Liberia is a small country in West Africa, bordering Guinea, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, with coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean. It was established as a free state in 1822 by the American Colonization Society (ACS) with the intention of populating it with freed slaves from the United States. After a hundred years of rule by the Americo-Liberians, the country experienced a civil war in the late 20th century, causing the loss of over 200,000 lives. While the violence has abated, crime is rampant, and travel outside of Monrovia is dangerous.
Liberia is a small country in West Africa. It covers 43,000 square miles (111,400 square km), making it slightly larger than the state of Tennessee. It borders Guinea, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone and has coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean.
The population began to settle permanently in the area from the 12th century, moving from other parts along the coast. The Mane people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast conquered many of these small tribes in the 16th century. Not long after, the Vai who left the lands of the now defunct Mali Empire began settling parts of the region, despite opposition from the Mane.
Europeans came into contact with Liberia in the mid-15th century, trading with the Portuguese, Dutch and British. It was involved in a number of different types of trade, including slaves once the slave trade started in earnest. The area was not ideal for trading, however, and very few trading posts were established during this era, with virtually no trading occurring during the 18th century.
In 1822, Liberia was established as a free state, which made it something of an irregularity in colonial Africa. The state was founded by an American organization, the American Colonization Society (ACS), which created it with the sole intention of populating it with freed slaves from the United States. The motivations of ACS members varied, although for many reasons their motives were far from benevolent. Freed slaves were seen by many in the United States as a growing problem, reducing the wages of white workers, dragging society down, and setting an example for existing slaves to work their way to freedom.
Reaction to the creation of Liberia and the ACS was mixed from the outset. Many believed that racial integration would never happen in the United States and that this was the best possible solution. Others considered it immoral to send people away from their native country, as by that time many freed slaves had been in the country for generations. Still others saw it as an attack on the institution of slavery and the slave economy in general. Despite these mixed feelings, the country continued to expand, creating a society in the image of the United States, building forts to protect itself from attack by tribes, speaking English, and engaging in trade with their neighbors. In many cases the new Liberian citizens rebuilt the worst of the country they had left and were recreating, treating their native neighbors as less than equal, and in some cases even enslaving them.
A number of states in the United States began creating their own groups to fund freed slaves who wished to move to Liberia. Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland all formed their own colonies in the country, which were eventually absorbed.
In 1847, bankrupt and losing support, the ACS ordered Liberia that it would be in its best interest to declare independence. The United States refused to treat it as a territorial interest and some European nations had begun to view the colony as a political issue, which belonged to no nation and yet had no nationality of its own. In 1847 the country declared its independence, which was soon recognized by other nations.
For the next hundred years, freed slaves and their descendants, known as the Americo-Liberians, ruled the nation as a one-party state, exercising complete domination over the indigenous people, even though the Americo-Liberians never made up more than 5 percent of the population. the total population. This caused intermittent hostility that would last until reforms began in the 1940s.
Since World War II, Liberia has been viewed by the United States as an important strategic nation. During the war, it was the United States’ only source of natural rubber, and the United States entered into a defensive pact with it to protect it from the Axis powers. After the war and during the Cold War, the United States viewed Liberia as an important base in Africa from which to fight the spread of communism.
After a short period of growth, the violence began to escalate. A bloody coup changed the country’s leadership in 1980 and the constitution was suspended. In 1989 a large group of indigenous soldiers who had fled to Côte d’Ivoire returned to the country, sparking the Liberian civil war. After much violence, severe ethnic cleansing and the loss of more than 200,000 lives, a fragile peace was finally achieved in 1995. This peace was not to last, however, and in 1999 the Second Liberian Civil War began. This war lasted until 2003 and new elections were held in 2005, generally recognized by the international community as open and fair.
Whether or not traveling to Liberia is safe is a somewhat up in the air question. Although the violence of war appears to have abated, an open democracy has not existed long enough to rule out the possibility of a new outbreak of ethnic cleansing and warfare. Crime is rampant and violent crime is common. While the country contains some fascinating historic structures, beautiful beaches, and the exquisite Sapo National Park, travel outside of Monrovia is simply too dangerous to make visiting most of the country viable for all but the most confident travellers.
People can travel to the country by air via Ghana, Ivory Coast or Sierra Leone. Ground transportation is also available from Guinea and Sierra Leone but can be dangerous.
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