Biographical Note
This collection's maps span 1764-1970, during which Liberia was founded and established its modern political, social, and economic systems. The oldest collection item dates back to 1764, nearly six decades before the arrival of the first American Colonization Society (ACS) settler group.
Liberia's modern roots can be traced to the ACS, which was founded in 1816 in the United States. The ACS was formed to send freed Black Americans to a colony in West Africa, rather than ending the American practice of slavery or integrating the United States. ACS negotiators found what looked like suitable land in the Cape Mesurado area and successfully persuaded – or coerced, by some accounts – the local leaders to sell them a "36 mile long and 3 mile wide strip" of coastal land in exchange for goods and supplies worth approximately $300.
The first colonists arrived in Cape Mesurado in 1822, and by 1824, the territory – officially called Liberia – had a government, a digest of laws, and a growing number of neighboring settlements. In 1838, several other local colonies formed by separate but similar groups merged with the ACS colony to form the Commonwealth of Liberia.
In 1847, members of this combined colony declared independence from the ACS as the new Republic of Liberia and elected the country's first president. Other countries gradually recognized the Republic as a sovereign state between 1848 and 1862. From independence until 1903, the militarily and economically-weak Republic struggled against border disputes with the French and British, who claimed control of lands in the region, and tribal conflict within its territory.
By 1865, very few freed Americans were making the journey to Liberia, leading the Americo-Liberians to rely upon African immigrants to increase the Republic's population. Early Liberian society was highly stratified between an Americo-Liberian elite and indigenous African peoples who could not legally participate in social, civic, and political life. In 1946, the right to vote and participate in elections was finally extended to indigenous peoples.
Benjamin Anderson, an Americo-Liberian politician and explorer, ventured into Liberia's interior in 1868 to sign a treaty with the king of Musardo, and again in 1874, carefully recording the areas, peoples, and customs as he traveled. Jehudi Ashmun was a Methodist minister, active member of the ACS, and the second Governor of Liberia from 1822-1828. He is cited a number of times in the collection, either as the direct producer of a map or as the creator of surveys from which other maps were created. Firestone Plantations Company (now Firestone Tire and Rubber Company), opened the world's largest rubber plantation in Liberia in 1926 after receiving a 99-year lease of one-million acres from the Liberian government and a grant from the American government. Rubber became Liberia's chief export and incredibly important to its economy; Firestone is responsible for up to 10% of the maps in the collection.
Sources
Anderson, Benjamin. Narrative of a journey to Musardu, the capital of the western Mandingos. New York: S.W. Green, 1870.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. "American Colonization Society." Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Colonization-Society.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. "History of Liberia." Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Liberia.
Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. "History of Liberia: a time line, 1820-1847." Digital Collections, Maps of Liberia, 1830 to 1870, Articles and Essays. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.loc.gov/collections/maps-of-liberia-1830-to-1870/articles-and-essays/history-of-liberia/1820-to-1847/.
White House Historical Association. "The American Colonization Society." Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-american-colonization-society.
WikiTree. "Jehudi Ashmun." Last modified January 22, 2024. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ashmun-7.