Episode 1 of 4

Conflict with the Orange Free State and the Appeal for Protection

When: 29 August 1865 – 1868
Where: Basutoland
Part of: Event of 1868: Basutoland is proclaimed a British Protectorate, becoming independent in 1966 as

Amid conflict with the Orange Free State lasting until 1868, King Moshoeshoe I sought British protection through letters to Governor Wodehouse.

Between 1856 and 1868 the Basotho engaged in conflict with the Orange Free State. Their king, Moshoeshoe I, sought British protection, writing to Sir Philip Wodehouse, the Governor of Cape Colony, on 29 August 1865 and again in July 1866. This appeal for protection forms the immediate background to the 1868 proclamation.

Sources

Basutoland Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-05

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.