History

Liberia

A republic with two stories

Episode 1
ACS Map of Liberia c.1845 — LOC / ACS Map of Liberia, c.1845

Slide 01

A republic with two stories

Settler founding · Indigenous majority · One coast

LOC / ACS Map of Liberia, c.1845

On the coast of West Africa stands a republic with an American name on its capital—and a founding story unlike any other. Black Americans, free and formerly enslaved, crossed the Atlantic to build a settler republic on African soil. The indigenous majority who already lived there would long remain under that settler rule.

1820–today · Two stories

18002024

180019002000today

0:00 / 11:39

This slide0:00 / 0:18