Lesotho–South Africa border

The border between Lesotho and South Africa is long and forms a complete loop, as Lesotho is an enclave entirely surrounded by South Africa. The border follows the Caledon River, the drainage divide of the Drakensberg mountains, the Tele River, the Orange River, the Makhaleng River, and a series of hills joining the Makhaleng back to the Caledon.HistoryThe Basotho people formed a distinct polity in the 1820s under Moshoeshoe I, the first Paramount Chief. At that time Basotho territory included much of what is now the Free State province of South Africa. This territory was lost in the 1850s and 1860s in a series of wars between the Basotho and the Boers of the Orange Free State. In 1868 Basutoland (as it was then known) became a British protectorate. Except for a period of annexation to the Cape Colony from 1871 to 1884, it remained in this status until independence was achieved as the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966.The border between Basutoland and the Orange Free State was defined in the 1869 Convention of Aliwal North. This border was confirmed, and the border with the Cape Colony and Natal Colony defined, by High Commissioner's notice of 13 May 1870, as amended by Government Notice No. 74 of 6 November 1871. In this notice the boundaries of "British Basutoland" were described as being: