liberia

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS LIBERIA?

FAST FACTS

TWO WORLDS COLLIDE IN HISTORY

Along the coastal and island areas of South Carolina and northern Georgia in the USA, there can be found a unique language and people group called Gullah. Gullah (or Geechee in northern Georgia) is a word used for both a people and the language they speak. Descendants of slaves from the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Senegal and Liberia, their unique culture has kept its roots still intact. It is an interesting observation of the influences resettlement of former slaves have had on both Southern USA, and Western Africa. In the early 1800’s white Americans around the country started creating colonization societies to encourage freed black slaves to resettle in Africa.

The idea was to find a place and establish a settlement there. At this time in history, no African country had gained its independence and much of Western Africa was not even developed. This would be a base for exporting any freed or non freed slaves back to Africa.The motives behind these efforts were controversial although they were combined with humanitarian and religious ideals. Whether this resettlement of slaves was voluntary - that too could be a subject of debate. Some sources will suggest that political and racial discrimination as well as feelings of fear were behind this effort. Others will say that this was the “right thing to do” in allowing former slaves to go back to their homeland where they could settle and establish their own government. Either way, it would go down in history as a place of liberty for former slaves.

The first society that was created was called the American Colonization Society. Its first successful settlement was on the sandy coast of the West African country called Liberia  (a small country about the size of the state of Ohio) Some accounts say that it was purchased by gunpoint.  Initially, a strip of coastal land 36 miles long and 3 miles wide was traded for supplies, weapons, and rum - all worth about $300. Later, other societies followed suite and occupied other parts of the country.

By 1860, more than 11,000 blacks were transported from America to Liberia.The Gullah community in Southern USA has so many African influences that slaves brought here, but many have not realized the American influence that freed slaves took back to Africa with them.

Because of this resettlement in Liberia, these kindred people share many common elements of speech, custom, culture, cuisine and government practices that they took from America to Liberia:

Liberia was the first African country to gain its independence, and when it did so in 1847, it charged their mother country, the United States, with injustices that made it necessary for them to leave and make new lives for themselves in Africa. Even so, the early settlers used the knowledge they had gained from America to form a government for themselves.

• The Capital city of Liberia was named in honor of the 5th president of the United States: James Monroe.
• The Liberian flag looks very similar to the U.S. flag. The difference is that it has one lone star and 11 strips instead of 13. The presidential flag was also inspired by the old U.S. presidential flag.
• The seal of Liberia is interesting as it represents freed slaves crossing the Atlantic Ocean from America, to establish a new settlement. Its motto reads: The love of Liberty Brought Us Here. The seal shows a sailing ship approaching the coast, and the other symbols of the seal are pretty obvious: A peace bringing bird (the dove) arrives with a message from America for the granting of independence. The ship represents the arrival of freed slaves and colonists. The spade and the plough were tools brought from America with the settlers. The palm tree represents one of the main products that is found on the land. The rising sun represents the rising of a new settlement. The bottom of the seal reads, “The Republic of Liberia,” named because the settlers came in search of liberty.
• Some of the words to the national anthem reflect the meaning of this idea of liberty. “All hail, Liberia, hail! This glorious land of liberty shall long be ours. Though new her name, green be her fame, and mighty be her powers…In joy and gladness and with our hearts united, we’ll shout the freedom of a race benighted; Long live Liberia, Happy Land, A home of glorious liberty by God’s command. All hail, Liberia, hail!”

If you were to travel to Liberia today, you would see other influences that came with the settlers from America. For example: The staple food of Liberia is rice, not because it is widely grown there, but because of the influence of rice farming in the southern states. The settlers also brought the English language to Liberia as well as American manners, dress and housing styles. Some of the old housing still standing in Liberia today were modeled after buildings from the southern states. In fact, Liberia’s first president lived in a handsome stone mansion that resembles a southern plantation home. Liberia also uses dollars and cents as its currency denominations, and its earlier pieces have the appearance of U.S. currency. Both U.S. and Liberian currencies were and are used for trade. Until the early 1980’s the American dollar was considered of equal value to the Liberian dollar.