Passion or Profession: King

Period: c. 1786–1870

The son of a Sotho chieftan, Moshoeshoe (originally named Lepoqo), incorporated the various Sotho chiefdoms into a united kingdom, which he ruled from 1823 until his death in 1870. For most of his reign, Moshoeshoe fought again the encroachment of the Boers, or Africaners, on Sotho land. In 1868, he was forced to appeal to Great Britain for help, and the British annexed Basutoland as a territory in 1868.