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LIB Daily History, 2nd Street, Jallah's Town Road, 00231 Sinkor, Monrovia (2026)

02/06/2023

Did you know who took the most slaves for Africa?

For the first 130yers the Portuguese dominated the transatlantic slave trade
After 1651 they fell into second position behind the British who became the primary carriers of Africans to the New World.

But did you know many slave owners were black?

Here are the most famous:

(5) Nat Butler
An African American slave owner in Maryland who gained a bad reputation for his scheming actions purchasing and selling others.

(4) Dilsey Pope
An African American woman slave owner in Georgia(America) she and her husband fought and Dilsey sold him to her white neighbor out of Spite.

(3) The Pendarvis Family
Owned the biggest rice plantations in the palmetto region and was one of the wealthiest slaveholding families in South Carolina.

(2) Justus Angel
Was a wealthy slaves owner and trader in Charleston South Carolina.

(1) Widow Richards
Operated a large sugar plantation and owned more slaves than all other black slaves owners in Louisiana until the 1860s.

Source: African facts zone and stories

27/03/2023

WAS THE PROPERTY REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING EVER ENFORCED?

The constitutional clause restricting the electoral franchise to property owners was overturned in the late 70s, to the credit of MOJA and President Tolbert. But there's no evidence this stipulation was ever enforced, that anybody was asked to show a deed or other proof of property ownership at the polls. There were no homeless people in Liberia, everyone had a home, from luxurious townhouses and simple bungalows in the cities to mud huts in the villages, practically everybody was a property owner, or renters with some land somewhere upcountry. In 1945, the franchise was extended to all males of legal age, and in 1946, to women of legal age. All males from the rural areas were property owners, with a hut or house, and farmland. It's hard to envision how this property clause, often cited as proof of exclusion and oppression, was ever enforced. It was not. Ever.

LIB Daily History

13/02/2023

FIRST AIRPLANE IN LIBERIA, 1930. Introduced by the Firestone Company at their Harbel plantation, where it picked up President Edwin Barclay, his wife and officials for a flight around Monrovia.

07/02/2023

According to Liberia: a Country Study (!984, 292n1), the word Gio "appears to be pejorative, e.g. Gio means slave". The same source indicates that the Gio are also known as the Dan. The Dan tribe belongs to the southern branch of the Mande, one of the three main linguistic families of Liberia (ibid.). According to Ethnologue: Languages of the World, the population of the Dan, or Gio, in Liberia was estimated at 196,800 in 1991 and is concentrated in Nimba county, in north-central Liberia (1992, 287-88). The attached sections of the above-mentioned publications provide maps with information on the geographical distribution of the Dan.

A doctor of social anthropology, who specializes on West Africa and who is currently working at the Maryland Office for New Americans in Baltimore, Maryland, stated during a 29 March 1996 telephone interview that although there are some occasional ritual murders in Liberia, these occurences are not specific to the culture of the Dan (Gio) or of any other ethnic group in Liberia. The same source added that the Gio are reputed for their ritual masks which, according to Gio popular beliefs, conceal supernatural powers or attribute such powers to those wearing the masks.

Further information on Gio culture and animist beliefs, as well as information on the treatment of those who leave the tribe, could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. For information on indigenous religions in Liberia, please refer to the attached excerpts of Liberia: A Country Study.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

06/02/2023

HISTORY OF FORT NORRIS, MONROVIA

The Dutch built a rock walled fort on the highest point of Cape Mesurado sometime before 1822. The fort was renovated by the US Navy and renamed Fort Stockton. In 1840 the fort was renovated again and renamed Coastal Battery Fort Norris. -Steve Schluessler

04/02/2023

Do you know that River Gee is a county in the southern portion of Liberia? One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Fish Town serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 5,113 square kilometres (1,974 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 66,789, making it the third-least populous county in Liberia. It was created in 2000

The tenth-largest area, it is bordered by Sinoe County to the west, Grand Gedeh County to the north, and Grand Kru and Maryland counties to the south. The eastern part of River Gee borders the nation of Ivory Coast along the Cavalla River. The current County Superintendent is Daniel Johnson.

River Gee split from Grand Gedeh County in May 2000 after receiving approval from Liberia's House of Representatives in May 1997 and Senate approval in March 2000. On the east of the county is the Cavalla River that forms Liberia's border with the Ivory Coast. River Gee's capital is Fishtown. The Country was created by splitting the Grand Gedeh County.

The River Gee watershed has lower tropical forests with mid size hills and various valleys. These forests receive a very high rainfall ranging from 3,000 mm (120 in) to 4,100 mm (160 in) per year in two distinct seasons. It has evergreen forests. While in the uplands it is conducive for rice cultivation, the low lying areas are conducive for yam, cocoa, plantains, potatoes, vegetables, rubber, coffee and sugarcane. The county accommodates the Glaro Reforestation Project with a designated National Plantation area of 1,008.89 ha (2,493.0 acres). It also shares the National proposed reserve of Grebo Forest (97,136 ha (240,030 acres)) with Grand Gedeh County.

As of 2011, the area of rice plantation was 7,190 ha (17,800 acres), 3.010% of the total area of rice produced in the country. The total production stood at 8040 metric tonnes. According to 2011 data, the number of Cassava plantation was 3790, which was 3.1% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The total production stood at 1550 metric tonnes. The number of Cocoa plantation was 1550, which was 4% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The number of rubber plantation was 660, which was 1.1% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The number of Coffee plantation was 140, which was 0.6 per cent of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. As of 2008, the county had 1,744 paid employees, 19,331 self-employed people, 4,381 family workers, 566 people looking for work, 1,300 not working people, 2,154 people working in households, 19,290 students, 090 retired people, 252 incapacitated people, 334 part-time workers and 4,053 others, making the total working population of 53,495.

The districts of River Gee County include (2008 population): Chedepo District (10,518), Gbeapo District (10,934), Glaro District (4,992), Karforh District (5,956), Nanee District (6,002), Nyenawliken District (5,159),
Nyenebo District (5,703), Potupo District (7,337), Sarbo District (5,320) and Tuobo District (4,868)

02/02/2023

Former President Charles Gyude Bryant was born 17th January 1949 and died 16 April 2014, He was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional government was part of the peace agreement to end the country's second civil war, which had raged since the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebelled against President Charles Taylor in 1999. Bryant was previously a businessman and was chosen as chairman because he was seen as politically neutral and therefore acceptable to each of the warring factions, which included LURD, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), and loyalists of former President Taylor. He was a prominent member of the Episcopal Church of Liberia, and was critical of the governments of Samuel Doe (1980–90) and Taylor (1997–2003).

In January 2007, Bryant was questioned by police regarding allegations of corruption during his time in office. On 27 February 2007, Bryant was charged with embezzlement. His government is alleged to have embezzled more than US$1 million. On 12 March a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was not immediately arrested because he was said to be absent from Monrovia and in Lofa County instead, but on 13 March he was arrested and released on bond shortly thereafter. In court on 25 April, the defense argued that Bryant constitutionally enjoyed immunity for actions taken as head of state, while the prosecution argued that he did not because his appointment resulted from the Accra Accords in August 2003 and occurred outside the constitutional framework. On 24 August 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the prosecution's argument, enabling Bryant's trial to continue.

Bryant was arrested on 7 December 2007 after failing to appear in court earlier in the week. He had said that he was boycotting the court because of his belief that he enjoys immunity. As he was being taken to a prison in Monrovia, he said: "This is a very, very dark day for Liberia. This is the reward we get for restoring peace and democracy to our country." He was released from the central prison in Monrovia on 8 December after he signed a commitment to appear in court on 10 December.

On 30 April 2009, Bryant, along with four others, was acquitted of embezzling US$1 million from the state oil refinery. Additional charges regarding the alleged theft of US$1.3 million from the state were dropped on 24 September 2010 as the government failed to provide any proof of wrongdoing.

Former President Gyude Bryant was Born in Monrovia during the early years of the Tubman era, Bryant's mother was a descendant of settlers and his father was a member of the Grebo people. He matriculated at Cuttington University in 1972, and in 1974 he married the former Rosilee Williams; together they had two children, Cheryl and Charles. Bryant also had a son named Charles Mleh. Before becoming the chairman of the interim government, he was a successful businessman operating a company that supplied machinery for the Freeport of Monrovia, and he was the chairman of the Liberian Action Party, which has since merged with President Sirleaf's Unity Party.

31/01/2023

"Rather than a dismal failure as is the prevailing opinion, Liberia is an astonishing success." – Dr. Frederick Starr, Chairman, University of Chicago Anthropology Department, 1913.

DR. FREDERICK STARR went to Liberia in 1913 to see for himself whether the country was a complete failure as was the popular conception. His curiosity was further picqued when earlier on a steamer to the Congo, they passed Cape Mesurado and the Kru boys working on the vessel pointed out to him their homeland and how fond of it they were. Starr’s masterful work LIBERIA: DESCRIPTION, HISTORY, PROBLEMS has been ignored by academic circles in deference to less scholarly, more slanted and propagandist works by J. Gus Liebenow and others.

30/01/2023

On today, the 25th President of Liberia, George Manneh Weah will hold the annual State of the Nation Address. This will be his sixth and final address to the nation unless he is re-elected as president in the upcoming elections this October

What do you expect to hear from President Weah in regards to the development of our country?

28/01/2023

Gbarpolu is one of the fifteen counties of Liberia. The county is located in the northwestern part of the country. Gbarpolu county has a surface area of 9,689 square kilometers and a population of 83,758 according to 2008 data. County was established in 2001, and its capital is Bopolu. Gbarpolu is divided into six districts. Gbarpolu is the newest county in Liberia.

The districts of Gbarpolu County, with their 2008 populations, include:

Belleh District (17,288)
Bokomu District (10,460)
Bopolu District (18,298)
Gbarma District (15,972)
Gounwolaila District (8,115)
Kongba District (13,625)

The Gola Forest straddles the border between Liberia and Sierra Leone and is home to diverse species of importance to the country. In Sierra Leone, the forest is incorporated into the Gola National Forest, and because of the unity of the forest with Liberia, considerations of conservation must consider a collaborative management with Liberian inhabitants as well.

Within the Liberian portion of the forest reside four clans: the Sorkpo Clan in Porkpa District, the Tonglay and Zuie clans within Kongba district and the Jawijah Chiefdom. There are 24 villages within the Liberian portion of the forest, most of which are accessible by road, but several accessible only by footpath. Residents of these remote villages use footpaths to bring their commodities and services to the other towns with motor roads.

Leadership within the community is purely by traditional authorities, but centers of such authority are very few in relation to the number of temporary mining camps. The landlord-stranger system is the main means to regulate activities of migrants to the forest (mainly miners), but the system is currently weak due to town being distance and limited roads, transportation and communications. Some chiefs are not correctly installed or properly elected and therefore lack authority amongst disgruntled illegal miners.

Most of the original Gola inhabitants became refugees during the First Liberian Civil War and were slow to return and reassert control of their villages. The war had lasted for over fourteen years, a time too long for people who have had several relocations to return to their former communities. With the coming of the Western Cluster in the community, many of the people are expected to return to their original communities, as many could begin finding employment. Others will have time to begin other agricultural activities that might contribute to loss of biological diversity.

26/01/2023

Former President David Donald Kpormakpor was born 28th September 1935 – and died August 19th 2010. Mr Kpormakpor was a Liberian politician and the first chairman of the Council of State that ruled Liberia from 7 March 1994 until 1st September 1995 during the height of the First Liberian Civil War.

He was born in Bomi County, Kpormakpor graduated from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law of the University of Liberia. He later served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of Liberia.

During the civil war, Kpormakpor was chosen as the civilian chair of the Council of State, which also included members representing warring factions in an attempt to end the war. Following a year of political stalemate, Kpormakpor and the Council of State disbanded and were succeeded by another council headed by Wilton Sankawulo.

Kpormakpor later moved to the United States, residing on Staten Island. He died in New York City in 2010. A high-powered Liberian Government delegation headed Cllr. Philip A. Z. Banks, II, Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, and Former Minister of the Ministry of Justice attended l the Funeral of Honorable. David D. Kpormakpor, Former Chairman of the Liberia National Transitional Government (LNTG) in he United States of America.

LIB Daily History

02/06/2023

27/03/2023

13/02/2023

07/02/2023

06/02/2023

04/02/2023

02/02/2023

31/01/2023

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28/01/2023

26/01/2023

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