26 July 1847 - Liberia Becomes a Republic

Liberia, where the American Colonization Society established the first settlement, Monrovia, in 1822 on land 'granted' by local rulers, became an independent republic with a constitution based on that of the US on 26 July 1847. Unfortunately the 22,000 ex-slave colonists applied the US template too well, and set about enslaving Africans from the interior, and neighboring countries. The day is now celebrated as a national... [read full story]