The Borders of Liberia

Liberia has always held a unique place in African history. As can be seen from the map below of pre-colonial Africa, Liberia was never part of any major empire prior to its settlement by the American Colonization Society in the 1820's.

"Before European colonization. 7th to 16th century," My Continent Africa, accessed August 18, 2016, http://mycontinent.co/AfricaBorders.php.

When the "Scramble for Africa" began, the settlers who came with the ACS  were hard-pressed to stand their ground against the pressures of other colonizing countries, particularly the British and the French. Towards the end of 19th century, Liberia lost a fair amount of territory that was rich in resources to their neighbors.[1] However, by the time of the First World War, Liberia's borders - unlike the majority of other African countries - had pretty much been set:

"European territorial claims on the African continent in 1914," My Continent Africa, accessed August 18, 2016, http://mycontinent.co/AfricaBorders.php.

The fact that Liberia's borders have remained relatively stable does not mean, however, that they are organic in relation to the ethnic groups that make this territory their home. As the following map shows, Liberia's international borders cut through the tribal territories of the Vai, the Kissi, the Dan (or Gio), the Mano, the Loma, and more.

People groups across borders in western Africa
Poro Studies Association, accessed August 18, 2016, http://www.porostudiesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MAP-working-copy-5_12_13-9PM-Merged1.jpg.

Having international borders that bisect ethnic groups has played a large part in the economic chaos that has plagued Liberia and other countries in the region. Whereas national economic recovery is largely dependent on accurate reporting and taxation, especially in such lucrative goods as diamonds, gold, and timber, the black market trading across unsecured borders detracts a huge amount of revenue for the country every year. While it is simply human nature to want to better your own financial standing and that of your relatives and tribesmen, this practice is extremely detrimental to the progress of the country of Liberia as a whole.


During the recent ebola outbreak, the issue of borders became a very hotly debated topic, as every effort was being made to contain the spread of the disease. As is described in the video below, there are dozens and dozens of unofficial border crossings, as people have family members who live on both sides of the border. Trying to close these borders in the event of a health crisis such as ebola proved both ineffective and next to impossible.

Video courtesy Benno Muchler, "At Porous Liberia Border, Vigilant People Prevent Spread of Ebola," VOA, April 7, 2015, accessed August 18, 2016, http://www.voanews.com/a/at-porous-border-vigilant-people-prevent-ebola-spreading/2709404.html.

[1] "Liberia: History," Encyclopedia.com, accessed August 18, 2016,  http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Liberia.aspx.

Missionary Influence in Liberia

Earliest Missions Activity

Along with the arrival of American settlers in Liberia came the desire to preserve and spread their faith through missionary activity. 

The Baptists claim to be the first denomination to enter Liberia. Two black families from Virginia were commissioned in 1821 to pioneer the work: that of Colin Teage and that of Lott Cary.[1]

Lott Carey
  Photo Source: Unknown author, Lott Carey, c. 1825, accessed August 12, 2016, http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/lott-carey-11630295.html.

The group worked in Sierra Leone for a time before getting established in Liberia in 1822. After that, Teage and his family went back to Sierra Leone, while Cary remained with his family in Liberia. Meanwhile, Cary not only planted a church in Liberia, but also became involved in the government of the newly founded colony. Tragically, Cary was killed in a munitions explosion in 1828 [2], after which the Teage family returned to Liberia to continue the work, co-pastoring the Providence Baptist Church in Monrovia, which Cary had founded. [3] 

Providence Baptist Church - Monrovia, Liberia
Photo source: Dave Almack, Providence Baptist Church where the nation of Liberia was founded, 2012, accessed August 12, 2016, https://faithlit.wordpress.com/2012/02/.

One of the founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), Daniel Coker, however, had also already set sail with the first group of settlers aboard the ship Elizabeth in 1820, intending to establish a church of their own in Liberia. Later, when Coker's missionary teammates died, he decided to move on with a group to Sierra Leone and establish a church in Freetown. He remained the leader of that church until he died in 1846. [4]

Daniel Coker 

Photo Source: Unknown author, Daniel Coker, African-American missionary to Sierra Leone, 1820, Public domain, accessed August 12, 2016,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Coker#/media/File:Daniel_Coker,_Sierra_Leone,_AME,_1820.JPG.

The Protestant Episcopal Church began organizing a mission to Liberia in 1821, but their work was delayed by several years when first one missionary was refused passage by the Colonization Society, then later a second missionary passed away just before his departure. By 1833, however, an Episcopal church known as St. James' had set down roots, drawing from within the settlers themselves, as opposed to bringing in foreign missionaries from the U.S. [5]

Impact of Missions

Unfortunately, good intentions did not necessarily lead to good practices. As the colonizing ex-slaves found their way in their new "homeland," often political influence came before spiritual influence. They came to be seen as outsiders by the native tribes, and Christianity was viewed as an American anomaly. [6]

Outreach to the native tribes was a slow development, and yet certainly there were safety considerations to be made. Sadly, it was more than just safety precautions that damaged the witness of the Americo-Liberians to the indigenous tribes. 

Joseph C. Wold, author of God's Impatience in Liberia, summarizes the obstacles:

“First the wars between the pagan tribes and settlers kept the former geographical isolated from the Christians. Second, the tribesmen never considered Christianity a real possibility for themselves because it was identified with a foreign culture.  And third, unfortunately, the moral laxness and social injustice of the settlers in their relation with the tribes did not commend Christianity as a way of life.”[7]

So unfortunately, faith in Liberia has still not reached ever corner of the country. "Superficial Christianity became a way of life of the people for more than a century.  Even today Christianity in some major cities of Liberia still bears the brunt of a Christianity that has 'a form of godliness but denying its power' (2 Tim. 3:5)." [8] 

The message of the Gospel is further obscured by mixing in influences of Freemasonry and the secret societies native to this region of Africa. "Since many top Church leaders were deeply rooted in secret societies, the Church tolerated the practices to the extent that they comingled with worship services in certain mainline Churches." [9]

Nevertheless, more than 10% of Liberians today are evangelical Christians. That puts it at the highest progress level of "5 - significantly reached" according to the Joshua Project. [10] Still, Liberia remains a target for Islamization in Africa [11], and is engaged in the continued struggle against the influence of animistic practices.



[1] William A. Poe, "Not Christopolis but Christ and Caesar: Baptist Leadership in Liberia," Journal of Church and State 24, no. 3 (1982): 536, accessed August 11, 2016, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23916665.
[2] Diane Severance, "Lott Carey," Church History Timeline on Christianity.com, accessed August 12, 2016, http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/lott-carey-11630295.html.
[3] Alan Neely, "Teague, Colin," in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998), 660, reprinted with permission in "Teague, Colin [Teage, Collin] (c. 1780-1839): Pioneer African American Baptist Missionary to Africa," History of Missiology, Boston University School of Theology, accessed August 12, 2016, http://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/t-u-v/teague-colin-collin-teage-c-1780-1839/.
[4] Rachel Gallaher, "Coker, Daniel 91780-1846)," Blackpast.org, accessed August 11, 2016, http://www.blackpast.org/aah/coker-daniel-1780-1846.
[5] George D. Browne, "History of the Protestant Episcopal Mission in Liberia up to 1838," Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church 39, no. 1 (1970): 18, accessed August 11, 2016, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42973243.
[6] "History of Liberia," Vision Liberia 2027, accessed August 12, 2016, http://www.liberia2027.com/627324.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.[10] "Country: Liberia," Joshua Project, accessed August 12, 2016, https://joshuaproject.net/countries/LI.
[11] "Liberia," Operation World, accessed August 12, 2016, http://www.operationworld.org/libe.

First Outside Contacts

Earliest Outside Contacts

Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian explorer, and his sailors were probably the first white men to arrive in Liberia in the year 520 B.C. Along the coast near Cape Mount, Hanno encountered the Gola people. There were some initial attempts at trade, but the relationship did not develop into anything long-term.[1]

Map of Hanno the Navigator's Expedition:

Map of Hanno the Navigator's Expedition
Source: By Bourrichon - travail personnel (own work) + File:Africa topography map.png (relief bitmap embedded in the svg) + File:Periplo de Hannón.jpg (data), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6634807


Cape Mount, Liberia, where Hanno the Navigator may have landed:

Photo of Grand Cape Mount, Liberia, where Hanno the Navigator may have landed
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/280138039291719812/

Earliest European Contacts

While the Portuguese are often considered to have had the earliest significant contact with the area that is now Liberia in the fifteenth century [2], there were other, more minor, contacts prior to that:

"About 1364 the Normans settled (temporarily) at a few places on the coast of Liberia and started trading with the coastal tribes from whom they bought ivory, pepper, gold and camwood. The Portuguese also frequented the Liberian coast as from (sic) this period and soon even controlled the trade." [3]

The Portuguese began staking their claim in North Africa and worked their way south:

"In 1415, the Portuguese captured the city of Ceuta from the Arabs on the coast of modern Morocco. The Portuguese advanced along the western, southern, and eastern coasts of Africa, including the coastal areas of pre-Liberia. By 1460, Portuguese geographers had mapped the coastal area between Senegal and Sherbro. Portugal's king, Alfonso V, established a monopoly over the Grain Coast trade of pre-Liberia in 1460, as clarified in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas signed by Portugal and Spain." [4]

The lasting influence of the Portuguese is still evident in the names of some of the rivers, regions, and mountains of Liberia. However, their corner on the market would not last for long. Soon other European countries were vying for piece of the pie as well. France, England, Denmark, and the Netherlands all had an interest in pursuing trade in new markets. 

One major product gained in the area was the Malagueta pepper. Hence, the area became known as the "Malagueta Coast," the "Pepper Coast," and the "Grain Coast," as it was called the "Grain of Paradise" by the English and the Dutch.[5] In addition to the peppers, the presence of gold on the Gold Coast was, of course, too enticing to pass up.[6]


Photo of Malagueta peppers (Capsicum frutescens)
Source: https://worldcrops.org/crops/malagueta-pepper

Non-European Contacts

The substantial Muslim presence in Liberia comes primarily from the spread of Islam from Morocco in the tenth century. Several of the tribes, including the Mandingo, joined their king in embracing the new religion. [7] 

Later, there was an influx of Lebanese to Liberia, and today they make up a significant minority of the population.

Asian interest in Liberia has also become a significant factor in its more recent history, with China becoming a major player in Liberia's economy. 

[1] Dr. Fred P.M. Van der Kraaij, "The Grain Coast, Malaguetta Coast or Pepper Coast before 1822," Liberia Past and Present, accessed August 4, 2016, http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/Peppercoastbefore1822.htm.
[2] Amos J. Beyan, "Transatlantic Trade and the Coastal Area of Pre-Liberia," The Historian 57, No. 4 (Summer 1995) :757, accessed August 4, 2016, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24449267.
[3]  Dr. Fred P.M. Van der Kraaij, "The Grain Coast, Malaguetta Coast or Pepper Coast before 1822," Liberia Past and Present, accessed August 4, 2016, http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/Peppercoastbefore1822.htm.
[4] Amos J. Beyan, "Transatlantic Trade and the Coastal Area of Pre-Liberia," The Historian 57, No. 4 (Summer 1995) :760, accessed August 4, 2016, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24449267.
[5]  Dr. Fred P.M. Van der Kraaij, "The Grain Coast, Malaguetta Coast or Pepper Coast before 1822," Liberia Past and Present, accessed August 4, 2016, http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/Peppercoastbefore1822.htm.
[6] Amos J. Beyan, "Transatlantic Trade and the Coastal Area of Pre-Liberia," The Historian 57, No. 4 (Summer 1995) :760, accessed August 4, 2016, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24449267.
 [7] http://www.muslimpopulation.com/africa/Liberia/Liberian%20Muslims%20and%20the%20African%20Napoleon.php