British protectorate over Moshoeshoe I's Basotho kingdom, declared in 1868 after Moshoeshoe appealed to Queen Victoria for protection from Boer expansion; administered by the Cape Colony 1871-1884, then run directly from London as a Crown Colony/High Commission territory from 1884.
Gained independence from the United Kingdom on 4 October 1966 as the Kingdom of Lesotho.
Period-contemporary account of Basutoland under the protectorate, verified via Open Library.