Maseru is the capital and only urban center of the African kingdom of Lesotho. The city is located on the bank of the Caledon River along Lesotho's northwestern border.
Maseru has many government buildings. The nearby city of Roma is the home of the National University of Lesotho. Also nearby are the remains of Thaba Bosiu, the village stronghold of the 19th-century founder of the kingdom that would become Lesotho.
Lesotho is a poor country. Most of the people are farmers, and Maseru is a market for their crops. The government employs some of the workers. Others work in hotels, restaurants, and other tourist-related businesses.
When Europeans arrived in southern Africa, the territory that became Maseru was inhabited by the Basotho people. The British founded the town in 1869 at the invitation of King Moshoeshoe, the founder of the modern Basotho nation. Moshoeshoe needed British help because the Boers (descendants of Dutch immigrants) were threatening his lands. In 1871, those lands became the new British colony of Basutoland, with Maseru as its capital.
In 1966, when Basutoland became the independent nation of Lesotho, Maseru remained the capital. The city has grown rapidly since then. New arrivals occupy makeshift shelters in the areas surrounding the city center. Population (1996 estimate), city, 137,837.
