Tag Archives: American Colonization Society

this day in the yesteryear: Liberia Gains Independence (1847)

Liberia Gains Independence (1847)

Situated on the west coast of Africa, Liberia was founded by the American Colonization Society (ACS), a controversial group of white Americans—including both slaveholders and abolitionists—who aimed to colonize Africa with freed slaves. ACS officials obtained Cape Mesurado in 1821, and the first African-American immigrants arrived a year later. By the 1840s, however, the ACS was facing bankruptcy, and Liberia became independent in 1847. What African country had Britain settled similarly? More… Discuss