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Liberia, meaning land of the free, was founded on the southern coast of West Africa in
1822 on land supplied by local rulers to the American Colonization Society. An organisation set up to resettle freed American slaves in Africa.
Liberia initially had the status of an United States colony and this closeness was reflected in the flag adopted by the new settlement.
It was based, as is the current flag, on the United States’ national flag. Liberia’s first flag consisted of 13 red and white stripes with a blue canton featuring a white cross.
In 1847, after some international pressure, Liberia produced a constitution modelled on that of the United States and proclaimed its independence, becoming the first democracy on the African continent.
On the 26th of July 1847, the current national flag was adopted. |
