LIBERIA, FLAG OF

horizontally striped national flag with six red stripes and five white stripes and a blue canton bearing a white star. The width-to-length ratio of the flag is 10 to 19. The American Colonization Society was established in 1816 by Abolitionists who felt that freed slaves should be helped in returning to Africa. Land was purchased from local tribes on the West African coast, and the colony founded there came to be known as Liberia, from the Latin word liber (free). The gradual expansion of the territory and population of Liberia led to its acquisition of a distinctive flag on April 9, 1827. The U.S. flag was the basis for the design, which had 13 equal horizontal red and white stripes and a blue canton bearing a single white cross. Another colony was established nearby by the Maryland Colonization Society and was known as Maryland. It had a similar flag, with stripes of yellow and white that recalled colours in the coat of arms of the U.S. state of Maryland. In both flags the cross expressed the Christian sentiments of those who ran the colonization societies. Local freedmen proclaimed the independence of Liberia on July 26, 1847. A national flag was needed, and a committee of women was made responsible for its design. They substituted a star for the cross, symbolizing Liberia's status as the only independent Western-style state in Africa. The number of stripes was reduced to 11, indicating the number of men who signed the Liberian Declaration of Independence. The flag was first raised on August 24, 1847, now known as Flag Day, and it was retained after the annexation of Maryland in 1857. Despite its similarity to the U.S. flag, no change has been made in the Liberian flag in the subsequent century and a half, although several people have made suggestions for designs more in keeping with those of other African countries. Whitney Smith History Outsiders' knowledge of the west of Africa began with a Portuguese sailor, Pedro de Sintra, who reached the Liberian coast in 1461. Subsequent Portuguese explorers named Grand Cape Mount, Cape Mesurado (Montserrado), and Cape Palmas, all prominent coastal features. The area became known as the Grain Coast because grains of Melegueta pepper, then as valuable as gold, were the principal item of trade. In the beginning of the 19th century the tide started to rise in favour of the abolition of slavery, and the Grain Coast was suggested as a suitable home for freed American slaves. In 1818 two U.S. government agents and two officers of the American Colonization Society (founded 1816) visited the Grain Coast. After abortive attempts to establish settlements there, an agreement was signed in 1821 between the officers of the society and local African chiefs granting the society possession of Cape Mesurado. The first American freed slaves landed in 1822 on Providence Island at the mouth of the Mesurado River. They were followed shortly by Jehudi Ashmun, a white American, who became the real founder of Liberia. By the time Ashmun left in 1828 the territory had a government, a digest of laws for the settlers, and the beginnings of profitable foreign commerce. Other settlements were started along the St. John River, at Greenville, and at Harper. In 1839 Thomas Buchanan was appointed the first governor. On his death in 1841 he was succeeded by Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a black man born free in Virginia in 1809; Roberts enlarged the boundaries of the territory and improved economic conditions. The early republic When the American Colonization Society intimated that Liberia should cease to be dependent upon it, Roberts proclaimed it an independent republic in 1847. Independence was recognized in 184856 by most of the great powers, though formal recognition by the United States did not come until 1862. At the time independence was declared, a constitution based on that of the United States was drawn up. Roberts, who had been elected the first president of the republic, retained that office until 1856. During this period the slave trade, theretofore illicitly carried on from various nominally Liberian ports, was ended by the activity of the British and U.S. navies. In 1871 the first foreign loan was raised, being negotiated in London nominally for 100,000. The loan was unpopular, and still more unpopular was the new president, Edward J. Roye, who was deposed and imprisoned at Monrovia. Roberts was called back to office. He served until 1876. During the early days of Liberia there were constant frontier troubles with the French on the Ivory Coast and the British at Sierra Leone. The Liberians tried to extend their authority inland, although they were still unable to control all the coastal area they claimed. Efforts to end the frontier disputes resulted in treaties with Great Britain in 1885 and with France in 1892. In 1904 President Arthur Barclay, who was born in Barbados, initiated a policy of direct cooperation with the tribes. Having obtained a loan from London in 1907, he made real efforts at reform. The foreign debt, however, was a burden, and the government was unable to exert effective authority over the interior for more than 20 miles inland. In 1919 an agreement was signed transferring to France 2,000 square miles of hinterland that Liberia had claimed but could not control. The economy The Liberian economy is predominantly agrarian, and raw materials, equipment, and consumer goods are imported. Production for export is carried out on a large scale through foreign investment in rubber, forestry, and mining. Foreign ships registering under a Liberian flag of convenience have made Liberia the world's foremost nation in registered shipping tonnage. Liberia nevertheless remains a primarily agricultural and underdeveloped country. The distribution of wealth is uneven, the coastal districts receiving a greater share of economic benefits than the hinterland, after which the administrative centres are the next beneficiaries. After the mid-1970s the once-vibrant economy took a sharp downturn. Between 1976 and 1980 sluggish demand and low prices stagnated the economy and the annual growth rate plunged. But gradual signs of recovery appeared, especially in agriculture and forestry. In the early 1990s, however, civil war disrupted Liberia's economy. Liberia's economy is mixed and there is no nationalization of industry. The government, which is the largest single employer, operates several public corporations. There is a national Federation of Labour Unions, a federation of trade unions, and several other employees' unions, but no employers' association. About 70 percent of the work force is employed in agriculture; the rest work in manufacturing, sales, services, and administration and management. About 40 percent of the total labour force is made up of women. More women than men are employed in agriculture. The U.S. dollar, previously legal tender in Liberia, is no longer in circulation. The value of the local Liberian dollar retains parity with the U.S. dollar, however. Government revenues are derived from income, profits, property, domestic transaction, foreign trade, and maritime taxes. About one-third of economic development funding has generally been derived from foreign sources, both bilateral and multilateral. Liberia is a member of two regional economic unionsthe Mano River Union, a free trade group to which Sierra Leone and Guinea also belong, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Resources Liberia is rich in natural resources. It is among the leading producers of iron orewhich it has produced since 1951in Africa, and it is one of the principal exporters of iron ore in the world. Its sizable reserves are found primarily in four areas: the Bomi Hills, the Bong Range, the Mano Hills, and Mount Nimba, where the largest deposits occur. Other minerals include diamonds, gold, lead, manganese, graphite, cyanite (a silicate of aluminum, with thin bladelike crystals), and barite. There are possible oil reserves off the coast. There is vast potential for the development of hydroelectric power. About half of Liberia's electricity is from hydroelectric sources. The Mount Coffee hydroelectric station outside Monrovia on the St. Paul River is the country's largest hydroelectric installation. Water supplies have been improved in both rural and urban areas so that some 40 percent of the population has access to potable water. Surface water is abundant, and groundwater reserves are ample and regularly replenished by the country's heavy rainfall. The land Relief The four physiographic regions of Liberia parallel the coast. The coastal plains are about 350 miles (560 kilometres) long and extend up to 25 miles inland. They are low and sandy, with miles of beaches interspersed with bar-enclosed lagoons, mangrove swamps, and a few rocky promontoriesthe highest being Cape Mount (about 1,000 feet [305 metres] in elevation) in the northwest, Cape Mesurado in Monrovia, and Cape Palmas in the southeast. Parallel to the coastal plains is a region of rolling hills some 20 miles wide with an average maximum elevation of about 300 feet; a few hills rise as high as 500 feet. It is a region suitable for agriculture and forestry. Behind the rolling hills, most of the country's interior is a dissected plateau with scattered low mountains ranging from 600 to 1,000 feet in elevation; some mountains rise to 2,000 feet. A striking feature of the mountainous northern highlands along the Guinea frontier is Mount Nimba. Drainage The Mano and Morro rivers in the northwest and the Cavalla in the east and southeast are major rivers and form sections of Liberia's boundaries. Other major rivers are the Lofa in the north and, moving southward, the St. Paul, St. John, and Cestos, all of which parallel each other and flow perpendicular to the coast. The Farmington River is a source of hydroelectric power. Waterfalls, rapids, rocks, and sandbanks occur frequently in upstream sections of most rivers, inhibiting river traffic, and limiting navigation inland to short distances. During the rainy season there is often severe flooding in the coastal plains. Liberia forms part of the West African Shield, a rock formation 2.7 to 3.4 billion years old, composed of granite, schist, and gneiss. In Liberia the shield has been intensely folded and faulted and is interspersed with iron-bearing formations known as itabirites. Along the coast lie beds of sandstone, with occasional crystalline-rock outcrops. Monrovia stands on such an outcropping, a ridge of diabase (a dark-coloured, fine-grained rock). The people Ethnic and linguistic composition The people of Liberia are classified into three major groups: the indigenous people, who are in the majority and who migrated from the western Sudan in the late Middle Ages; black immigrants from the United States (known historically as Americo-Liberians) and the West Indies; and other black immigrants from neighbouring western African states who came during the anti-slave-trade campaign and European colonial rule. The Americo-Liberians are most closely associated with founding Liberia. Most of them migrated to Liberia between 1820 and 1865; continued migration has been intermittent. Americo-Liberians controlled the government until a military coup in 1980. The 16 ethnic groups may be classified into three linguistic groups: the Mande, Kwa, and Mel (West Atlantic). The Mande are located in the northwest and central regions of Liberia and also in Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Prominent among them are the Vai, who invented their own alphabet and who, in addition, use Arabic and English; the Kpelle, the largest Mande group, who are also found in Guinea; Loma (also found in Guinea); Gbandi; Gio (Dan); Mano; Mende; and Malinke. The Kwa include the Bassa, the largest group in this category and the largest ethnic group in Monrovia; the Kru and Grebo, who were among the earliest converts to Christianity; the De; Belle (Belleh); and Krahn. The Kwa-speaking group occupies the southern half of the country. The Mel group includes the Gola and Kissi, who are also found in Sierra Leone and are known to be the oldest inhabitants of Liberia. These people live in the north and in the coastal region of the northwest. Religion Liberians are a religious people. About two-thirds of the people are Christian, about 15 percent are Muslim, and almost one-fifth profess other religions, primarily traditional beliefs. The largest number of Christians are the Kpelle, followed by the Bassa. The Muslims are found predominantly among the Mande peoples in the northwest region of the country.