British Expedition into Basotholand 1851

The Anglo-Sotho demarcation of the Warden Line in 1849 detached from Basotholand (Basutoland) over a hundred villages, with several thousand Sotho (Basuto) inhabitants, in the interest of a dozen or so white farmers. At the same time this demarcation deprived the Sotho chief, Moshweshwe (Moshoeshoe or Mosheshu), of sovereignty over the territories of the immigrant chiefs beyond the Caledon river. Relations between the Sotho and the British consequently came near to breaking point. Yet Moshweshwe, the astute ruler of Basotholand, accepted the Warden Line because he believed that Sir Harry Smith, High Commissioner of the Cape Colony, supported the policy of Major H. D. Warden, and that prudence required that he maintain good relations with the British. His subordinates thought otherwise. Posholi in the south, Moseme among the Rolong, and Molesane among the Tlokwa refused to give up their lands. Warden tried to evict them, clumsily and without sufficient force, and he was humbled by the Sotho in 1851 at Viervoet.

In June 1851, a small unit of British regulars, supported by Boers and African allies, advanced into Basotholand. The invading force, led by Warden, numbered almost 2000 men. At a hill called Viervoet, the Basotho used a cattle decoy to lure the African allies away from the rest of the British force; the Basotho then trapped them above a line of cliffs and severely mauled the African allies. A spirited attack then drove the British regulars and Boers from the field. Only Moshweshwe's subsequent restraint prevented his followers from raiding into the British territory of the Orange River Sovereignty. British policy in the region was called into question by the defeat. In March 1852 Smith was recalled, discredited in part by the defeat at Viervoet.

References

South Africa: A Modern History, 156-7; Queen Victoria's Enemies (1) : Southern Africa, 11; Timelines of War, 338; Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith.

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