History of Liberia facts for kids
Liberia is a country located in West Africa. It has a unique history. In 1822, a group of white Americans formed the American Colonization Society. They bought land in Africa to create a new home for freed black people from the United States. These people were not slaves. About 12,000 freed slaves lived there by the 1860s. This was around the start of the American Civil War.
The name Liberia means "Land of the Free" in Latin. Liberia became an independent nation on July 26, 1847. Joseph Jenkins Roberts was its first president. Many European countries quickly recognized Liberia as a new state. However, the United States did not recognize it until 1862. Many of the black people sent to Liberia were missionaries. Because of this history, the official language of Liberia today is English.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Liberia faced two civil wars. These conflicts greatly affected the country.
Liberia's constitution is much like the one in the United States. In the 2017 elections, George Weah became the twenty-fifth President of Liberia. Before him, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was president. She was the first female president in all of Africa.
Images for kids
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Map of Liberia circa 1830
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Paul Cuffee in 1812.
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Liberia on a 1839 map of West Africa
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Charles D. B. King, 17th President of Liberia (1920–1930), with his group at the Peace Palace, The Hague, 1927.
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A one Liberian Dollar banknote from 1862
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American troops in Liberia during World War II.
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President Tolbert and U.S. President Jimmy Carter in Monrovia, 1978.
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INPFL soldiers in 1990 after taking control of much of Monrovia.
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American troops secure Freeport of Monrovia, 2003.
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The Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana, home to over 40,000 refugees from Liberia in 2005.
See also
In Spanish: Historia de Liberia para niños
