THE SOUTHERN
INTERIOR: RAIDERS
AND THE EMERGENCE
OF THE SOTHO
KINGDOM
THE ROLE OF THE RAIDERS
 There were three types of raiders
 Boer raiders were Frontier farmers from the Cape Colony
 They raided areas outside the borders of the colony
 They captured San women and children and forced them to
work at the farms
 In 1828 British colonial troops and the frontier farmers
attacked an area west of present-day Umtata, and seized
cattle and people whom they forced to work as labourers
KORA OR KORANA RAIDERS
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Were groups of Khoisan and Tswana who had lost their
land and livestock
They were joined by runaway slaves and other deserters
from the Cape Colony
They obtained guns, horses and livestock from raids on
settler farms
They also attacked chiefdoms in the areas north of the
Orange River
1828 and in 1834 the Kora leader Jan Blum raided the
Ndebele kingdom and captured cattle
THE GRIQUA RAIDERS
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Were herders of Khoi and mixed descent who occupied
Namaqualand and areas near the Orange River
Some settled on mission stations at Griquatown
Others raided settled farming areas in the interior
throughout the 1820s.
THE EMERGENCE OF THE SOTHO KINGDOM
UNDER MOSHOESHOE AND HIS RELATIONSHIP
WITH HIS NEIGHBOURS
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Caledon Valley in 1820 was badly effected by the raiders
Leaders offered people in the area protection
Moeshoeshoe was the most successful he and his followers lived on a
mountain called Thaba Bosiu
To get cattle for followers he raided other groups mostly the Tembu
As his kingdom grew whole chiefdoms joined him for protection
The Sotho kingdom did not have amabutho instead he gave his
followers cattle in return for their loyalty it was known as a mafisa
system
Smaller chiefdoms that joined had a certain amount of independence to
run their own affairs
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He did not try to confront powerful states, he sent gifts to shaka and in
return he got Zulu support
He bought horses and guns in the cape colony he was able to defat a
raid
The power of the Basotho kingdom under Moshoeshoewas based on
multiculturalism
He included people from different cultures
He incorporated refugees into his kingdom
He made sure each chiefs area included people from different cultural
backgrounds: Basotho, Tswane speakers, people of Nguni origin, San,
Kora and Griqua
The people kept their own customs but paid tribute to moshoeshoe as a
leader
He encouraged missionaries to his kingdom
He welcomed them as a source of support, because of this he was able
to establish good contact with them