Council itself and the laws it passed came to the forefront in 1940, with a succession crisis caused by the death of Paramount Chief Seeiso Griffith. The regency for his two-year-old son was disputed by his brother Bereng Griffith and his first wife Mantsebo, who had the support of the Resident Commissioner. It was ruled in 1942 in the Basutoland High Court that the "Laws of Lerotholi" were not legally binding and that the British High Commissioner for Southern Africa could choose who they wanted as the Paramount Chief. This led to efforts by the Basotho to convert the National Council into a legislative institution.[7] The country was also badly affected by a combination of land shortages, drought and the arrival of railways. This led to the colony being a net importer of food and an exporter of labor, mostly to the neighboring South Africa. This was addressed in the 1935 study by Pim, who recommended increased investment in agriculture and efforts to stop soil erosion in the territory. This resulted in reforms by the Basutoland government to reduce erosion such as creating buffer strips and cattle grazing schedules. These were met with opposition from the native Basuto due to the fact that it was run mostly by South African administrators and often increased erosion in many places. Development projects that took place in the 1950s also met with similar opposition from the natives, due to the fact that they had very little input into how these projects were managed.[8]

    Self government

    From the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 the South African government made numerous overtures to take over the High Commission Territories, which included Basutoland.[9] However these demands were refused by Britain, wanting to consult with the inhabitants of the territories regarding their future. With the election of the National Party 1948 opposition to union with South Africa increased both amongst the Basuto and the British, due to the apartheid policies implemented by the new government. This hastened the progress towards independence. After WW2 progress towards self government and independence was slow due to opposition from local Basotho chiefs who feared losing their power and resistance from local colonial officials. In 1959 the Basutoland National Council, a body established in 1903, became a semi legislative body consisting of 80 members, half of whom were to be elected by the district councils. The others were tribal chiefs, nominated by the Paramount Chief and four officials. In the elections that followed the African nationalist Basutoland Congress Party achieved the overwhelming majority of elected seats.[9]

    Independence

    In 1964 a constitutional conference in London resulted in the enactment of a new constitution which gave the country full self government with the Paramount Chief at its head assisted by a bicameral Parliament. The British Resident Commissioner was left only with the responsibilities of external affairs, defense and internal security. It was also decided that one year after elections were held under the new constitution the new Parliament could request independence.

    Basutoland National Party, under chief Leabua Jonathon, won a narrow majority, with 31 seats out of the 60 seats in the National Assembly. Independence came as promised a year later in 1966, despite opposition from both the Paramount Chief who resented the reductions in his power as established by the 1964 Constitution and the opposition, who feared that Jonathon's pro South African stance would result in the country becoming a vassal to the Apartheid regime.[9] The challenge the country faced at independence was that it was underdeveloped and completely economically dependent on neighboring South Africa. This was mostly due to a lack of interest from Britain in developing the territory. This fact was acknowledged by the last British Commissioner, Sir Alexander Giles who wrote:[10]

    Britain's neglect over the past century has led to Basutoland's complete dependence on the Republic of South Africa, and that by granting independence with insufficient aid Britain is in fact 'selling out' the territory to the Republic. Impecunious independence will not be independence at all, and for this Britain must bear the responsibility

    Government

    Executive branch

    Basutoland's Executive Council members were the resident commissioner, who presided, three ex-officio members and four council members from the Basutoland National Council, appointed by the resident commissioner, one by the Paramount Chief and three nominated by the Council itself, selected by secret ballot.

    Legislative branch

    The legislative council, known as the Basutoland National Council, consisted of a non-voting President appointed by the Resident Commissioner, four official members (ex officio), twenty-two Chiefs, forty elected members elected by District Councils, and fourteen nominated members appointed by the Resident Commissioner on the nomination of the Paramount Chief. The Resident Commissioner had the right to address the council.

    The Commissioner had authority to make laws by Proclamation on certain subjects, such as external affairs, defence and the public service. These matters were excluded from the powers of the National Council, but the Commissioner was required to lay a draft of any Proclamation before the council and to consider their observations. The Constitution made special provision regarding particular objections made by the council.

    Paramount Chief

    There was a College of Chiefs of Basutoland whose function related to matters pertaining to the offices of the Paramount Chief, Chief and Headman. Their decisions and recommendations were submitted for acceptance to the Paramount Chief. They were subject to review by the High Court.

    The Constitution vested a number of functions in the Paramount Chief. In exercising these, he was required in most cases to consult either with the Executive Council or with the Resident Commissioner, a Council member of the Executive and a member of the Basotho Nation appointed by himself.

    Land in Basutoland was vested by the Constitution in the Paramount Chief in trust for the Basotho Nation, subject to lawfully acquired rights.

    Demographics

    Considering the extensive area of uninhabitable mountain land it contained, the territory supported a mediocre population. The inhabitants increased from 128,206 in 1875, to 348,848 in 1904. Women outnumbered men by about 20,000, which was, however, about the number of adult men away from the country at any given period. The majority lived in the district between the

    Barolong and other natives. The White inhabitants in 1904 numbered 895. Maseru, the seat of government, had in 1904 a population of about 1,000 including some 100 Europeans.[5]

    Economy

    Throughout the period of British rule the country remained economically underdeveloped and under the control of the tribal chiefs. This lack of interest in development can be explained by the fact that until the 1950s the primary focus of the colonial administration was the maintenance of law and order rather than economic development.[11] This, combined with a desire from the Colonial Office in London not to spend much money through aid on what it considered a backwater and low government revenue meant that until independence little significant economic development took place in the territory.[12] This lack of development meant that the colony was reliant on food and health services from South Africa. Furthermore, key parts of its economy were also dependent on remittances from Basotho workers in South Africa.[12] This led to the perception amongst the Basotho that they were little more than a "Bantustan" of South Africa. However, as independence approached more international organisations, like the American Peace Corps and the World Bank began to provide funding towards economic growth and development. The British also began providing more money to the government through the Colonial Development Fund throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

    Districts

    British Resident Commissioners

    Incumbent Tenure Notes
    Took office Left office
    Sir
    Marshal James Clarke
    		 18 March 1884 18 September 1894 Afterwards Resident Commissioner in Zululand, 1894
    Godfrey Yeatman Lagden
    		 18 September 1894 1895
    Sir
    Herbert Cecil Sloley
    		 1895
    Godfrey Yeatman Lagden
    		 1895 1901
    Sir
    Herbert Cecil Sloley
    		 1902 1903
    James MacGregor 1913
    Sir
    Herbert Cecil Sloley
    		 1913 1916
    Robert Thorne Coryndon
    		 1916 1917 Afterwards
    Governor of Uganda
    , 1918
    Sir Edward Charles Frederick Garraway 1917 Apr 1926
    John Christian Ramsay Sturrock
    		 Apr 1926 Mar 1935
    Sir Edmund Charles Smith Richards Mar 1935 Aug 1942 Afterwards
    Governor of Nyasaland
    , 1942
    Sir
    Charles Noble Arden-Clarke
    		 Aug 1942 Nov 1946 Afterwards Governor of Sarawak, 1946
    Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson Nov 1946 24 October 1951
    Edwin Porter Arrowsmith
    		 24 October 1951 Sep 1956
    Alan Geoffrey Tunstal Chaplin Sep 1956 1961
    Alexander Falconer Giles
    		 1961 30 April 1965

    Chief Justices

    The Chief Justice was the Chief Justice of the

    Swaziland).[13]
    From 1951 the Chief Justices were:

    Incumbent Tenure Notes
    Took office Left office
    Walter Huggard 1937 1948
    Walter Harragin 1950 1952
    Harold Curwen Willan 1952 1956
    Herbert Charles Fahie Cox
    		 1957 1961
    Elyan 1961 1962
    Peter Watkin-Williams 1961 1965
    Benson 1965 1966

    References

    1. HMSO
      . 1906. p. 160.
    2. ^ a b c d e f g h Roberts-Wray, Sir Kenneth (1966). Commonwealth and Colonial Law. London: F.A. Praeger. p. 830.
    3. ^ Tylden, G. (1950). The Rise of the Basuto. Juta. p. 107.
    4. ^ S.R.O. & S.I. Rev. III, 79
    5. ^
      Hillier, Alfred Peter (1911). "Basutoland". Encyclopædia Britannica
      . Vol. 3 (11th ed.). pp. 503–506.
    6. ISSN 0022-278X
      .
    7. ISSN 0022-278X
      .
    8. ISSN 0021-8537
      .
    9. ^
      ISSN 0043-9134
      .
    10. ISSN 0021-8537
      .
    11. ISSN 0021-8537
      .
    12. ^
      ISSN 0022-278X
      .
    13. ^ "Bechuanaland Colonial Administrators c.1884-c.1965". Retrieved 27 February 2016.

     This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

    Hillier, Alfred Peter (1911). "Basutoland". Encyclopædia Britannica
    . Vol. 3 (11th ed.). pp. 503–506.

    29°31′00″S 27°48′00″E / 29.5167°S 27.8000°E / -29.5167; 27.8000

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