Liberia
-
- 25 Apr 1822 - 9
Apr 1827
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-
- 9 Apr 1827 - 16
Jul 1847
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-
- Adopted 16 Jul
1847
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Map of
Liberia |
Hear
National Anthem
"All Hail, Liberia
Hail!" |
Text
of National Anthem
Adopted 26 Jul 1847
(music 1860) |
Constitution
(6 Jan 1986)
|
Capital:
Monrovia
(Thompson Town 1821-1824)
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Currency:
Liberian Dollar
(LRD); U.S. Dollar
(USD) 1943-1999; British West Africa
Pound (XWAP) 1916-1943; Liberian
Dollar (LRD)
1847-1916; 1822-1847 British
Pound (GBP) |
National
Holiday: 26 Jul (1847)
Independence Day |
Population:
4,809,768 (2018)
|
GDP: $6.11
billion (2017)
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Exports:
$260.6 million (2017)
Imports: $1.17
billion (2017)
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Ethnic groups:
Kpelle 20.3%, Bassa 13.4%, Grebo 10%,
Gio 8%, Mano 7.9%, Kru 6%, Lorma 5.1%,
Kissi 4.8%,
Gola 4.4%, other 20.1% (2008)
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Total Active
Armed Forces: 2,400 (2010)
Merchant marine:
3,321 ships (2018)
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Religions:
Christian 85.6%, Muslim 12.2%,
Traditional 0.6%, other 0.2%, none
1.4% (2008)
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International
Organizations/Treaties: ACP,
AfCFTA
(signatory), AfDB, AIIB
(nonregional), APM, AU, BTWC, CCM (signatory), CTBT,
CWC, ECOWAS, EITI, ENMOD (signatory),
ESCR, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICCt, ICRM, ICSID, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU (suspended), IRENA (signatory), ISA, ITU,
ITUC, MIGA, NAM, NPT, NTBT, OPCW, UN, UNCLOS, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC,
UNFCC-KP, UNFCC-PA, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WAMZ, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Liberia
Index
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Chronology
1364 -
1413
French Norman adventurers establish
the trading
posts of Grand Dieppe and Petit Dieppe
in
the area, these settlements are partly
legendary.
1462
Portuguese navigator Pedro de Sintra
calls the
area the Costa da Pimenta
(Pepper Coast), or
the Costa
dos
Grãos
(Grain Coast).
1602
-
1603
Dutch establish a trading post at
Grand Cape Mount,
but destroy it a year later.
1663
-
1664
English install trading posts on the
Pepper Coast.
21 Dec 1816
The Society for the Colonization of
Free People of
Color of America (commonly known as
the American
Colonization Society)(ACS) founded in
Washington,
D.C.
6
Feb 1820
First ship, the Elizabeth,
departed New York for
West Africa carrying 88 free black
settlers and
ACS agent Samuel A.
Crozer, who arrive
at Sherbro
Island in Sierra
Leone.
15
Dec
1821
Cape Mesurado Colony created by the
ACS.
25 Apr
1822
Monrovia founded (as Christopolis,
renamed in 1824).
15
Aug
1824
Cape Mesurado expanded into the
Colony of Liberia.
5
Jan 1839
Commonwealth of Liberia
(the colonies or settlements
of
Monrovia, New Georgia, Caldwell,
Millsburg,
Marshall, Bexley, Bassa Cove, and
Edina form a
united government).
4
Apr 1839
Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Liberia is
approved.
1842
Mississippi-in-Liberia incorporated
into Liberia.
26
Jul
1847
Independence (Republic of Liberia).
21 Aug
1848
Recognized by U.K. (ratified 1 Aug
1849)(and
later by
France on 27 Apr 1852).
25 Apr
1857
Maryland incorporated into Liberia
21
Oct
1862
Independence recognized by the U.S.
1892 -
1911
Boundaries officially established.
7 Mar 1912 - 1 Jan
1936 Liberia under
international financial receivership
of France,
Germany (to 4 Aug 1917), U.K.,
and U.S.
24 Dec 1989 - 2 Aug
1997 First Liberian civil war.
21 Apr 1999 - 18 Aug 2003
Second Liberian civil war.
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Counties
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Edina
(1832-1837)
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Maryland
in Liberia
(1834-1857)
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Mississippi-in-Africa
(1837-1842)
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New Georgia
(1824-1839)
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Port Cresson/
Bassa Cove
(1832-1839)
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Former Liberian
Constitutions
(1820;
5 Jan 1839;
26 Jul
1847)
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|
Colonial Agents
Feb 1820 - 15 Apr 1820 Samuel A.
Crozer
(d. 1820)
(appointed 19 Dec 1819)
15 Apr 1820 - 2 May 1820 Samuel Bacon
(acting)
(b. 1790 - d. 1820)
2 May 1820 - 8 Mar 1821 Daniel Coker
(acting)
(b. 1780 - d. 1846)
8 Mar 1821 - 28 Jul 1821 Joseph Raphael
Andrus
(b. 1791 - d. 1821)
28 Jul 1821 - Nov 1821 John
Christian Wiltberger (acting) (b. 1798 - d. 1855)
Nov 1821 - 4 Jun 1822 Eli
Ayres
(b. 1778 - d. 1822)
25 Apr 1821 - 4 Jun 1822 Frederick
James
(b. c.1791 -
d. 1835)
(acting at Cape Mesurado)
4 Jun 1822 - 8 Aug
1822 Elijah Johnson (1st time)(acting) (b.
1787 - d. 1849)
8 Aug 1822 - 2 Apr
1823 Jehudi Ashmun (1st time)(acting) (b.
1794 - d. 1828)
2 Apr 1823 - 14 Aug 1823
Elijah Johnson (2nd time)(acting) (s.a.)
14 Aug 1823 - 26 Mar 1828 Jehudi Ashmun
(2nd
time)
(s.a.)
(acting to 22 Aug 1822)
26 Mar 1828 - 8 Nov 1828 Lott Carey
(acting)
(b. c.1780 - d. 1828)
8 Nov 1828 - 22 Dec 1828
Colston McGiven Waring (acting) (b. 1793 -
d. 1834)
22 Dec 1828 - 19 Apr 1829 Richard
Randall
(b. 1796 - d. 1829)
19 Apr 1829 - 27 Feb 1830 Joseph Mechlin,
Jr. (1st time) (b. c.1771 - d. 1839)
(acting to 14 Sep 1829)
27 Feb 1830 - 12 Apr 1830 John Wallace
Anderson (acting) (b.
1802 - d. 1830)
13 Apr 1830 - 4 Dec 1830 Anthony
David Williams, Sr. (b.
c.1799 - d. 1861)
(1st time) (acting)
4 Dec 1830 - 24 Sep 1833
Joseph Mechlin, Jr. (2nd time)
(s.a.)
24 Sep 1833 - 1 Jan 1834 George R.
McGill
(acting)
(b. 1787 - d. 1863?)
1 Jan 1834 - 10 May 1835
John Brooke
Pinney
(b. 1806 - d. 1882)
10 May 1835 - 12 Aug 1835 Nathaniel
Brander (acting) (b. 1796 -
d. 1870)
12 Aug 1835 - 25 Sep 1836 Ezekiel
Skinner
(b. 1777 - d. 1885)
25 Sep 1836 - 4 Apr 1839 Anthony
David Williams, Sr. (s.a.)
(2nd time)
Governors
4 Apr 1839 - 3 Sep 1841
Thomas
Buchanan
(b. 1808 - d. 1841)
(appointed 11 Dec 1838, arrived Monrovia 2 Apr
1839)
3 Sep 1841 - 3 Jan 1848 Joseph Jenkins
Roberts
(b. 1809 - d. 1876) AP
(acting to 1 Mar 1842)
Presidents
3 Jan 1848 - 7 Jan
1856 Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1st time)
(s.a.)
AP
7 Jan 1856 - 4 Jan
1864 Stephen Allen
Benson
(b. 1816 - d. 1865) AP
4 Jan 1864 - 6 Jan
1868 Daniel Bashiel
Warner
(b. 1815 - d. 1880) AP
6 Jan 1868 - 3 Jan
1870 James Spriggs Payne (1st
time) (b. 1819 - d. 1882)
RP
3 Jan 1870 - 26 Oct 1871
Edward James
Roye
(b. 1815 - d. 1872) TWP
26 Oct 1871 - 4 Nov 1871 Chief
Executive Committee
- Charles Benedict
Dunbar
(b. c.1831 - d. 1878)
- Reginald Augustus
Sherman (b.
1838 - d. 1894)
- Amos
Herring
(b. c.1793 - d. 1873)
4 Nov 1871 - 1 Jan
1872 James Skivring Smith, Sr.
(b. 1825 - d. 1892) TWP
1 Jan 1872 - 3 Jan
1876 Joseph Jenkins Roberts (2nd time)
(s.a.)
RP
3 Jan 1876 - 7 Jan
1878 James Spriggs Payne (2nd
time)
(s.a.)
RP
7 Jan 1878 - 20 Jan 1883
Anthony William
Gardner
(b. 1820 - d. 1885) TWP
20 Jan 1883 - 7 Jan 1884 Alfred
Francis Russell
(b. 1817 - d. 1884) TWP
7 Jan 1884 - 4 Jan
1892 Hilary Richard Wright
Johnson (b. 1837 - d.
1901) TWP
4 Jan 1892 - 12 Nov 1896
Joseph James
Cheeseman
(b. 1843 - d. 1896) TWP
12 Nov 1896 - 11 Dec 1900 William David
Coleman
(b. 1842 - d. 1908) TWP
11 Dec 1900 - 4 Jan 1904 Garretson
Warner
Gibson
(b. 1832 - d. 1910) TWP
4 Jan 1904 - 1 Jan
1912 Arthur
Barclay
(b. 1854 - d. 1938) TWP
1 Jan 1912 - 5 Jan
1920 Daniel Edward
Howard
(b. 1861 - d. 1935) TWP
5 Jan 1920 - 3 Dec
1930 Charles Dunbar Burgess
King (b. 1871
- d. 1961) TWP
3 Dec 1930 - 3 Jan
1944 Edwin James
Barclay
(b. 1882 - d. 1955) TWP
3 Jan 1944 - 23 Jul 1971
William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (b. 1895 - d.
1971) TWP
23 Jul 1971 - 12 Apr 1980 William Richard
Tolbert, Jr. (b.
1913 - d. 1980) TWP
12 Apr 1980 - 9 Sep 1990 Samuel
Kanyon
Doe
(b. 1951 - d. 1990) Mil:1984 NDP
(head of state and chairman of People's Redemption
Council; from 6 Jan 1986, President)
9 Sep 1990 - 22 Nov 1990 Conflicting
claims
- Prince Yormie Johnson
(b.
1952)
INPFL
(9 Sep 1990 - 1990, President)
- Charles Ghankay MacArthur
(b.
1948)
NPFL
Dapkpana
Taylor (in Gbarnga)
(from 27 Jul 1990, head of the provisional
government; from 21 Oct 1990, President)
- David
Nimley
(b. 1945)
Mil/NDP
(from 9 Sep 1990, head of ruling council of
state)
President of the Interim Government of
National Unity
2 Sep 1990 - 7
Mar 1994 Amos Claudius
Sawyer
(b. 1945 - d. 2022) LPP
(in exile to 22 Nov 1990)
Chairmen of the Council of State
7 Mar 1994 - 1 Sep
1995 David Donald Kpormakpor
(b. 1944 - d. 2010) Non-party
1 Sep 1995 - 3 Sep
1996 Wilton Gbakolo Sengbe Sankawulo
(b. 1943 - d. 2009) Non-party
3 Sep 1996 - 2 Aug
1997 Ruth Sando Perry (f)
(b. 1939 - d.
2017)UP/Non-party
Presidents
2 Aug 1997 - 11 Aug 2003
Charles Ghankay MacArthur Dapkpana (s.a.)
NPP
Taylor
11 Aug 2003 - 14 Oct 2003 Moses Zeh
Blah
(b. 1947 - d. 2013) NPP
Chairman of the National Transitional
Government
14 Oct 2003 - 16 Jan 2006 Charles Gyude
Bryant
(b. 1949 - d. 2014) LAP
Presidents
16 Jan 2006 - 22 Jan 2018 Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf
(f)
(b.
1938)
UP
22 Jan 2018 -
George Manneh Weah
(b. 1966)
CDC
Territorial Disputes: As the UN
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) continues to drawdown prior
to the 1 Mar 2018 closure date, the peacekeeping force
is being reduced to 434 soldiers and two police units;
some Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote
d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia shelters
8,804 Ivoirian refugees, as of 2019.
Party abbreviations: CDC =
Congress for Democratic Change (centrist, reformist,
George Weah personalist, est.2005); LPP
= Liberian People's Party (est.1985); NDP =
National Democratic Party of Liberia (formed by Doe
supporters, est.1984); NPP
= National Patriotic Party (authoritarian, Taylor
supporters, est.1997); UP =
Unity Party (centrist, est.1985); Mil =
Military;
- Former parties:
AP = Administration Party (former
Amer. Colon. Soc. leaders, 1840-1867); INPFL
= Independent National Patriotic Front of
Liberia (split from NPFL, Prince
Johnson personalist, 1990-1992); LAP
= Liberian Action Party (1985-2009, merged into UP); RP
= Republican Party (democratic, TWP opponent,
1867-1876); NPFL =
National Patriotic Front of Liberia (anti-Doe militant
group, 1998-1997, becomes NPP); TWP
= True Whig Party (government party 1878-1980,
Americo-Liberian, 1869-1980)
Edina
Capital: Edina
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Population: 200
(1836)
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1832
Edina colony of the New York and Pennsylvania
Colonization
Societies.
1837
Incorporation into Bassa
Cove.
Superintendent
1832 -
1837
William L. Weaver
(b. 1795? - d. 1852)
Maryland
in
Liberia
-
- 29 May 1854 - 18 Mar 1857
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Capital: Harper
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Population:
400 (1843)
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Constitution
(29 May 1854 - 3 Mar 1857)
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24 Feb
1831
Maryland State Colonization Society (MSCS) incorporated.
22 Nov 1833
An Ordinance for the Temporary government
of the territory of the
Maryland
State Colonization Society in Africa, called Maryland in
Liberia
is approved, meeting of the Board of Managers of the
Maryland
State Colonization Society, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
13 Feb 1834
Deed of purchase of land from three local rulers is
concluded
at Cape Palmas.
13 Feb 1834 - 29 May 1854 Maryland-in-Africa
colony of the Maryland State Colonization
Society at Cape Palmas.
3 Feb
1841
Maryland in Liberia (self-governance
granted).
31 Jan 1853
Establishment of independent government is approved at a
referendum.
29 May
1854
State of Maryland in Liberia (the Constitution
of 29 May 1853
established a polity under the name of Commonwealth of
Maryland
in
Liberia, but also refers to the State of Maryland in
Liberia).
3 Mar 1857
Government of the State of Maryland in Liberia is
dissolved.
25 Apr
1857
Admitted to Liberia (as Maryland county).
Governors
13 Feb 1834 - 28 Jun
1836 James
Hall
(b. 1802 - d. 1889)
18 Mar 1836 - 11 Nov
1836 Oliver W. Holmes, Jr.
(acting [for absent Hall to 28 Jun 1836])
11 Nov 1836 - 9 Jun
1851 John Brown
Russwurm
(b. 1799 - d. 1851)
(appointed on 28 Jun 1836)
9 Jun 1851 - 1
Jun 1854 Samuel Ford McGill (acting)
(b. 1818 - d. 1871)
1 Jun 1854 - 8 Jun 1854
Joseph Thomas Gibson -Agent
(b. 1823 - d. 1886)
8 Jun 1854 - 17 Dec 1855 William Allen Prout
(d. 1856)
17 Dec 1855 - 3 Mar
1857 Boston Jenkins
Drayton
(b. c.1821 - d. 1864)
(acting to 3 Aug 1856)
Mississippi-in-Africa
Capital: Greenville
(Sinoe 1836-1838)
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Population: 79 (1838)
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1 Jun 1831
Mississippi State Colonization
Society (MSCS) established.
Jan 1837
Sinoe
(from 1838, Greenville) founded as part of Mississippi-
in-Africa colony by the Mississippi and
Louisiana State
Colonization Societies.
Jun 1839
Governor of
Liberia made governor of Mississippi-in-Africa.
18..
Renamed Mississippi-in-Liberia.
31 May 1841
Act of union with
Liberia adopted by the MSCS (MSCS adopts the
American Colonization Society charter).
1842
Admitted to Liberia (as Sinoe county).
Chief magistrates
Jan 1837 - Jul
1837 Daniel
Johnston (agent)
(d. 1841)
22 Jul 1837-c.10 Sep 1838 Josiah F.C.
Finley
(b. c.1807 - d. 1838)
Sep 1838 - 1838?
James Brown (acting)
1838? - 1839
Hansen
(Hanson)(superintendent)
Governor
Jun 1839 - 1842
Thomas Buchanan
(b. 1808 - d. 1841)
New Georgia
Capital: Congoe Town
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Population: 250
(1836)
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1824
U.S. government settles New Georgia on Stockton
Creek with Congo
recaptives.
10 Jul
1827
Ship Norfolk carries Africans
to Liberia from the U.S. Most
of these recaptives had been found on the slave ship Antelope
seized off the coast of Florida in Jun 1820, who had
been held
in Georgia for seven years. Settlement is named Careysburg
(or
Careytown),
later
named New Georgia.
6 Jul
1836
New Georgia incorporated into a township.
4 Apr
1839
Incorporation into
Liberia (part of Montserrado county).
Superintendents
1824 - 4 Apr 1839
....
c.1834/35
James Battan
Port Cresson/Bassa Cove
Capital: Port Cresson
(Bassa Cove 1832-35)
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Population: 150
(1836)
440 (1841)
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Dec
1832
Port Cresson colony of the Black Quakers of the New York
and Pennsylvania Colonization Societies.
Jun
1835
Colony destroyed by Bassa natives.
Jul
1835
Bassa Cove colony founded by Black Quakers of the Young
Men's
Colonization Society of Pennsylvania.
1837
Edina settlement annexed.
4 Apr
1839
Incorporation into Liberia (part of Grand Bassa
county).
Governors
Dec 1832 - Jul
1833 Melville
Beveridge Cox (acting) (b. 1799 - d. 1833)
Jul 1833 - 31 Dec 1833 Vacant
1 Jan 1834 - May
1834 Rufus Spaulding
(d. 1834)
1834 (weeks)
Israel Watson Searle (agent)
(b. 1810 - d. 1834)
Dec 1834 - Jun 1835 Edward Y.
Hankinson (Hankingson)
1 Jan 1836 - 4 Aug 1837
Thomas
Buchanan
(b. 1808 - d. 1841)
4 Aug 1837 - Jun
1838 John J. Matthias
(b. 1796 - d. 1861)
Jun 1838 - 4 Apr
1839 Wesley A. Johnson
(acting) (b.
1813 - d. 1844)
© Ben Cahoon
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