Liberia

Liberia is a country in West Africa. Africa’s first republic, Liberia was founded in 1822 as a result of the effort of the America Colinization Society to settle freed American slaves in West Africa. Originally called Monrovia, the colony became the free and independant Republic of Liberia in 1847. It has close and unique relationship with the US. The first few presidents, including the first President, Mr. Joseph Jenkins Roberts, were Americans. Monrovia, the capital of Liberia was named after Mr. James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States. Maryland County in Liberia was named after the State of Maryland, and its capital, Harper, was also named in honor of another prominent American politician and member of the American Colonization Society, Mr. Robert Goodloe Harper. Several settlements or municipalities, such as Virginia were named after American cities. The currency since its founding in the 1800’s to the 1980’s was the US Dollar. The US Dollar is still the major currency, but the government added the Liberian Dollar to the mix during the Doe Administration in the 1980’s. The country is 43,000 square miles in size with a population of 3,476,608 people as of the 2008 census. The language of the country is English. In 2005 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected, the first female President, on the continent of Africa. President Sirleaf also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.