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<�TITLE>The Settlement of Freed Slaves from America in Liberia<�/TITLE>
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<�CENTER><�FONT SIZE=6 COLOR=#FFff00>Liberia <�br>and the Settlement
of <�br>Freed Slaves from America
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<�B>The Settlement of Freed Slaves<�br> from America in Liberia<�/B><�/FONT><�/CENTER>
<�H3>The History of the Coastal Area<�br>
of West Africa Before the Creation<�br>
of Liberia and Sierra Leone<�/H3>
<�P>The area of West Africa which later became Liberia was invaded in the
sixteenth century by Manes tribes from what is now the interior of
Ivory Coast and Ghana. The Manes partitioned the conquered territories
and their peoples among Manes leaders with one chieftain over all. It was
the usual feudalistic arrangement. The overall ruler resided in the
Cape Mont region.
<�P>Shortly after the Manes conquered the region there was a
migration of the Vai people into the region of Cape Mont. The Vai were
part of the Malian Empire. When the Malian Empire collapsed in the
fourteenth century its peoples were forced to migrate. The Vai chose
the pre-Liberian coastal region.
<�P>A tribe native to the area, the Kru, opposed the migration into their
region by the Vai. An alliance of the Manes and Kru stopped the further
migration of the Vai but the Vai remained in the Cape Mont region (where
the city of Robersport is now located).
<�P>The Kru became involved with trading with Europeans. Initially the
Kru traded in non-slave commodities but later became active participants
in the slave trade. Kru traders also engaged in a surprising form of
trade. Kru traders and their canoes would be taken on board European
ships and would engage in trade along the coast. At some agreed upon
point the Kru traders and their canoes would be put off the ship and the
traders would paddle back to their home territory.
<�P>Kru laborers left their territory to work on plantations and construction
as paid laborers, some even worked building the Suez and Panama Canals.
<�P>Another tribal group in the area was the Glebo. The Glebo were driven
as a result of the Manes invasion to migrate to the coast of what later
became Liberia.
<�P>In 1602 the Dutch established a trading port at Cape Mont. About the
same time the English established a two trading sites in the vicinity
of the Cape Mont region.
<�H2>The Condition of Free Blacks<�br> in the U.S. Around 1800<�/H2>
<�P>The number of free Blacks in the U.S. was dramatically increasing
in the late 18th century. For example,
in Virginia their numers were:
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<�LI>Three thousand in 1780
<�LI>Ten thousand in 1790
<�LI>Thirty thousand in 1800
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<�p>Subject to prejudice and the difficulty of finding employment their lot
was not an easy one. Various religious groups devoted their attentions
to the poverty of free Blacks. The Quakers were one group but another was
the Evangelicals, the same sect that was influential in abolishing slavery
in Great Britain and gaining official suppression of the Atlantic slave
trade. Because of the involvement of the Evangelicals or Saints in the
colonization scheme in Sierra Leone it was natural for American Evangelicals
to think in terms of a similar settlement for American Freed slaves.
<�P>American Evangelicals considered resettlement of free Blacks
in Louisiana and Florida (which were outside of
the U.S. at the time), or the West Indies as well as West Africa.
<�P>American Evangelicals contacted the authorities in England who controlled
the Sierra Leone settlement. Sierra Leone would have accepted Americans
who wanted to settle there. But at the time the Sierra Leone settlement
was perceived to be a failure with many of the settlers leaving to participate
in the West African slave trade. This was not encouraging to th American
Evangelicals so they thought of establishing a new settlement.
<�P>The British promoters of Sierra Leone relied primarily upon private
funding, both charitable and commercial, with government support only
as a supplement. The American promoters of West African resettlement
sought public support as the primary basis for their scheme. Three American
Presidents favored and supported the resettlement program; Thomas Jefferson,
James Madison and James Monroe. In addition two of the most prominent
politicians and orators of their day, Daniel Webster of Massachesetts and
Henry Clay of Kentucky were not just supporters of the plan but could
be said to be instrumental in launching the program.
<�P>The resettlement program took form as the American Colonization Society
(ACS). The ACS included religious zealots who wanted to suppress slavery
and better the life of American Blacks, but it also included racial
segregationists who wanted to purge America of Africans. It also included
people who wanted to expel free Blacks from the South to better protect
the institution of slavery.
<�P>The ACS chose Reverend Samuel Mills and Professor Ebenezer Burgess to
go to West Africa to select a site. The two men journeyed to England
to consult with the authorities for Sierra Leone before going to
West Africa. It was recommended that they establish their settlement on
Sherbro Island, eighty miles south of Freetown.
<�p>(To be continued.)
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