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 BritishBasutoland protectorate from 1869 to 1871 and from 1884 to 1966, when Basutoland gained its independence and was renamed Lesotho.