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Events on Thursday 12 March 1868 1
1868Basutoland becomes British protectorateBritain annexes the Basotho kingdomAt the request of Basotho king Moshoeshoe I, Britain declared Basutoland a protectorate to shield it from encroachment by Orange Free State Boers. The territory was administered separately from the Cape Colony. It later became the independent state of Lesotho in 1966.