Maseru, Lesotho
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 National University of Lesotho is near the city, and an international airport is also nearby.