Liberia

Liberia was founded in 1822 by Americans as a place to repatriate freed slaves. By 1980, the descendents of these slaves comprised but five percent of the 2.8 million people living in the country. The rest belonged to over a dozen different tribes. Ten percent of the population is Christian, 20 percent Muslim and the rest practice traditional religions. Until 1990, the Americo-Liberians dominated the political and commercial life of the country. But in 1980 the tribes revolted, executed the Americo-Liberian leadership and fought each other for the next seven years. Some thirty percent of the population fled the country, and as many became refugees within Liberia. There was actually a series of coups, insurrections and general anarchy. In 1990, neighboring African states sent in a peacekeeping force and by 1997 a semblance of peace had returned. But in the meantime, some ten percent of the population had been killed. Not all the rebels have made peace, and various factions still operate in and around the largest tropical rainforest in Africa.