Why does Lesotho Exist? (Short Animated Documentary)

Lesotho is one of the few enclave countries in the world (being a country entirely within another country) and given who it lived amongst it's fairly shocking that it managed to survive until the modern day. So how did Lesotho do it? Why does Lesotho exist? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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[bobsnow]

The vexillology nerd in me loves the fact that you took the time to correctly place all three of Lesotho's historical flags in their respective time periods throughout the video. Your attention to detail does not go unnoticed.

[Waldemarvonanhalt]

The reason why subduing the Basotho was so hard was because it's basically the African equivalent of Switzerland. It's very mountainous and the capital at the time was located on top of a mountain fortress.

[erickmiguel]

Another fine addition to the "Why does this country exist?" collection.

[QuentinWatt]

South African here:

Short answer is that South Africa used to be 4 different countries that all bordered Lesotho. Lesotho is a mountain kingdom (like Switzerland) and can be easily defended.

Some other interesting news.
King Moshoeshoe of Lesotho never wanted war (kind of like Switzerland), so he sent offers of peace to all his neighbours.

He was the only southern African king from the time, that lived long enough to have his photograph taken. Mostly because he never went to war.

Their existence as an independent country is purely because of political negotiation.

[vanthemanproductions]

“The British believed that him asking for protection meant that he was surrendering all sovereignty of his nation to the British”

Seems accurate

[LAV-III]

Was literally thinking this 3 days ago and wanting you to make a video on it. My telepathic powers grow ever stronger.

[MogaleMalaka]

As a South African i have always thought about this topic...especially since there are alot of basotho in our country as well. Sadly this was never covered in our schools. Thank you for the video

[snuggery]

It was covered briefly in the South Africa episode of Geography Now so I'm glad you covered it in detail.
Also I miss the little clips you'd have at the end of your videos.

[ghaznavid]

Lesotho is also very mountainous, which makes invasion tricky. Beautiful country. Fun fact: Lesotho's lowest point is around 1400m in altitude. No other country on earth has a lowest point above 1000m.

[johndavenport]

The "Why does [Place] Exist?" series is great, maybe you could do one on a larger nation as a bit of a joke

[ElladanKenet]

Lesotho: Sure is a nice day to be alive
History Matters: WHY DO YOU EXIST?!

[wonderfulnightmares]

"I hope you enjoyed this episode..." Yeah because you give us a choice not to enjoy it. I always enjoy the episodes, I was literally just about to watch one of your videos at random and then saw the notification for this. Thank you for the amazing content and keep it up!

[sskuk]

"They were not allowed to posess guns, because in case of a rebellion, they might shoot back..."
Italy in Abyssinia: "Nah, nothing to worry about!"

[newcourier]

My dad actually went to Lesotho on a business trip. He told me a story about his driver and that he kept calling him “daddy” for some reason. And when my dad pointed out that the city he went to had a lot of pizza restaurants, the driver said, and I quote, “Oh daddy, pizza is for women and children. Men eat chicken!”

[beebeemotsumi]

Hi. A lady from Lesotho here. I love it there. It's amazing and our culture is wonderful. I have a 30 minutes video on a day in my life in Lesotho. And it captured the beautiful rural area of Lesotho. Drinking water from the mountains, and everything else.

[brandonlyon]

Here’s an interesting question that can be asked: How did Lithuania get so big prior to there Union with Poland?

[Tycoon]

I live in Lesotho and appreciate the information your content has provided, on point and quite entertaining 👌🏾
I did find it funny how you pronounce Moshoeshoe I though.😹😹😹

The country’s a natural fortress; mountains everywhere you look. It’s the third most mountainous country in the world, and has the world’s highest lowest point, hence it being called ‘The Kingdom in the sky’

[sarahellie]

“As result of Napoleon being Napoleon” sums up modern history

[boaoftheboaians]

That "Caution: Racism" sign whenever South Africa is shown gets me every time 😂

[mdalie]

"This democratic tradition lasted until... the next election"
God I love this channel