Monrovia

Sister cities

• Dayton
• Newark
• Taipei

History

Before 1816, the area around Cape Mesurado and the mouth of the Mesurado River was called Ducor. It had long been established as a crossroads and a place of trade inhabited by fishing, trading and farming communities of various ethnicities, including the Dey, Kru, Bassa, Gola, and Vai. The French cartographer and slave trader Chevalier des Marchais visited Ducor and the Cape in 1723, conducted business there and later published a map of the area. In 1821, with the aim of establishing a self-sufficient colony for free people of color from the United States, something that had already been accomplished with British Black Loyalists in Freetown, the first group of African American settlers arrived in West Africa from the United States under the auspices of the American Colonization Society and with the support of the U.S. government. They landed on Sherbro Island, part of modern-day Sierra Leone. On 7 January 1822, a ship took these settlers to Dazoe Island (now called Providence Island) at the mouth of the Mesurado River. They subsequently went ashore at Cape Mesurado, and established a settlement they called Christopolis. In 1824, the city was renamed Monrovia after James Monroe, president of the United States at the time. Monroe was a prominent supporter of plans to create a colony of some sort as a place to relocate African Americans from the United States of America and combat the Atlantic Slave Trade. He likewise signed into law the Anti-Slave Trading Act of 1819, which funded the ACS's mission to create such a colony in West Africa. In 1845 there was a constitutional convention in Monrovia. At this convention a document was drafted that would be adopted two years later as the constitution of the newly independent and sovereign Republic of Liberia. During World…

Geography

Monrovia lies along the Cape Mesurado peninsula, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mesurado River, whose mouth forms a large natural harbor. The harbor was significantly expanded by U.S. forces during the Second World War. The Saint Paul River lies directly north of the city and forms the northern boundary of Bushrod Island, which is reached by crossing the "New Bridge" from downtown Monrovia. Monrovia is located in Montserrado County and is Liberia's largest city as its administrative, commercial and financial center. Monrovia's climate is classified as a tropical monsoon climate (Am) within the Köppen climate classification. It is the wettest capital city in the world, with annual rainfall averaging . It has a wet season and a dry season but gets precipitation even during the dry season. Temperatures are fairly constant throughout the year, averaging around . The only slight variations are in the high temperatures, which are around in the winter and near in the summer. Lows are usually between year-round. Monrovia comprises several districts spread across the Mesurado peninsula; the greater metropolitan area encircles the mouth of the marshy Mesurado River. The historic downtown area, centered on Broad Street, is at the very end of the peninsula; the major market district, Waterside, immediately to its north, faces the city's large natural harbor. Northwest of Waterside is the large, low-income West Point community. To the west and southwest of the downtown area is Mamba Point, traditionally the city's principal diplomatic quarter and home to the embassies of the United States and United Kingdom, as well as the European Union delegation. South of the city center is Capitol Hill, where the major institutions of the national government, including the Temple of…