Maseru (also
Masero), population 137,837 (
1996), is the
capital of
Lesotho. Located on the
Caledon River[?], it is Lesotho's only sizable city. The city's manufactures include
candles and
carpets[?]. Masero was a small trading town when it was made the
capital of the
Basuto[?] people by Paramount Chief
Moshoeshoe I[?] in
1869. It was the
capital of the
British Basutoland protectorate from
1869 to
1871 and from
1884 to
1966, when Basutoland gained its independence and was renamed Lesotho.
The University of Lesotho">National University of Lesotho[?] is near the city, and an international airport is also nearby.
