Basutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony

Cape Colony

The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...

's inability to control the territory. It was divided into seven administrative districts; Berea, Leribe, Maseru, Mohales Hock, Mafeteng, Qacha's Nek and Quthing.

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

 upon independence from the United Kingdom on October 4, 1966.

Population

Considering the extensive area of uninhabitable mountain land it contained, the Territory supported a large 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 Maluti mountains and the Caledon river. The great bulk of the people were Basuto, but there were some thousands of Barolong

Barolong

Rolong is a tribal name for the Tswana living in North West in South Africa, principally in Mafikeng . Other Barolong communities are found in Lotlhakane and Thaba Nchu...

. The white inhabitants in 1904 numbered 895. The seat of government was Maseru

Maseru

Maseru is the capital of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, bordering South Africa, Maseru is Lesotho's only sizable city, with a population of approximately 227,880 . The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the...

, on the left bank of the Caledon, with a population of about 1000 including some 100 Europeans. There were numerous mission stations throughout Basutoland, to several of which Biblical names have been given, such as Shiloh, Hermon, Cana, Bethesda, and Berea.

Districts

• Berea District
  Berea District
  -References:...
  
  
• Leribe District
  Leribe District
  Leribè is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,828 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 298,352. Hlotse is the capital or camptown of the district. The district has one additional town, namely Maputsoe and Matukeng.-Geography:...
  
  
• Maseru District
  Maseru District
  Maseru is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 4,279 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 429,823. Maseru is also the name of the district's capital, and is the only city in the district. Additionally it is the capital of the country. It is the largest urban area in the country,...
  
  
• Mohales Hock District
• Mafeteng District
  Mafeteng District
  Mafeteng is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,119 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 193,682. Mafeteng is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district.-Geography:...
  
  
• Qacha's Nek District
  Qacha's Nek District
  Qacha's Nek is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,349 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 71,876. Qacha's Nek is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district.-Geography:...
  
  
• Quthing District
  Quthing District
  Quthing is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,916 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 120,502. Quthing, also known as Moyeni, is the capital of the district or camptown, and the only town in the district...
  
  

List of British Resident Commissioners

• Marshal James Clarke: 18 March 1884 - 18 September 1894
• Godfrey Yeatsman Lagden: 18 September 1894 - 1895
• Sir Herbert Cecil Sloley: 1895
• Godfrey Yeatsman Lagden: 1895 - 1901
• Sir Herbert Cecil Sloley: 1902 - 1913
• James MacGregor: 1913
• Sir Herbert Cecil Sloley: 1913 - 1916
• Robert Thorne Coryndon: 1916 - 1917
• Edward Charles Frederick Garraway: 1917 - Apr 1926
• John Christian Ramsay Sturrock: Apr 1926 - Mar 1935
• Sir Edmund Charles Smith Richards
  Edmund Charles Smith Richards
  Sir Edmund Charles Smith Richards was a British colonial administrator who was Resident Commissioner of Basutoland from 1935 to 1942 and Governor of Nyasaland from 1942 to 1947.-Career outline:...
  
  : Mar 1935 - Aug 1942
• Charles Nobel Arden-Clarke: Aug 1942 - Nov 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

External links

• The British Empire - Basutoland