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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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by French Revolution, so that the French revolutionaries could not take possession of...
'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 ? entirely surrounded by the South Africa. Formerly Basutoland, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations....
 upon independence from the United Kingdom on October 4, 1966.


Considering the extensive area of uninhabitable mountain land it contained, the Territory supported a large population.






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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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by French Revolution, so that the French revolutionaries could not take possession of...
'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 ? entirely surrounded by the South Africa. Formerly Basutoland, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations....
 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. The females outnumbered the males by about 20,000, which was, however, about the number of adult males 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

Barolong is a clan name for the Batswana living in North West in South Africa. There are different clans in the Batswana clans. Barolong , Bahurutshe , Bangwatu , Bakgatlha and Bakwena etc....
. 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 Mohokare River, bordering South Africa, Maseru is Lesotho's only sizable city, with a population of approximately 227,880 ....
, 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, Berea.

List of British Resident Commissioners

  • Marshal James Clarke: 18 Mar 1884 - 18 Sep 1894
  • Godfrey Yeatsman Lagden: 18 Sep 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: Mar 1935 - Aug 1942
  • Charles Nobel Arden-Clarke: Aug 1942 - Nov 1946
  • Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson: Nov 1946 - 24 Oct 1951
  • Edwin Porter Arrowsmith: 24 Oct 1951 - Sep 1956
  • Alan Geoffrey Tunstal Chaplin: Sep 1956 - 1961
  • Alexander Falconer Giles: 1961 - 30 Apr 1965


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