When did the Republic of Liberia exist?

The Republic of Liberia existed 1848–2024. On this map it is drawn 1848–2024.

How large was the Republic of Liberia?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Republic of Liberia covered about 103,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Africa · Conquest and colonial rule

Republic of Liberia

Republic · 1848–2024

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Type: Republic
Existed: 1848–2024
Shown on the map: 1848–2024
Peak area: 103k km²
Region: Africa

Overview

Liberia ("land of the free") is West Africa's oldest republic, founded by free Black Americans under the American Colonization Society. (The table's dates 1848–2024 bracket the republican era to date; independence was actually declared on 26 July 1847 and the republic continues today.) The ACS — founded in 1816 by an improbable coalition of Quaker abolitionists and slaveholders — began sending free African Americans to the Pepper (Grain) Coast in 1822, where settler mortality was severe. By 1861 some 15,000 African Americans and 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans had immigrated, forming an Americo-Liberian settler elite that would dominate the country for over a century, while the indigenous majority (Mende, Kpelle, Grebo and a dozen other peoples) were excluded from citizenship until 1904.

History

On 26 July 1847 the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence — Africa's first republic — adopted a constitution modeled on America's, and elected Joseph Jenkins Roberts president. Britain recognized Liberia quickly; the United States, southerners blocking recognition of a Black-governed state, only in 1862. Liberia annexed the neighboring settler Republic of Maryland in 1857. The True Whig Party ruled unbroken from 1877, presiding over an economy of coffee, sugar and customs revenue; the 1865 Ports of Entry Act sought (and failed) to control interior trade, while British and French encroachment stripped away claimed hinterland territory. The 20th century brought deeper dependence: a 99-year, one-million-acre Firestone rubber lease in 1926, forced-labor scandals, a rigged 1927 election claiming more votes than registered voters, and the 1930 League of Nations Christy Commission on slavery that forced President King and Vice President Yancy to resign. World War II Lend-Lease infrastructure and President Tubman's postwar Open Door investment policy modernized the economy; Liberia was a founding member of the UN and the OAU.

Later history and present status

Americo-Liberian rule ended violently in April 1980 when Master Sergeant Samuel Doe's coup killed President Tolbert. Doe's kleptocratic decade collapsed into civil wars (1989–1997, 1999–2003) that killed some 250,000 people and shrank the economy by 90 percent; warlord-president Charles Taylor was exiled in 2003. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, elected in 2005, became Africa's first female head of state; George Weah followed in 2018 and Joseph Boakai in 2024. Liberia today has about 5.4 million people on 111,370 square kilometers — a nation still reconciling its settler and indigenous heritages.

Common questions

What was the Republic of Liberia?: Liberia ("land of the free") is West Africa's oldest republic, founded by free Black Americans under the American Colonization Society. (The table's dates 1848–2024 bracket the republican era to date; independence was actually declared on 26 July 1847 and the republic continues today.)
When did the Republic of Liberia exist?: The Republic of Liberia existed 1848–2024. On this map it is drawn 1848–2024.
How large was the Republic of Liberia?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Republic of Liberia covered about 103,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Who ruled the Republic of Liberia?: On 26 July 1847 the settlers issued a Declaration of Independence — Africa's first republic — adopted a constitution modeled on America's, and elected Joseph Jenkins Roberts president. Britain recognized Liberia quickly; the United States, southerners blocking recognition of a Black-governed state, only in 1862.
What is the present status of the Republic of Liberia?: Americo-Liberian rule ended violently in April 1980 when Master Sergeant Samuel Doe's coup killed President Tolbert. Doe's kleptocratic decade collapsed into civil wars (1989–1997, 1999–2003) that killed some 250,000 people and shrank the economy by 90 percent; warlord-president Charles Taylor was exiled in 2003.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

Wikipedia – Liberia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberia

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated 10 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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