Monrovia, Liberia

View of Monrovia, Liberia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Monrovia_3348917715_67a2002529.jpg
Author: Gryffindor,FlickreviewR


Monrovia is the capital and biggest city in Liberia. It is located at Cape Mesurado facing the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of about one million people (2012 estimate), representing about 30% of the population of the country. It is the cultural, political and financial hub of the country.

Monrovia was named after US President James Monroe, who supported the colonization of Liberia. It was founded in 1822, thirty years after Freetown, Sierra Leone was founded.

The site of Monrovia has been inhabited for hundreds of years, even when Portuguese sailors began arriving there in the 1560s. The founding of Monrovia is tied to the aim for establishing a self-sufficient colony for emancipated American slaves. Under the auspices of the American Colonization Society, freed slaves from the United States began arriving from 1821. However the pioneer experience was a disaster, and the newly arrived settlers were soon starving.

Broad Street, Monrovia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monrovia_Street2.jpg
Author: jeffrey


In 1822, a second ship arrived. It rescued the starving settlers and brought them to Cape Mesurado. There, the settlement of Christopolis was established. It was renamed Monrovia in 1824, and the colony became an independent and sovereign nation known as Republic of Liberia.

Although created to following the American ideals, Liberia was not spared the political turbulence that plagued the other countries of Africa. It was plunged into turmoil in the First and Second Liberian Civil War, each of which exerted much devastation on Monrovia. The Second Liberian Civil War is said to be brought to an end by womenfolk of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, and it saw the election of the first female president of an African nation.

Visiting Monrovia

The Roberts International Airport, located 35 miles from downtown Monrovia, receives flights from Accra, Atlanta, Brussels, Casablanca, Conakry, Freetown, Lagos, Nairobi and Paris.

Places of Interest in Monrovia

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