Before 1966, the kingdom of Lesotho was a British crown colony with what name?
Lesotho Lesotho Lesotho (, ) officially the Kingdom of Lesotho () is an enclaved country within the border of South Africa. It is just over in size and has a population of around /1e6 round 0 million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho was previously the British Crown Colony of Basutoland, but it declared independence from the United Kingdom on 4 October 1966. It is now a fully sovereign state that is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The name "Lesotho" roughly translates to "the land of the
Crown colony Crown colony Crown colony, dependent territory or royal colony are dependent territories under the administration of United Kingdom overseas territories that are controlled by the British Government. As such they are examples of dependencies that are under colonial rule. Crown colonies were renamed "British Dependent Territories" in 1981, and since 2002, Crown colonies have been known officially as British Overseas Territories. In such territories, residents do not elect members of the British parliament. A Crown colony is usually administered by a governor who directly controls the executive and is appointed by "the Crown" — a term that in practice usually