[lahy-beer-ee-uh] 
| a republic in W Africa: founded by freed American slaves 1822. 2,602,068; ab. 43,000 sq. mi. (111,000 sq. km). Capital: Monrovia. |
Li·be·ri·a (lī-bîr'ē-ə)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of western Africa on the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded (1821) through the efforts of the American Colonization Society and settled mainly by freed slaves from 1822 to the 1860s. Liberia is the oldest independent country in Africa (established 1847). A military coup in 1980 initiated a period of despotic government and civil unrest leading to full-scale civil war in 1990. A cease-fire agreement was reached in 1996, and elections were held in 1997. Monrovia is the capital and the largest city. Population: 3,200,000. Li·be'ri·an adj. & n. |
Republic in western Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, the Ivory Coast to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest.
Note: The American Colonization Society began settlement of black Americans, most of them freed slaves, in 1822. Eventually, 15,000 blacks emigrated to Liberia.
Note: A civil war that commenced in 1989 and that lasted until the mid-1990s claimed more than 150,000 lives.
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