Portal:Liberia

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The Liberia Portal

Liberia (/laɪˈbɪəriə/ ^ⓘ), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It has a population of around five and one-half million and covers an area of 43,000 square miles (111,369 km²). The country's official language is English; however, over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. The capital and largest city is Monrovia.

Liberia began in the early 19th century as a project of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which believed black people would face better chances for freedom and prosperity in Africa than in the United States. Between 1822 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, more than 15,000 freed and free-born African Americans, along with 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to Liberia. Gradually developing an Americo-Liberian identity, the settlers carried their culture and tradition with them. Liberia declared independence on July 26, 1847, which the U.S. did not recognize until February 5, 1862.

Liberia was the first African republic to proclaim its independence and is Africa's first and oldest modern republic. Along with Ethiopia, it was one of the two African countries to maintain its sovereignty and independence during the European colonial "Scramble for Africa". During World War II, Liberia supported the United States war effort against Germany, and in turn received considerable American investment in infrastructure, which aided the country's wealth and development. President William Tubman encouraged economic and political changes that heightened the country's prosperity and international profile; Liberia was a founding member of the League of Nations, United Nations, and the Organisation of African Unity.

The Americo-Liberian settlers did not relate well to the indigenous peoples they encountered. Colonial settlements were raided by the Kru and Grebo from their inland chiefdoms. Americo-Liberians formed into a small elite that held disproportionate political power; indigenous Africans were excluded from birthright citizenship in their own land until 1904.

In 1980, political tensions from the rule of William R. Tolbert resulted in a military coup, marking the end of Americo-Liberian rule and the seizure of power of Liberia's first indigenous leader, Samuel Doe. Establishing a dictatorial regime, Doe was assassinated in 1990 in the context of the First Liberian Civil War which ran from 1989 until 1997 with the election of rebel leader Charles Taylor as president. In 1998, the Second Liberian Civil War erupted against his own dictatorship, and Taylor was overthrown by the end of the war in 2003. The two wars resulted in the deaths of 250,000 people (about 8% of the population) and the displacement of many more, with Liberia's economy shrinking by 90%. A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005. The country has remained relatively stable since then. (Full article...)

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INPFL militiamen in 1990 after taking control of much of Monrovia

The First Liberian Civil War was the first of two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia. It lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of the support of the United States by the late 1980s. The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor invaded Liberia from the Ivory Coast to overthrow Doe in December 1989 and gained control over most of the country within a year. Doe was captured and executed by the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), a splinter faction of the NPFL led by Prince Johnson, in September 1990. The NPFL and INPFL fought each other for control of the capital city, Monrovia and against the Armed Forces of Liberia and pro-Doe United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy. Peace negotiations and foreign involvement led to a ceasefire in 1995 but fighting continued until a peace agreement between the main factions occurred in August 1996. Taylor was elected President of Liberia following the 1997 Liberian general election and entered office in August of the same year.

The First Liberian Civil War killed around 200,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations. The peace lasted for two years until the Second Liberian Civil War broke out when anti-Taylor forces invaded Liberia from Guinea in April 1999. (Full article...)

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...that the UN estimates that 150,000 people died during the Liberian Civil War, with 850,000 refugees fleeing to neighboring countries?

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... that Liberian paramount chief Tamba Taylor worked as a tailor and claimed to have sewn clothes for Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah?
... that Francois Massaquoi, who studied economics at New York University, later led the Lofa Defense Force during the First Liberian Civil War?
... that Liberian minister of information Joe Mulbah was suspended by President Charles Taylor after a fist fight with the deputy minister of information?
... that neighboring British Sierra Leone and Liberia disputed their border, and the British Empire seized the disputed territory in 1885?
... that Liberian factions voted Bismarck Kuyon to be the chair of the transitional executive branch of the government, but his nomination was revoked before he was installed?
... that James W. Lugenbeel's journal became the only known record of the proceedings of the 1847 Liberian Constitutional Convention?

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Credit: NASA

Satellite image of Monrovia.

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The following are images from various Liberia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1African Americans depart for Liberia, 1896. The ACS sent its last emigrants to Liberia in 1904. (from Liberia)
Image 2A map of Liberia (from Liberia)
Image 3The Buduburam refugee camp west of Accra, Ghana, home in 2005 to more than 40,000 refugees from Liberia (from History of Liberia)
Image 4Liberia map of Köppen climate classification. (from Liberia)
Image 5Edward Wilmot Blyden (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 6Development of life expectancy (from Liberia)
Image 7A beachside barbecue at Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia (from Liberia)
Image 8A proportional representation of Liberian exports. The shipping related categories reflect Liberia's status as an international flag of convenience—there are 3,500 vessels registered under Liberia's flag accounting for 11% of ships worldwide. (from Liberia)
Image 9Liberia, trends in the Human Development Index 1970–2010. (from Liberia)
Image 10Map of Liberia Colony in the 1830s, created by the ACS, and also showing Mississippi Colony and other state-sponsored colonies. (from Liberia)
Image 11Charles D. B. King, 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the Peace Palace, The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927. (from History of Liberia)
Image 12A one Liberian Dollar banknote from 1862 (from History of Liberia)
Image 13Liberia's population pyramid, 2005. 43.5% of Liberians were below the age of 15 in 2010. (from Liberia)
Image 14President Sirleaf with (left to right) British Prime Minister David Cameron, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, and United States Secretary of State John Kerry in September 2015 (from Liberia)
Image 15The Bassa Vah alphabet. (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 16Loggers and logging truck, early 1960s (from Liberia)
Image 17Liberia on a 1839 map of West Africa (from History of Liberia)
Image 18A European map of West Africa and the Grain Coast, 1736. It has the archaic mapping designation of Negroland. (from Liberia)
Image 19Charles D. B. King, 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his entourage on the steps of the Peace Palace, The Hague (the Netherlands), 1927. (from Liberia)
Image 20Residence of Joseph Jenkins Roberts, first President of Liberia, between 1848 and 1852. (from Liberia)
Image 21American troops secure Freeport of Monrovia, 2003 (from History of Liberia)
Image 22Liberian ceremonial spoon (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 23Bassa culture. Helmet Mask for Sande Society (Ndoli Jowei), Liberia. 20th century. Brooklyn Museum. (from Liberia)
Image 24A view of a lake in Bomi County (from Liberia)
Image 25Real GDP per capita development, since 1950 (from Liberia)
Image 26A Liberian tropical forest (from Liberia)
Image 27The Daily Talk is a street blackboard announcing news on Monrovia's Tubman Boulevard. (from Culture of Liberia)
Image 28Liberia's population from 1961 to 2013, in millions. Liberia's population tripled in 40 years. (from Liberia)
Image 29Gyude Bryant (from History of Liberia)
Image 30The streets of downtown Monrovia, March 2009 (from Liberia)
Image 31President Tolbert and U.S. President Jimmy Carter (in car, left) in Monrovia, 1978 (from History of Liberia)
Image 32Pygmy hippos are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia. The World Conservation Union estimates that there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remaining in the wild. (from Liberia)
Image 33Paul Cuffee in 1812. (from History of Liberia)
Image 34Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (from Liberia)
Image 35A technical in Monrovia during the Second Liberian Civil War. (from Liberia)
Image 36American troops in Liberia during World War II. (from History of Liberia)
Image 37Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (from History of Liberia)
Image 38INPFL militiamen in 1990 after taking control of much of Monrovia. (from History of Liberia)
Image 39Map of Liberia c.1856 (from History of Liberia)
Image 40Map of Liberia circa 1830 (from History of Liberia)
Image 41Students studying by candlelight in Bong County (from Liberia)
Image 42Share of forest area in total land area, top countries (2021). Liberia has the ninth highest percentage of forest cover in the world. (from Liberia)