Moorosi
| Morosi | |
|---|---|
| Died |
20 November 1879 Morosi's Mountain, Basutoland |
| Cause of death | Shot |
Morosi (or Moorosi; died 20 November 1879) was a Baphuthi chief in the wild southern part of Basutoland. He led a revolt against the Cape Colony government in 1879, in defence of his independence south of the Orange River. The British refused to help the Cape Government. However, Letsie, the paramount chief and first son of Moshoeshoe, and many of the Sotho ruling establishment, rallied to support the Cape forces, and the rebellion was put down after several months of arduous fighting. He was beheaded and his body mutilated by Cape troops.
Morosi was the son of Mokuane, a Baphuthi man, and a San woman. According to Major David Hook, who met him, he was small and had yellow skin, which is suggestive of San ancestry.
In recognition of Morosi's military assistance and successes, most recently in the war with the Orange Free State, Moshoeshoe granted him lands in the southwestern corner of Basutoland. Here, in 1879, Morosi's son Doda and some other Baphuthi tribesmen were refusing to pay the hut taxes which had been agreed upon between the chiefs and the Cape Government on the annexation of Basutoland to the Cape Colony in 1868. John Austen, the Resident Magistrate, imprisoned the offenders but a force of Baphuthis set them free. A troop of Cape Mounted Riflemen (CMR) responded but were repulsed by Morosi, who refused to give up his son. Morosi and the approximately 1,500 Baphuthi men, along with their women and children took refuge on a mountain, where he requested a week to respond to the Cape Government's offer of safe return if he gave up the offenders.
During that week, Morosi gradually and stealthily moved to another mountain 20 miles away in the Drakensberg range, which came to be known as Morosi's Mountain. During the previous ten years, Morosi had worked on building a mountain top fortification. The mountain has sheer drops on three sides and the fourth consists of a 30° slope, which he reinforced with a series of strong walls, 8–12 feet high, impervious to artillery, with loopholes for guns. There Morosi took refuge with around 300 Baphuthi soldiers and sufficient ammunition, food and cattle to resist a long siege, beginning 24 March, until he was finally overrun on 20 November.
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