LIBERIA (Neo-Lat.. from Lat. fiber, free). A negro republic on the Grain Coast of West Africa, bounded on the north by French Guinea. on the east by the French Ivory Coast, on the southwest by the Atlantic, and on the west by Sierra Leone (Map: Africa. D 4). The coastline is about 400 miles long, extending from the \Iano to the Cavally. The area is estimated at 35.000 square miles. The boundaries were not fixed with England and France until 1885 and I592, that part of the interior which drains into the Niger having finally, in the latter year, fallen to France. Only the coast strip, with an average width of 7 miles. is de veloped and administered. It is swampy and tlat. The interior is elevated, and clothed with valuable forests of gum-trees. oil-palms. and pepper-shrubs. The bill land is healthful and naturally productive, and is the abode of ele phants and buffalos. Among the numerous rivers —all comparatively small—are Saint Paul's (supposed to be 200 miles long),Saint John's, and C'estos. Some gold has been found, and the metal is thought to exist in large quantities. The cli mate has been called the hottest known on the globe. hut is not considered so dangerous to white men as that of Sierra Leone. January is the warm est month. There are two rainy seasons, one in June and July, the other in October and Novem ber. The soil along the coast is very rich. and coffee is the leading crop, Liberian coffee being famed for excellence. The manufeeturing inter ests are small. There are. however, several ..\ineriean. English. and German faetories. The trade is also small and is mostly with Great Brit ain and Germany. It is not in a satisfactory con dition. The coast is generally dangerous for re; sok. The chief exports are coffee. rubber. cacao palm oil, and palm kernels. The rubber exports are controlled by a syndicate. The annual im amount to less than 1,000.000. They are chiefly cotton fabrics and iron.
The constitution is framed after that of the I'nited States. There are a President, Vice-Presi dent. a council of six ministi re. and a Senate and a House of Representatives. The total mem bership of both Houses is 22. Voters must be of negro blood and own real estate. The natives generally do not avail themselves of the suffrage. No foreigner can own land without the consent of the Government. The coast territory is formed into the counties of Bassa, Cape Palmas, and Sinoi:. with one superintendent each, and Mont Nvith four superintendents. The capital is Monrovia (named after President, Monroe). There is a • regular army of 1000 men. The militia number 500. The annual budget bal ances at about $200.000, the revenues being usually somewhat in excess of the expendi tures. Customs duties furnish most of the re cipts. The interest on the public external debt has been suspended most of the thee since it was contracted in 1871. in 1899 an arrangement was made whereby the rate of interest was re duced, the priiwipal amortized. and eertain du
ties given over as security for the obligation. Nevertheless the debt is again accumulating through non-payment of interest. Liberia also has an internal debt on which the arrears of in terest are large. English money is used, but American money figures usually in the keeping of accounts. There is a Liberian coinage and a rather large paper currency. The weights and measures are as a rule British. The official lan guage is English.
The population is estimated to be about 2,000. 000. some, however, putting it much lower. There are supposed to be about 60,000 American INIonrovia has about 5000 population. ()tiler towns are Harper. Great Basso, and Rob ertsport. The civilized inhabitants are orthodox Protestants, mostly Episcopalians. The bulk of the natives are Mohammedans and belong chiefly to the Vei race. There are secondary schools, and a college. This experiment of negro self-government in Liberia cannot be pronounced the politics as well as the finances be ing in a demoralized condition.
Hisrony. The State of Liberia owes its origin to the efforts of the National Colonization So ciety of America (q.v.). organized in 1816, for the purpose of colonizing in Africa the free peo ple of color in the United States. The first at tempt to locate, which was made in Sherbro south of Sierra Leone (13:20), failed in con sequence of the unhealthfulness of the locality; but in December. 1821. a treaty was concluded by Lieutenant, Stockton with certain native princes, by which a tract of land fit for the purpose was acquired about Cape Mesnrado. It. was some weeks before the hostility of the natives, who were wedded to the slave trade, could be over come, but in April, 1822. active operations were begun on the mainland. A thirty-acre tract was allotted to each man with the means of cultivat ing it. The society's agents became discouraged at the difficulties that were met and returned to America with a few faint-hearted ones; but the others rallied about a determined negro. Elijah Johnson, and remained. The colony was enlarged by the purchase of new tracts. New settlements were afterwards formed at Cape Monte and in the newly acquired Basso Laud, in which, in 1834. a town was founded, and called Edina, in acknowledgment of pecuniary aid sent to the colony from Edinburgh. Many of the neighbor ing, chiefs were received into the colony, and others were subdued. Trials of many kinds, de privations, and dissensions. were the lot of the colony, managed by a society which did not fully know whether its aims were sentimental or practical. In 1847 Liberia was left to its own resources and declared an independent republic. The colony began to show more prosperity; numerous churches and schools were founded, a regular postal system was introduced, news papers were established, and slavery in the neigh boring States was abolished.