Masopha

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Masopha (* 1822 (according to other information 1820 or around 1821); † July 27, 1899 in Thupa Kubu , today Berea district ; long form Masopha David Moshoeshoe , in both forms also Masupha ) was a head ( Sesotho morena , English Chief ) of the Basotho people in historic Lesotho and the British colony of Basutoland .

Life

Masopha was after Letsie and Molapo the third son of morena e moholo Moshoeshoe I , the founder of the Basotho nation, and his chief wife 'Mamohato. In 1841 he was baptized by missionaries of the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris and took the additional name of David. From 1843 to 1844 he lived for a year with the missionary Thomas Arbousset in Cape Town , where he learned, among other things, English and Dutch at Zonnebloem College . Masopha left the Church a few years later because the missionaries opposed the Basotho war against the Batlokoa .

Masopha is considered the bravest and most rebellious son of Moshoeshoe. In 1853 he led the conquest of a Batlokoa stronghold near Marabeng (now north of Lesotho), in which the chief Sekonyela was killed. In the same year he took part in the Senekal War , later also in the Seqiti War , where he defended the Thaba Bosiu fortress against the Boers . After his father's death, it was given Thaba Bosiu as the seat, while his older brother Letsie stayed in Matsieng . Masopha accepted neither Letsie's rule nor British colonial rule and was a center of resistance in the Gun War against the British, even if he hardly intervened in the fighting. In 1886 he founded the current city of Teyateyaneng . He fought for the right to his own administration with a police force, but was liable to taxes for the British.

In 1898, the British Resident Commissioner Sir Godfrey Lagden forced Masopha's nephew Lerotholi to take Masopha because of his fugitive son. Lerotholi defeated Masopha in a battle near Khamolane near Thaba Bosiu ("Masopha's War"). Masopha lost his position as chief and died shortly afterwards in Thupa Kubu. He was buried on the Thaba Bosiu near his father. The ceremony was held by a Catholic priest because Masopha apparently converted to the Catholic faith shortly before his death.

Masopha had several wives and at least nine children.

literature

  • Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , pp. 232-233.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , pp. 232-233.
  2. ↑ a b c d family tree (English), accessed on January 23, 2019
  3. ↑ a b c d Tim Couzens: Murder at Morija: Faith, Mystery, and Tragedy on an African mission. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville 2005, ISBN 0813925290 , pp. 248-249. Excerpts from books.google.de
  4. ↑ David Ambrose : The Guide to Lesotho. Winchester Press, Johannesburg / Maseru 1974, ISBN 0-620-02190-X , p. 171.
  5. ↑ Elizabeth Eldredge: Power in Colonial Africa. Conflict and Discourse in Lesotho, 1870–1969. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 2007, ISBN 9780299223731 , p. 139. Excerpts from books.google.de
personal data
SURNAME Masopha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Masopha David Moshoeshoe (full name); Masupha; Masupha David Moshoeshoe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chief of the Basotho
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: 1820 or 1821 or 1822
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 1899
Place of death Thupa Kubu , Basutoland