MOSHOESHOE

or Mshweshwe

born 0441; 1786, near the upper Caledon River, northern Basutoland

died March 11, 1870, Thaba Bosiu, Basutoland

Founder and first paramount chief of Sotho (later Basutoland; now Lesotho ).

In the 1830s and '40s he carefully played off British and Boer interests against one another. Involved in a series of wars, he proved a skillful tactician. In 1868 the British annexed Sotho, and Moshoeshoe's power waned. His descendant Moshoeshoe II (1938–96) was the first king of independent Lesotho.