Republic of Maryland

Maryland in Liberia, and Maryland in Africa was a country in West Africa. The 1834 acquired by purchase coastline formed a colony and still declared in the same year the state independence, but reunited in 1857 with the neighboring Republic of Liberia.

History

On February 12, 1834 West African state of Maryland was first officially established in Africa to operate the Maryland State Colonization Society as a colony. The proposed state was founded at Cape Palmas was part of a scheduled transfer of former slaves from the area of the U.S. state of Maryland to West Africa.

As the capital of the place Harper was founded. The place name is reminiscent of the U.S. politicians General Robert Goodloe Harper (1765 - 1825), this was a supporter of recycling efforts of African-Americans by the American Kolonialisations companies. It was the auspicious name " LIBERIA - Land of Freedom" also General Harper's idea, which -won on the West African coast land to give.

For the first governor of the colony James Hall had been determined, he took this office until his illness return (malaria? ) 1839 in the United States was. As his successor was John Brown Russwurm, an ambitious Americo- Liberians, who had already worked in Monrovia as a teacher and the newly founded colony of Maryland regarded as his life's work. John B. Russwurm also took care of the economic interests of the colony, in his tenure as governor, he personally controlled the foreign trade, revenue and expenditure of the colonial administration and was responsible for the monetary stability of the domestic currency.

In 1856, a bloody war with the peoples of the Grebo and Kru of which wanted to expel the immigrants from their dominions began. There were several attacks on mission stations, farms and plantations, in this case 26 colonists were killed. In this emergency, asked Boston Jenkins Drayton, president of Maryland, in Monrovia for military aid, which was granted to him without delay. Drayton and his colonists realized at this point that they could no longer secure from their own forces, the national independence and development of Maryland in the future, so the government autonomy was abandoned and consummated the union with the sister state of Liberia on 18 March 1857.

From the larger, western part of the territory of today's Liberian County Maryland was formed. The eastern part of Maryland was in 1891 ceded to pressure from the French government to the colony of French West Africa and currently belongs to the Ivory Coast.

Pictures

Harper, capital of the colony of Maryland at Cape Palmas

Mission station at Cape Palmas