Orange River Sovereignty

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The Orange River Sovereignty (German roughly: "Oranje River Territory") was a British colony in what is now South Africa and Lesotho , which existed from 1848 to 1854.

history

The Orange River Sovereignty was created on February 3, 1848 when an area was annexed by the then British Governor of the Cape Colony , Harry Smith . A British resident was in control , assisted by a legislative council whose members were appointed by the authorities. The area was northeast of the British Cape Colony between the eponymous Oranje (English Orange River ) in the south, the Vaal in the north and the Drakensberg in the east. The aim was to avoid hostilities against the British sphere of influence. The area closed parts of the dominion of the Basotho - Chiefs Moshoeshoe I. one who has been but has broad independence. However, the western border of the area was moved to the detriment of the Basotho as the Warden border, named after the British resident Henry Warden. Despite his concessions, Moshoeshoe was deceived as his country continued to be threatened from outside. As a result, the Basotho fought against other, small Bantu peoples such as the Batlokoa . Warden then united his soldiers with troops of several Bantu peoples against Moshoeshoe I, but they were defeated in June 1851 by Moshoeshoe's troops at Viervoet near Ladybrand . In 1852 a counter-offensive led to a battle on the Berea plateau near Maseru , in which there were deaths on both sides. Moshoeshoe I then sought peace.

In 1852 the Sand River Convention was concluded between the British and Boer settlers , which confirmed the status of the Orange River Sovereignty. In June 1852, at a meeting in Bloemfontein , the majority of European settlers confirmed that they wished to remain under British rule. In April 1854 the United Kingdom relinquished its claim to the Orange River Sovereignty at its own request, against the interests of British settlers in the area. On February 23, 1854, the British and Boers accordingly closed the Bloemfontein Convention ; the British soldiers left the area on March 11, 1854. In the west of the area, the Boers residing there founded the Orange Free State , while the Basotho in the east were temporarily without British control.

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 , p. 317.
  • John Sanderson: Memoranda of a trading trip into the Orange River (Sovereignty) Free State, and the country of the Transvaal Boers 1851-52. Royal Geographical Society, London 1860 Digitized

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 317.
  2. ↑ note at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed 12. January 2013