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Liberia
The former slaves subjugated
the indigenous Mande, Kwa, and Mel people in the same manner that white
colonists later did. A ruling class of "Americo-Liberians" dominated the
government, despite comprising less than three percent of the population.
The last Americo-Liberian leader, William R. Tolbert, was the grandson
of freed South American slaves. He was believed to have stolen about $200
million dollars from the Liberian treasury. Tolbert was killed in a 1980 coup led by Samuel K. Doe, the first of several military dictators who opposed the privilege of the Americo-Liberians. Doe brutally ruled Liberia for ten years until being killed by rebel forces in a civil war. A civil war is a war within a nation, as opposed to a war with other nations. Liberia's civil war lasted from 1989 to 2003, when another military strongman Charles Taylor, fled the the nation. Civil strife has destroyed much of Liberia's economy and caused business people to leave the nation. Liberia's recent history is a sad chapter for a nation whose founding was steeped in freedom. | ||
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Liberia
is a West African nation originally founded by freed slaves from the American
South between 1820 and 1865. President James Monroe's administration furnished
the funds for the freedmen and is honored by Liberia's capital city: Monrovia.
Liberia is unique among African nations in that a colonial government
has never controlled it. 