Maseru

Maseru (măz`ər), city (1996 pop. 137,837), capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho, on the Caledon River, near the border with the Republic of South Africa. It is Lesotho's only sizable city and its administrative center. A trade and transportation hub, it lies on Lesotho's main road and is linked with South Africa's rail network. An international airport is nearby. The city's few manufactures include candles and carpets. Maseru was a small trading town when it was made the capital of the Basuto people by Moshoeshoe I, their paramount chief, in 1869 (see Lesotho). It was the capital of the British Basutoland protectorate from 1869 to 1871 and from 1884 to 1966, when Lesotho achieved independence. The National Univ. of Lesotho is nearby.

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Maseru

City (pop., 1999 est.: metro. area, 373,000), capital of Lesotho. It lies on the Caledon River near the border with Free State province, Republic of South Africa. In 1869 the chief of the Basotho (Sotho) nation, Moshoeshoe I, founded the town near his mountain stronghold of Thaba Bosiu. Diamond mining is important economically. The country's only urban centre, Maseru is the site of government buildings as well as a technical school and Lesotho Agricultural College. Roma, to the southeast, is the seat of the National University of Lesotho (1945).

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Maseru

the capital of Lesotho, in the northwest near the W border with South Africa; established as capital of Basutoland in 1869. Pop.: 175 000 (2005 est.)

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Maseru 

capital of the state of Lesotho in southern Africa. Located at an elevation of 1,500 m. Population, 18,800 (1972).

Maseru was founded in 1869 by the supreme ruler of the Basuto, Moshesh I. Until 1966 it was the administrative center of the British protectorate of Basutoland. After the proclamation of the independence of Basutoland in 1966, it became the state capital. Maseru is a highway junction. It has an airport and is linked by a railroad branch with the South African main line connecting Bloemfontein and Durban. It is a center of commerce. Much of the population is engaged in agriculture. Maseru is one of the labor recruitment points for the gold-mining regions of the Republic of South Africa.